The Legendary Warrior (Book 5) (2 page)

“
Only my third?
How can you say that so casually?” James’ voice was rising.

“Because whether it’s today or the next, I’m going to have to kill!”

“You don’t—”

“It’s inevitable,” Bastion said sharply. “I’ve been scared up to this point because I don’t want to lose myself. I don’t want to…like it. But I’m not going to know if I can handle it until I carry it out. If I do it now, at least you’ll have time to assess me and see what you can do to steer me back on track, but that’s not going to happen if you’re just as screwed up as I am!”

“Keep it down,” James ordered, but from the strain in his voice, Bastion could tell that he was mulling over his options. James sighed again and turned back to him. “You’ve been around Lakrymos for too long. There’s always another way. You don’t have to kill.”

“Then why did you?” Bastion said, the words escaping his lips. He didn’t want to talk about it now, but it was the moment he had been waiting for. He had to know. If James believed in his way so much, why had he succumbed to
Lakrymos’ will so easily?

“A couple reasons,” he muttered, refusing to look Bastion in the eye. “I had to do it before you stepped in. I know how fast you can be…and I needed to show
Lakrymos that I meant business, and I’m worth keeping around. It would be stupid to think he was going to let me stay in Allay without proving myself. But more importantly, I’m giving you and Catherine more time.”

“More time?”

“It’s keeping you from siding completely with Lakrymos while she concocts a plan. It makes no sense to take back the Kingdom if you’re already lost to us and somehow you become just like
him
.”

“You have to trust me,” Bastion stressed. “I’m not like the King.”

“I know, but I’m doing everything in my power to make sure you don’t start leaning that way.”

“You can’t keep covering for me,” Bastion said with concern. “Wearing you down…that’s what the King wants to see too. You’re the only Sage from the old era still at the Academy, but you’re so down on yourself that you’ve been skipping classes and letting other students, with no experience, teach the classes when you
’re absent. Also, Orchid’s been coming by lately. She’ll definitely take over if you let her.”

“I’ve got this covered,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s just…I’ve never had to do so much without help before.”

“You have me,” Bastion said. “You have me.” Bastion began sliding off the branch, but James reacted quickly, leaping off of the tree before his student could get down to the forest floor. Bastion had tried reaching for him, but it was no use. Once again, James had reacted on instinct, and in this case, he was too late to follow. He didn’t want his mentor to get caught by leaping in after him.

Bastion squirmed backwards
on the branch until the soles of his feet hit the tree trunk. Moving slowly, he climbed down until he could see the forest floor clearly. He quickly crawled out onto another branch and remained completely still as he examined the area.

James was hiding behind a bush, only a few feet away from the tree they had both been in. He was crouching low, and his eyes were closed. Bastion figured he was trying to sense when the time was right to move forward. Bastion gazed
ahead and saw small tents, and shacks of branches and leaves the Quietus had made. Lakrymos had been unable to give them much supplies since the merchants had not been willing. The King wasn’t ready to step on the toes of his people just yet.

Still, the Quietus had been grateful to be out of priso
n, and they accepted the little charity they did receive. Besides, the land was immaculate in their eyes. As long as they had the light of fire, a shelter from the rain, and Terr to hunt for food, they would be fine. It was much better than the biting cold of Prattle, in which they once hid. In time, they could probably gain the merchants’ trust and barter for supplies. They could begin to make adequate shelters with the materials acquired, and then it would be like home again, swinging through the trees and—

Bastion’s eyes went wide as he heard a rustle from the tree branch next to him. He slowly turned his head to the rig
ht, and a pair of almond shaped red eyes glared back at him. His heart began racing as he called his eidolon forth, but the Quietus next to him was quicker.

The Quietus swiped at him with the scythe on his forearm and he rolled to the left
, narrowly dodging it. Bastion fell out of the tree, and onto the ground below.

He landed on his feet, but a Quietus immediately tackled him from behind, taking him off of them. His chin slammed into the dirt and leaves, and he tried not to dwell on the pain that shot up the side of his jaw. He still wasn’t used to the sensation for it rarely appeared, but when it did, bad things usually happened, and that was the last thing he wanted for the Quietus people.

At least right now.

The Quietus
scurried out of their tents, chirping and hollering into the night air as James leapt from the bushes and over to Bastion’s side, throwing the Quietus that had attacked him out of the way.

“Stop!” James shouted, and the Quietus people began to stand back and calm down, recognizing the Sage
before them. It was the husband of the Queen. The Queen who had thrown them into prison.

“If you wanted some
Quietus cuisine, you only had to ask,” Hakin replied, stepping out of his tent while carrying a slab of meat in his hands. It was raw and bloodied, as if he had just gotten done taking it from a Terr’s backside. “Welcome to Quietus, brother.”

“Quietus?” James let out a chuckle as he helped Bastion to his feet. “Planning to
rebuild the entire Kingdom between Allay and Languor?”

“That is the plan,”
Hakin said with a grin. “But that will take some time. Can’t work on empty stomachs, can you? Why don’t you two take a seat by the fire and tell me why you’re here.”

“You’re being pretty friendly for someone who’s thrown you into prison.”

“That was your wife,” Hakin smiled, handing the slab of meat to a Quietus male nearby. “Not my fault you married Allayan flesh. Those Allayans…they tend to be a bit unfriendly to what they don’t understand. No offense, young one.”

“I’m fine,” Bastion replied, sitting down with James by the fire. He didn’t ignore the number of Quietus women and children surrounding them from behind. One of the Quietus children pointed at Bastion and giggled.

“Why is he in a black robe?” she laughed. “It’s nighttime out.”

“He’s probably trying to blend in, is all,”
Hakin answered for him. “Probably a secret mission of some sort. Good thing you fell out that tree now and not later. Over the head of whomever or whatever you’re hunting.”

“I didn’t fall,” Bastion muttered, pulling the hood further down over his head to hide the blushing. “I was dodging a swipe from one of your people.”

“Still must have scared you good,” Hakin chuckled, watching as one of the Quietus men held the slab of Terr meat over the roaring fire with a large tree branch, sharpened at both ends. “That wood’s going to catch on fire if you hold it that close,” Hakin said to the man. “Do we have anything else?”

“I wasn’t scared,” Bastion replied. “I was startled. There’s a difference.”
Hakin looked at him and raised an eyebrow, but then he shrugged his shoulders and went back to yelling at the man cooking the meat.

“You’re going to ruin it! Flip it over!”
Hakin cried out as James leaned in toward Bastion.

“This was unexpected,” he said, and Bastion nodded.

“So now what?” Bastion whispered. “We have a big meal and then carry out our mission on a full stomach? What exactly are we waiting for?”

“You’re not serious, are you?” James asked in alarm. “We’re not going
through with it right now.” Though they were talking cryptically, he still glanced around him, noticing who was paying attention to them and who wasn’t.

“But why?” Bastion asked. “All this waiting will just make what we have to do that much harder. It’s kind of putting a sick feeling in my stomach.”

“That’s what killing will do to you,” James said. Bastion was surprised he even mentioned the word,
kill
. “It makes you numb and indifferent to the world around you. It makes you forget that it’s warm and full of people just like you. Some of them are even going through the exact same struggles we are, deciding whether to take the life of another or not. Even these Yama that Lakrymos says are coming. They may be as ruthless and terrible as he claims, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a reason they are that way. Remember the lie that Thorn perpetrated: that some are stronger and better than others, when in fact, we are all the same.”

“But we’re not,” Bastion replied, unsure if he should have said it or not. “There are differences.”

“Sounds like some heavy conversation there,” Hakin replied, walking around the fire and plopping down next to Bastion. “Sorry about that. I had to give out some instructions on how to properly grill Terr. You think it would be common sense by now.”

“We’re discussing the mission at hand,” James said, and Bastion gave his mentor a look of horror. James ignored him, leaning over and looking at
Hakin. “We’re to kill someone under Lakrymos’ orders.”

“That’s rough,”
Hakin said, shaking his head. “And it’s the boy’s first time?”

“I’m not
a boy,” Bastion said, irked that they were talking about him as if he was in the middle of being potty trained. “I’m a full-fledged Sage.”

“Uh-huh,”
Hakin laughed. “Sure you are. Just because you wear a black robe, that doesn’t mean you’re a Sage. I’ve faced Sages like your friend here. Your level of power doesn’t even compare.”

“Actually,” James said slowly. “He’s
one of the strongest Sages we’ve got in the Kingdom.”

“You don’t say?”
Hakin sat back in surprise, blinking rapidly and pursing his lips. “Well, I never would have guessed.”

“This isn’t an ordinary robe,” Bastion said, his eyes still hidden by the hood over his head. “It’s actually my Sage robe. I transformed.”

“He doesn’t look so scary,” a little boy remarked, a few feet from their left. Bastion shook his head and sighed. There was no use trying to convince them.

“There’s no need to defend yourself, Bastion,” James said. “I know of your abilities, and that’s all that counts.”

“So who’s doing the killing?” Hakin asked, and James glanced over at the Quietus leader.

“I am.”

“So why is the boy along? Can’t you do it alone? I mean, he already fell out of a tree. He might make mistakes.”

“
Lakrymos wanted him to come along. To observe.”

“What do you think?” Bastion spoke up, facing
Hakin directly. “Should I take over instead? I’ve never done it before, so it might be good experience for me in the future. I don’t want to freeze up in the middle of a battle, you know?”

“I definitely hear what you mean,”
Hakin nodded. “The Quietus children aren’t even allowed outside the Quietus Kingdom until they’ve killed at least a hundred creatures in the forest. And let me tell you, those creatures are not pushovers. Many of our children have been eaten in the process, but I think it’s necessary for growth, particularly if you have no choice.”

“So I should be the one to carry out the mission, not James?”

“It depends. Are you ready for that kind of responsibility?”

“I don’t understand,” Bastion said.
Responsibility? Wasn’t it over after the deed was done?

“Everything takes its toll on our minds and bodies. It doesn’t matter what it is. Too much food makes you fat. Too much ale makes your liver burst. Listening to the Orders excessively might make you elitist. Spending too much time in the village might make y
ou weak. Your actions should depend solely on the time of person you want to be. Not many people have killed another if you think about it. That means, in the future, if more times arise in which a person needs to be killed, you’ll be looked upon to act on others’ behalf. No one wants to get their hands dirty, but once blood is upon them, they’ll never be clean again.”

“I don’t know what I want to be,” Bastion said truthfully, and
Hakin chuckled.

“Then you shouldn’t be looking to take a life. You’re still a child.”

“Refraining from murder doesn’t make me a child.”

“In our book it does.”

“Hey,” James said. “You should give Bastion a little more respect. He’s accomplished a lot, and Lakrymos is hoping to groom him into Allay’s finest warrior someday.”

“
Hmph,” Hakin scoffed. “Respect. He hasn’t earned any of that with us. What has he accomplished, huh? Tell me. What has he done?”

James sat there in silence.

“That’s what I thought,” Hakin laughed as a Quietus handed him a slab of meat. He began tearing at the seared flesh with his teeth. “He’s just strong,” Hakin said with his mouth full. “You respect him because you’re afraid of him, not that he’s actually done anything. Well, that doesn’t work here in the Quietus camp. You earn our respect. Until that time happens, he’ll just be a kid to me and the rest of us.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” James said, but
Hakin stood to his feet and faced them both.

“Stop trembling, brother. Yes, he’s strong. I can sense it. But he’s still inexperienced, young, and
easily offended. You have Quietus blood running through your veins. Stand tall and be brave.”

“We’ll be going now,” James replied, standing to his feet. But Bastion refused to budge. What had he done to offend
Hakin and the rest of the Quietus? Why did they look down upon him just because he was young? They were young once. Did they forget how it felt? To be ridiculed for something beyond their control? How was it any different than making fun of the blind, the mentally challenged or the elderly?

And yet, it wasn’t his personal feelings that he warred against. It was the
blatant disrespect. Who were the Quietus to speak so highly of themselves? They had been annihilated, displaced from their Kingdom, and forced to live in the homes of their enemies. It was only by the grace of Lakrymos that they were freed from prison and not destroyed entirely. And now, Bastion and James had arrived to their camp, and they had nothing but disrespect on their lips. They ridiculed him, they said James was scared and basically called him a weakling, and now James was acting as if they were going to just walk away.

Bastion knew what he had to do. So James could sleep at night, so James wouldn’t be murdered by
Lakrymos for failure, and so he could gain some dignity back—he knew what he needed to do. Whether it was sooner or later, Bastion had been told often that he was destined for greatness. He wasn’t sure if it was as a leader or a soldier, but regardless, even he knew that his power was too great to be forgotten in the pages of history. It wasn’t arrogance or conjecture. It was fact. It was the only reason Lakrymos forced him to stay in Allay, and why James returned to win over his soul.

They were all fighting for him, and he was still unsure what side he wanted to be on.

It was time to make a move, and see what happened next.

The kill had to be made anyways.

As James turned to leave, he saw a glint of light blue out of the corner of his eye. But before he could react, Bastion’s blue Gladius had already emerged, and with a single upward swipe, Hakin’s next laugh was cut short. A sickening gurgling sound was heard next, and then the Quietus leader fell onto the log in which they had been sitting. James grabbed Bastion’s wrist and pulled him away, but the young Sage wretched himself free and sheathed his eidolon.

Bastion faced the shocked faces of the Quietus, examining him, evaluating him—wondering if they had the power to take him down collectively, but they knew the truth all too well. It was right in front of their faces, radiating
like an aura off of Bastion’s black robe. He was
too strong
.

“I’m sorry I did that,” Bastion said, surprised by how little he felt after the blow had been made. He thought there would be an earth-shattering change within him, but he felt no different. It was as if
Hakin had not been killed at all. He was just in his tent at the moment, snoring away.

“We were on orders,” Bastion stated within the silence. “We were sent here to kill
Hakin, because he was deemed as a threat to our upcoming war with the Yama. I’m sorry that I can’t say anything more on that, but I will say that none of you will be harmed from here on out. Actually, we’re hoping that you’ll join us in the war against the Yama when that day arrives.”

“Whose orders?” a middle-aged man replied, his fest clenched tight. “Who ordered you to kill
Hakin?”

“I can’t say,” Bastion said flatly. “But I only did it because it was necessary. I didn’t want to.”

“Oh, then that makes it all better,” the man said. He spat on the ground and glared back at Bastion. “We can find out you know. We’ll just have to do some digging.”

“That’s only going to cause more conflict, and besides, no one will believe you.”

“I’ll say that I saw it with mine own eyes,” he shouted, and then he screamed in agony, clutching his face and falling to his knees. All James saw was the hilt of Bastion’s Gladius, sliding back into the young Sage’s chest. The Quietus who had been talking was still growling, and small streams of blood were pouring along the sides of his hands.

“You can’t say you saw it
with your own eyes if you have none,” Bastion replied, and then he turned to the rest of the Quietus. “He is not allowed to heal this. If he does, I’ll have to take more drastic measures. Again, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do that.”