Jennifer Miller
Stories
10
Chapters
2,335
Words
302.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 1 h
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Blood flowed on the Vega streets—Garin clocked one of the red-robed priests in the face with a curled fist; his nose broke, but the sound of the crack Erec would have expected wasn’t present. In fact, despite the chaos and fighting of the Knights and priests not that far away, there was no sound. And the only thing to blame was a thin barrier, which gave a light glow. Impossible to see in the middle of the day without getting right next to it. Erec slammed a hand on the barrier, then pressed against…-
126 •
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He’d expected the stranger to drag them to some alley far away and far away from help; if that’d had a chance of happening, they would’ve made a break for it. Enide would get away, get help, and he might hold his own long enough to be arrested and for it all to sort itself out. But that didn’t happen. They didn’t end up going away from the strip, and the bastard was quiet as a corpse the entire trip, a walking, shambling weirdo of a man who hid his skin with bandages. He led their way through…
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126 •
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Erec took a deliberately long trek through Vega, away from the safe house they commandeered from a condemned building deep in the city. He double-tracked, wound, and twisted through streets, anything that crossed his mind to throw off Besides, he needed to clear his head. This temporary situation would soon pass. The moment Boldwick handed him over to the Pendragons—and thus to the Council, they’d have whatever information they needed. Sometimes, it was best to acknowledge if you weren’t the…
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126 •
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After the initial shouts of surprise, came the grabbing of guns. Erec twitched, trying to retreat and find cover, but his legs refused to cooperate. Where did that axe from and why did it vanish when he needed it? The thing barely held in his hands had nowhere near the level of power he needed. They were taking tactical positions. He saw them shifting about ahead. But the sudden shock of the barrier opening caught them by surprise—they mustn't have been able to hear them outside of the door. Colin…
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126 •
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The next hour was a struggle. Even giving their damnedest to workshop a solution kept coming up empty. At first, with the confidence of Dame Morgana at their backs, they felt like there was some obvious answer to the problem of the slab. But they failed. Colin tried his best to work out the magic and sort out some kind of spell to complete the glyph on the steel, but ultimately, that was a dead end. Even with his Talent, it didn’t magically bestow him any more knowledge of magic than he already knew.…
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126 •
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It was five days later that Garin found their first tangible lead. With at least a hundred birds scouring the city every day, and only ten or so rats, they got lucky. One of the fuzzy little vermin appeared in the morning per its instructions once spotting Seven-Snakes. But there was a little rat, sitting there watching them with its twitching whiskers. “…We should hurry.” Garin rubbed the back of his head. “He isn’t patient.” The rat spun around as if on cue, giving them an irritated squeak.…
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126 •
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-Aesop, Once more, Boldwick surprised Erec. He didn’t put up any resistance and in fact, offered his support for them to proceed. Taking a keen interest in the map locations; making a second copy of it and storing it away. In his words, getting answers to the relationship between Erec’s mother and Seven-Snakes, and the nature of this map was a new mission priority. If nothing else, he saw it as a good way to set his Knights to task. Particularly Garin and Olivia, who’d been holed up at the hotel…
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126 •
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As the memory faded away, it startled Erec to find Dame Robin hovering over him. She looked concerned as she turned his face from left to right. He blinked, the light of midday cutting into him and stirring him out of the daze. Dame Robin let him take a deep sigh; Erec took in the scene—the broken bottle from the girl was still next to him. “Are you alright?” she asked. “No,” Erec replied, his mind reeling from the image of his mother. With some help, he got to his feet, yet his heart kept…
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126 •
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Erec found a quiet part of the slums to sit; children ran around without shoes, and silent lookers only gave them the barest of a glance. After seeing his axe, most of them went on their way. The Council said that their Armor made them stand out, but it turned out the expertly crafted weapons also served the same purpose, though they didn’t out their origins. A lot of folks used guns, the few that didn’t have other makeshift weaponry: clubs with spikes, tire irons, and one person who had a dangerous…
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126 •
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“Fine, I permit it,” Boldwick said; reclining in a chair in his hotel room. They’d given the leader of their expedition a room at the top of the hotel; with the Duke now being moved up as well. Much larger than the already pleasant rooms, the Magi also furnished this one with an untouched wooden board filled with preserved meat, cheese, and some wine. A penthouse, they called it. The place had a better view, and Erec knew that if he could sit in here, he might lose full sight of the mission.…
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126 •
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