Kalif and Ranin headed through the dark streets of their town, with only some light crystals at certain locations providing any illumination.
They walked at an undisturbed pace; their home was a little far off, but they knew a way to shorten the distance, a way through a dark alley.
So, they passed through there, quietly walking, when suddenly a shadow appeared in front of them—a figure of a thin man holding a dagger, his bloodlust oozing from his body.
His very presence made the air deathly chilly, and the smell of death soon filled the environment.
Kalif quickly grabbed hold of his sister’s hand and took a step back, pulling her as he did. He took another step and then made to turn around, but as they did, they saw another person standing there.
A middle-aged man with a brown, stuffy beard that matched his hair. In his hand was a sword, well-polished and cleaned, but the reek of blood could not be wiped from the sword.
Even without much light, his eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
“We saw what that traveler handed to you, gold imperial coins. Hand them over, and your death will be fast and painless,” the man said.
“Hahahaha, your deaths will be horrible either way,” the thin man said and launched at the kids. His dagger was held in a reverse grip, his feet barely touching the ground before he took the next step. His target: Ranin.
Kalif moved fast. He grabbed his sister and pulled her out of the way, putting her behind him and covering her with his body.
The man’s dagger dug into Kalif’s shoulder, and blood sprayed out like a fountain. Kalif stumbled backward, heading toward the ground, but Ranin held him up.
She pointed her hand at the man and quickly cast a spell. “Wind blade,” she yelled, and a blade of wind shot toward the man. But the man dodged to the side easily and charged at them again.
This time, Kalif used his left hand since his right arm was injured. He pulled out a dagger that had been tucked into his trousers and blocked the man’s attack at the last moment.
Kalif did manage to block the attack, but the force behind it was too great for him to manage. His wrist was immediately dislocated, and the man shot through his arm.
“Arghhhh!” he cried out in pain, falling to the ground. Ranin knelt beside him, trying to help her brother, but it seemed the thin man would not let her, as he approached them.
“Use it now, Ranin, save yourself,” Kalif said to his sister.
“No, I’m not leaving you here. We will make it out of here together,” she said, breaking into tears.
“Ranin!” he yelled, getting her attention back. “I’ll be fine. Just go and call for help. I’ll hold them off. Call Sir Terron,” he said with an assuring smile.
Ranin was still very reluctant, but they were running out of time, so she quickly took out a piece of paper and started pouring mana into it.
Both men saw this and knew she was about to do something, so they charged at full speed, but they were too late. The paper glowed and vanished, and immediately, Ranin shot into the sky, flying at a very fast pace.
The men looked at her go, their faces filled with rage. The thin one immediately grabbed Kalif and lifted him off the ground.
“Where did brats like you get your hands on an escape talisman?” he asked, but Kalif didn’t answer.
“You want to play that game? Fine, I’ll kill you, and I’ll kill your sister as well,” the man said and raised his dagger to stab.
__________
“Aaron and I will be taking one room,” Silva said to them. He walked to Aaron and grabbed him, pulling him to the counter.
The girls all gave Aaron death stares, but there was nothing they could really do now, as this setup made the most sense.
For some reason, Silva’s decision to go with Aaron pissed off the men in the bar more because he had the opportunity to get with all these beautiful ladies, and he threw that away.
“Your stay will be four silver coins, or eight imperial copper coins,” the bartender said. Silva nodded and took out a silver imperial coin, placing it on the counter.
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“The rest is a tip,” Silva said. The lady saw the coin, and like a reflex action, she quickly took it from the counter. She pulled out a drawer and took some keys before walking out from behind the counter.
She signaled to one of the waitresses to watch while she was gone, and then she led the way upstairs. When they got up, she showed them to their rooms and handed them keys.
Everyone was about to head into their rooms when they heard commotion downstairs, so they all trooped down.
It was Ranin. She stood at the center of the bar, screaming out “Terron” repeatedly. A massive man got up, irritated by her noise, and walked to her, raising his hand to hit her.
But as he tried to move his hand, it didn’t. He looked to his side and saw Silva holding his hand, and before he could even say anything, Silva pulled the man down and gave him an uppercut that knocked him out.
His massive body fell to the ground with a loud bang. Silva walked to Ranin and held her, stopping her from screaming.
“Ranin, Ranin, I’m here. What’s wrong? Tell me,” Silva asked. Ranin looked up at Silva, tears pouring from her eyes. She tried to control herself and speak quickly—after all, her brother’s life was on the line.
“Kalif, sob, Kalif is about to die, sob,” she managed to say. Silva turned and looked at his party. “We are moving now,” Silva said. He carried Ranin and bolted out at full speed.
“Where is he?” he asked as he ran. She pointed in the direction. Silva ran in that direction.