Took a small little break for a day before I fixed and uploaded a little excerpt from the first chapter and a bit of the next.
Anyway-
Here's a little chapter you might enjoy! Hope you enjoy what you read of these characters!
***
Neither of us uttered a word as we stepped outside the village. I nodded to the guards, twisting to wave goodbye to them as we got farther away. We were heading up a hill. We could see most of our village from here. The town square, the fountains, the Chief's residences, the markets, the training fields, the crop fields... my house.
I was feeling a little sad about leaving. That's what the silence was for. Everyone was feeling what I was. That's to be expected though. We've all lived here our whole life. I've stepped out maybe a few times with my father. He's always travelling, heading out to new places, on new missions with new people. People he didn't see for almost eight consecutive hours a day while training.
My heart twisted as I remembered mom's face this morning. I'd told her I was scheduled to leave next week. The bags had already been submitted a few weeks ago for inspection. Dad knew, of course, but he was out on a mission. We were a village of mercenaries. Whether it was the Immortal or the rest of world, fights would always break out. Blood would always be shed.
"So, how's everyone feeling?" Hana spoke up, slightly out of breath from climbing the hill.
"Not homesick so far." Pyr exhaled, looking up at the sky. "This is my first time leaving the village."
"Same here." Pippa whispered, head turned to look at the village. There were two spots of colour high in her cheeks. "I'm so scared... but I'm kind of excited too."
"I know what you mean." Pyr grinned. "It's exhilarating!" I laughed softly as she whooped, throwing her arms up in her air. Her violet eyes glittered with the exhilaration she was talking about. "So, leader, what about you?"
Leader? Oh right, me. "I have been out of the village a few times. There are some towns close by." I raised a hand, pointing east. "There's a bridge we have to cross to reach both though."
"And what then?"
"Well..." I looked at all three, hesitating slightly. "I figured we'll camp out. The money we have won't last if we hop from inn to inn."
"Sounds about right." Hana nodded, glancing at Pippa. "You're okay with that, right?"
"Oh, yes!" She nodded vigorously. "Yes! Whatever the leader says!" Seems like her excitement had trumped her fear.
I winced. "Don't call me leader. I'm not the leader. Called me Emrys."
"Uh, yes!" She kept nodding. "Emrys! I am fine with camping!"
I gave her a soft smile, turning to look Pyr. She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't care. Wherever you say."
I sighed softly. "I'm not the leader, guys."
"What then?" I looked down at Pyr. "What then?" She repeated, rolling her hand. "What after we reach the town?"
I reached up to scratch my head. "Let's take a few days before we take on any request. I want to see what all of you can do." I was coming up with this stuff on the fly. The few days should help come up with a pl-
"I don't think that's a good idea." I raised an eyebrow at Hana's instant rebuttal. "We're wasting time to mold you into the the Seer's Saviour."
Irritation crossed through me. "I don't want to be the Saviour." Not like I'm going to be saving anyone by dying.
"Too bad, so sad." Pyr cut in beside me. "Despite all our Chiefs words, I could see that they actually believed Chief Sona. They think you might be chosen."
"You guys could be picked too! It doesn't have to be me."
"Uh..." Pippa hesitated a bit before speaking. "I'm not sure but... there have been a lot of people in the past who were some kind of close or mid-range combat specialists. Both you and Hana have a chance."
"Mages and healers have been thrown in the ring as well." I countered.
Pyr scoffed, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Rarely! I told you I'll help you become the best, and I mean it!" She sneered, facing forward again. "I hate the spotlight."
"And I don't ca..." I trailed off as I heard something. My heard turned to the side at a familiar voice.
Hana was looking that way as well. Pure and Pyr didn't seem to have caught on yet.
We'd been walking east, in the direction of the two villages I'd told them about. In our path was a wide river, covered by a bridge that led to the villages. We could already hear the river. And we could also just barely hear yelling over the river.
I squinted, trying to get a clear view of the person waving at me through the mist rising from the water. My steps sped up as I heard the voice again. It sounded like my name.
"He's... calling you." Hana confirmed for me.
"Yeah, I figured." My steps sped up as we started down the small hill. The figure got clearer. As did his voice.
"EMRYS ALEKTO! FINALLY! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU SINCE THE MORNING!"
That voice immediately clicked in my brain. My feet slowed down to a stop as we reached plain ground again. A sneer crossed my face. Only one other bastard calls me by my full name.
The others came to a stop beside me. "Who's he?" Pure asked, clear curiosity in her voice.
Three other figures appeared on the bridge behind him as my sneer darkened. "Dami. Another blade-wielder."
He was walking towards me with his team. He was supposed to have left early this morning. What was he still doing here?
He took a step off the bridge, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at me as he closed the distance between us. When he was about ten metres away, he came to a stop with his team. "Emrys! You're here, finally!" He laughed. His team looking irritated behind him, about the same as I was feeling.
His head snapped back straight, eyes glinting in a familiar way. I felt my gut twist. "Let's fight!"
I crossed my arms in front of my chest, maintaining my look of distaste. "Why?"
He snickered, flicking his long black braid behind him with his free hand. "Because I know where you're going, and I know you need that bridge to go there." He dropped the sword to his side, however his body language was anything but unguarded. "You're not getting on that bridge before getting through me."
"Shut up, Dami!" I snapped as irritation from bickering with my teammates and seeing my self-appointed rival standing in front of me rose to a peak. I will not fight you! We are not in the village anymore! We both have our own damn teams now. It's not just you and me."
He smirked, winking as he spoke. "It could be. I'm always here for you, babe."
I looked away from him, mumbling to myself. "Even after we've..." My eyes snapped back to him as I growled. "Shut up! It's been five years and I still don't like you! Use that bridge behind you and get over me!"
Dami's ears turned red, his telltale giveaway. But he didn't back down. "No point in hiding it. Turn those pretty eyes and pink lips towards me and tell me you love me!"
I turned away to stifle a groan but my teammates behind me were louder in expressing their disgust. "That's so bad." Pippa, the nicest, sighed.
"Hey! Let a man express his love."
"After five years, it's not love, it's lunacy." A blue-haired girl on his side replied. "Can we go already? You've been making us wait all day."
"No." He pointed his sword at me again. "One duel, Emrys. With conditions."
"Sure." I shrugged easily. "You're go-"
"Hey!" Pyr placed a hand in my shoulder, turning me around forcefully. "You're going to play right into his hands?" She hissed, annoyance clear on her face.
"Let it be, Pyr." I gestured towards him. "He's challenged me several times but only beaten me once. Back when I was a kid, and I'd just joined Chief Sona's training."
"Sure, you might be... good." Hana replied lowly, sounding kind of skeptical. "But is it worth fighting him? I don't think his teammates would stand back."
I twisted to meet her worried, green eyes, smiling reassuringly at her as I reached for the blade over my shoulder. "Then you guys don't either. Training begins now."
Surprise crossed through everyone's face, mixed with the slight fear on Pippa and Pyr's. I turned back around, facing Dami with my sword loosely held in my hand. "What's the condition?"
Dami fell into a semi-guarded stance, taking a step to his left. "You lose, you give up." I dropped my bag before I took a step to the left as well, mirroring his pace, movement and stance. "You head back to village, give up your swords and wait like a nice, little lady for me to return and make you my wife."
"I'd rather jump off the Rohra Cliffs." I replied dryly. "My turn." I was approaching his comrade, almost completing half a circle. Both our teams had backed up to make space. "You'll give me your sword, armour, money, and any other charms or amulets you have. Then you can go on your way."
He frowned slightly. "What the hell kind of condition is that?"
"Listen, I'm not as much of an asshole." I shrugged. "I'm atleast letting you continue on your journey."
"You sound so sure that you're going to win."
I stopped circling, smirking at him. "Don't I always?"
He narrowed his eyes, dropping into a full guard and taking the first step towards me. "Not today."
My grip on my sword tightened as he ran towards me. I lowered my body, pushing off the ground towards him as well. His first swing was right at my head, no openings. My sword swung right up, ringing against his. The jolt moved through my entire body, waking up every cell and entering my body into battle mode. This was my zone.
Immediately twisting, I raised my free arm bringing it around for my forearm to slam right into Dami's head. There was a harsh jerk as the leather braces slammed into his head. I let my sword go to free a hand, it went flying to the side right as he gasped in pain. He raised his hand to counter, but I ducked under his wide swing coming out to his unguarded side. My fingers wrapped around his wrist for a tight grip, my body twisting once again to bring his arm over my shoulder. A short scream of effort escaped me as I bent my back, shouldering his weight on me before slamming his body into the ground in front of me.
Spit flew out of his mouth and the sword slid out of his loosened grasp. Still maintaining the grip on his wrist, my other hand reached up to grab the handle of my second sword. There wasn't even time to acknowledge the sound of it sliding out of the scabbard before I had it's tip pressed against his throat.
Dami turned his head to the side, trying to get away from the sharp steel. I placed my booted foot on his shoulder, restricting the movement of his body and his arm towards his lost sword. "You're done." I spoke, barely breathless. "And as always, you lose."
"I'm not... done, yet." He wheezed, but I could barely hear him over the high-pitched whine starting up in my right ear.
****
Damn, old age can be a bitch to hearing sometimes... especially at the ripe old age of 19.
Hope you enjoyed the sneak peak! I'm so excited to get everything together and start writing this!
But- I will be taking a few weeks off to rest and write a bit. I have to catch up on the chapters for 'Classified Files'.
It feels nostalgic getting back to that world again... Ah. Murder and other violent stuff. Amazing. Has me getting teary.
Keep an eye on my Wall or this book to get constant updates on what I'm doing for the next book!
I'll reveal the summary next!
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Hope you have a good day!