Sense: A Fantasy LitRPG Saga (A Touch of Power Book 3) Page 14

  That was it. She knew nothing else about the families of those around her. There were also only a few people who knew what her family situation was. Mostly the royals, and she couldn’t remember if she’d told anyone else in what she considered her inner circle. Maybe Eric or Stephen? Did Kaylee, Jessica, or Raphael know? Family was one of those basic get-to-know-you questions on Earth, but why did people seem to shy away from it here? Or was it that she hadn’t gotten to know people in actuality?

  Shaking off thoughts of her own inadequacy, she patted Logan on the arm. “We’ll tell her the truth, together. That he gave his life helping others.” She didn’t add that she was going to make sure the woman was taken care of, whoever she was. It was the least she owed her. She was also going to make absolutely certain that he got a proper burial. Logan unconsciously led her to the body first, though it was lying not far from the wounded. She was glad to see that he’d been straightened out, at least.

  “Okay. Yeah. That’ll work.” Logan nodded a little dazedly, looking down at the body as his eyes seemed to water. A tear leaked down her cheek as she knelt next to a man she would have called her friend. She reached out to touch his hand, which was already noticeably colder. She heard Logan’s breath intake sharply as the body disappeared into her ring. She wasn’t about to make them figure out how to transport his body properly when she could do it easily. Logan was looking at her strangely, “Where did his body go?”

  Oh yeah, not everyone knew she made her ring into a ring of holding. Holding her hand up, she smiled tiredly at him. “My ring of holding. It’s rather handy…” He seemed to nod a little dazedly, but she could see a tiny bit of relief on the nearby guards’ faces now that they weren’t faced with the constant reminder of their companion’s death.

  She waited for him to compose himself while she held one hand behind her back to soak in a patch of sunlight. The constant drain of the wind bubbles was starting to get to her. She’d need to try and recharge fully before they set off, just in case. Hopefully she’d be able to attach them to one of the animals. Maybe she could rig some sort of litter? It wasn’t like she was going to attempt to put a living being into her storage space. That was simply asking for trouble. Maybe she should catch some of those beetles the beann were feeding on for future experimentation?

  Later; she could do that later. Right now she had injured people to see to. She gently pulled Logan towards the wounded who were being tended by other guards. Quietly, she asked, “Was there not a healer who came with you?”

  Logan sighed, pointed at a man who seemed to be unconscious. “That’s him. I’m sure he’ll wake up eventually because he wasn’t hit that badly, but I think he went into shock. I don’t know that he’s ever come outside the walls before…” He had a point. The young man wasn’t even wearing armor. She suspected he’d thought he’d be nice and safe in the middle and wouldn’t have to worry about it.

  Still, she went to him first. If she could wake him up and get his help, not only with the others, but with her own injury that she’d been ignoring, that would be for the best. Her stomach still wasn’t sitting quite right, but the sooner she took care of it, the better it would be. She was glad most of her group seemed to have forgotten about it, however. She knew Tisha already felt awful, and there was no need to rub her nose in something she’d done while hypnotized.

  Kneeling down carefully near the healer, she pulled out the dirt that had gotten into the claw marks across his leg. Once it was clean, she closed the wounds with her magic. It took about a minute, and by the time she was done, she felt a piercing gaze watching her. Looking up, she realized the healer was awake and staring at her work in awe.

  “No wonder she calls you a genius…” His muttered words barely reached her as she smiled at him. He sat up fully, examining his leg as he shook his head. “Thank you. I’m guessing you’re Lady Jade? I’m Lord Riley Tremont.” He held out his hand to take hers, and she absently accepted it.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Lord Riley…” She paused to hiss slightly as she felt a wave of healing magic pass through her. He probably did it out of instinct, but he’d frowned upon realizing the condition her stomach was in, and she could feel the magic rearranging her insides to bring them back to where they were supposed to be. She knew she was holding her breath as her guts moved around painfully, finally settling back into their rightful places.

  She let out the breath she’d been holding and smiled wanly at him. “A little warning next time would be nice. But thanks.”

  Riley looked a little abashed as he let go of her fingers, saying softly, “Sorry, it was a habit. Mom told me you were injured, and usually it’s better to get it over with quickly.” The way he said it made her think that she knew his mother...and then it clicked. Tremont. Scylla Tremont.

  “Scylla’s your mother?” she asked, wanting to be sure. When he nodded, she smiled. “She’s a lovely woman. Now, if you’re up to it, there are several other people who need healing.” His eyes widened as he looked around, gulping before he nodded.

  “R-right. Of course.” He honestly looked a little nervous now that she’d pointed out the others. Perhaps it was guilt that he hadn’t been awake to help them while they’d been protecting him. He quickly got up and went left while she went right.

  Quietly, she added, “Let me know if you need any help.” He gave her a bit of a sheepish smile, then nodded and knelt next to the first man. Rather than blindly going down the line, she asked Logan quickly, “Who’s the worst off?”

  He led her down the line past a few people, stopping in front of a man whose leg was half severed, though it had been bandaged. She absently pulled the bandage off to take a look at it and make sure it didn’t heal into the wound as she cleansed it of toxins. Thankfully, the man was out like a light as she stitched him back together, double checking his nerves to make sure no permanent damage would occur. Down the line she went, Logan leading her to the most serious cases first as Riley also worked as quickly as he could.

  Fifteen minutes later found Jade sitting off to one side, everyone giving a large berth to the black space surrounding her. In the darkness she was munching on meat she’d pulled from her ring while watching those around her. Thankfully, the group was leading extra capall, though not enough for everyone to have their own if she was counting correctly. She figured they were one short, which made her frown a bit. She’d loved to have tied Tevon to a capall so that she could stop hauling him around in a wind bubble.

  It seemed everyone was getting ready to go, so when she finally felt her energy had basically recovered, she dropped the light absorption and walked over to where the last unclaimed capall was waiting nervously. Tisha was sharing her capall with Hayden, and Jade was amused to see how he was fussing over his older sister.

  “Jade, you can put the...mesmer on that one and ride with me.” Hunter’s quiet voice surprised her, and she turned to look at him with a raised brow. He grinned unapologetically and went on, “That way you don’t have to concentrate on riding...or falling off.”

  Laughing softly, she asked, “Do I look that tired?”

  He shrugged and said softly, “Pretty much. Logan offered too, if you’d rather ride with him.” Well, that was interesting. She wondered how she’d missed that conversation. She’d probably been too focused on healing, or maybe it was when she was re-energizing.

  She reached over, ruffling his hair, much to his indignation. “I’ll ride with you, okay? Let me just get him settled.” Hunter nodded impishly, and from the corner of her eye she saw that Logan had a somewhat crestfallen look, though he hid it quickly when he noticed her glance.

  Shaking her head ruefully, she pulled her bubbles towards the last capall, where both it and the guard holding onto it seemed a bit nervous. She studied the saddle there, then pulled out a bedroll from her bag, laying it over the saddle and beast’s sides, then securing it to the straps. It wasn’t going to be the most comfortable of rides, being draped over the saddle like a sack of pot
atoes, but it was the best she could offer while keeping Tevon safe. She floated him over, securing the blanket on top of him as well as pulling out a seed to tie him with vines, blanket and all, to the makeshift saddle-bed.

  Once that was done, she secured her cage of beann to the saddle horn, letting it stand upright next to Tevon by molding the metal to basically be a part of the saddle. Once she was satisfied that neither of them would slip, she glanced at the man holding the reins. “Who’s going to keep those once we start moving?”

  “I’ll hold them.” Logan spoke from behind her, making her jump slightly. She hadn’t noticed him sneaking up on her, as concentrated as she’d been on making sure everything and everyone was secure. The relieved guard quickly handed the reins to him and bolted towards his own capall as Jade snickered slightly. She smiled, and he shrugged. “It looks like he’s trussed up well enough. Never really thought I’d have a mesmer captive.”

  It took her a moment to realize that he hadn’t seen Tevon’s face and probably had no idea who was under there. Even Hunter had been very careful not to say his name. She could see the wisdom in not telling the general populace that their most hated enemies were the loved ones that had been stolen away. If they couldn’t cure them, it would be kinder to let people believe they were dead, rather than traitors who used the knowledge of their past life against their family and friends. Betrayal was never an easy pill to swallow.

  She finally responded softly, “It wasn’t exactly on my list of things I’d do either.” Heck, if it had been, she’d have done it when she’d knocked out the two mesmer on the roof, however many days ago that was. What day was it even? Saturday? Sunday? She felt like she’d been going at high speed for so long that the days were blurring together. All she wanted to do was get back to town and sleep for a few days. She knew it wasn’t going to happen, but it didn’t stop her from yearning for days of simple relaxation.

  As much as she liked school and learning, she figured it might be a good idea to take a break and get her bearings after she returned. It wasn’t likely to happen though. She had to try and cure Tevon. She needed to make sure Christopher got a proper burial and that his wife was taken care of. After that, she needed to go get Marcelle and either kidnap more mesmer for healing if it worked, or go on an eradication spree if it didn’t. She also needed to get re-measured for a dress at some point.

  “All right, let’s move out.” She heard the gruff commander’s voice as she settled into the saddle of her capall, Hunter sitting snugly behind her and holding the reins. It was only when she was seated that she realized the two tialon bodies were just sitting there. Granted, they weren’t unspoiled hides like hers were, having been ravaged badly by each other and the attacks of the guards. But still, it was good meat, and she was surprised they were leaving it.

  It was only when she realized that they were trying to be speedy and get their charges home that she figured out why they would leave valuable resources behind. She nudged Hunter to bring their capall to the outer edge of the group, which he did without questioning. In order to not freak them out by thinking the tialon had come back to life, she held her hand out and made the wind whip through the stalks visibly, picking up the dead tialon and bringing them towards her in a limp mess.

  Still, she heard startled gasps and more than a few capall shied further away. Hunter resolutely kept their capall in place, having figured out what she was doing. As soon as she could touch them, the giant bodies disappeared as she frantically poured magic into her ring, widening the space before she could take the last one. She hadn’t expected to pack four behemoths into it on top of everything else she was carrying.

  “Are you okay?” Hunter’s concerned voice came from behind her as he held her in the saddle. He could obviously feel her shaking slightly under the magical exertion.

  She nodded almost imperceptibly, whispering, “I’ll be fine.” She smiled reassuringly at the guards around her as Hunter moved them back into the middle. The commander shook his head and then gave the command, again, to move out. Surreptitiously, she began to absorb light around her hands again.

  It took a few minutes, but as soon as she felt better, she released an aura of vitality. Several heads turned to look at her curiously, obviously realizing where the vitality was from, but no one questioned it. The commander simply picked up the pace, sending them pounding across the road towards the city.

  Her fellacai were taking turns between scouting the area and using her and Hunter as perches. It was through their eyes that she saw the walls of the city approaching. Smiling wearily, she was grateful for the sight. For a time at least, they would be safe once they returned.

  For the moment, that would have to be enough.

  Chapter Fifteen – Reunion

  She was supremely grateful when nothing else attacked them before they reached the giant gates. Her babies all settled on her and Hunter, realizing they didn’t need to scout in the city. She’d heard the shouts, the bells, everything that signaled someone was approaching. It was a different tone from when it rang for the orcs, so she could infer that they had different ones for friendlies. The heavy metal doors were opening before them, the lack of a huge crowd of people proving that even though this was a triumphant return, those who’d been allowed to the gates were limited. Probably because of Tevon.

  Despite not having a massive crowd, there was still a conspicuous group of people that included the royal family, Count Ammon and his guards, as well as Mike, Scylla, Cody, and their students. It took her a moment to notice another group behind them, which consisted of several women and children. It was only when she saw one of the guards waving at a woman out of the corner of her eye that she realized they were the other families of the taken.

  The gates clanged shut behind her, startling her slightly as people started to move forward, dismounting. Tisha was one of the first off, rushing headlong into her parents’ arms. Hayden was slightly more controlled, handing his mount off to a guard before rushing after her. She could feel Hunter’s agitation as he forcefully held himself in place behind her until she twisted in her seat, looking back at him with a smile. “It’s fine, you can go. I’ll take care of the capall.”

  He flashed a winning smile at her as he said gratefully, “Thanks.” He gave her hand a small squeeze before he quickly scrambled off, hurrying to go join his family. More guards moved in, taking control of mounts so that more reunions could take place and so that the animals didn’t cause a ruckus after being abandoned by their riders. Jade slipped down, handing the reins to one guard while moving towards Logan and the capall with her catches.

  Still, she couldn’t help but watch the tearful reunions going on around her. It was pretty awesome to see families who thought they’d be separated forever come back together. The shadow of Christopher’s family hung over her, but she took joy in those she had been able to save. She had to remind herself that if you only focused on the negative, that’s all you would see. She didn’t want to miss the joy that could be found, even in the darkness.

  The guards were bringing the capall away one by one, probably to send them to some sort of stable. Jade saw Logan looking for her as she came up behind him. He seemed to sense her, turning quickly, only to smile when he realized it was her. “Do you want help getting everything off?” He was just trying to be helpful, but as she glanced around at the multitude of people around them, she shook her head.

  “No, not until there’s more privacy. It’s a strictly need-to-see basis.” He nodded in understanding, glancing at the multitude of people still surrounding them. The taken slowly drifted away with their families and the rest of the guards milling around were encouraged to make themselves scarce, leaving the healers, royals, and a few guards directly under Ammon.

  Mike came forward, and she sighed lightly as she let him hug her. The warmth of being held seeped into her, or maybe that was the healing magic he’d sent surging through her, bolstering her and eliminating sore muscles. She felt the relief rush
through her and let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding as he spoke, “Welcome back, Jade.” He let go of everything but her shoulders, pulling her back to take a good look at her as he inquired, “Are you going to be able to handle the attempt, or should we wait?”

  Shaking her head, she responded, “No, we need to do it now. I know it’s hard enough to gather everyone and we need to know what to prepare for, better or worse.”

  He nodded, accepting her points as valid. “Very well. We have a small training area set up for the attempt so that we don’t have to clear out the infirmary.” That was probably for the best, considering the nature of their quest for knowledge. They could keep it quiet for a little while, but eventually people would find out. She’d rescued ten people, and they all had families who’d probably find out. A word here, a slip there, and soon everyone would know. Fear would rise as rumors abounded…

  She sighed, shaking those thoughts away as she saw the royal family approaching behind Mike. They probably knew how to handle the situation best. She smiled tiredly at them as Mike stepped respectfully to the side. “Hello, Your Majesties.” She remained formal in deference to the many guards and healers still surrounding them.

  To her surprise, she was pulled forward into a crushing hug by the king and queen as she heard Ashanna gush, “Thank you for bringing them home. Thank you for rescuing my children.” She was honestly having a bit of a hard time breathing, they were squeezing her so hard. She patted their arms gently, though somewhat insistently. She was tired enough; it wasn’t time for an impromptu and unplanned nap.

  Upon feeling her tap, the two drew back slightly, allowing her to take in a deep breath, filling her lungs with much needed oxygen. The two of them looked a little abashed upon realizing they’d been literally squeezing her to death, merely having wanted to express their gratitude. She smiled tiredly at them as she spoke gingerly, “No thanks are necessary, really. I just did what anyone would, if they could.”