A KISS OF RAGE AND FIRE

TWENTY

KILLIAN ARCHERON

He doesn't want to kill bandits for some reason. Alam niyang may mga pamilya ito. Kaya alam niya ang dahilan kung nagnanakaw ang mga ito. They had good reason. And some of the bandits only steal from those who look grand and rich. Kaya naman wala na masyadong dumadaan sa daan tinatahak nila dahil sa mga kawatan.

But if they're here for other reasons, hindi siya magdadalawang-isip na gawin ang nararapat niyang gawin para protektahan si Katharine. It would be something hard to do on his part but he will do it nevertheless. 

"Ilabas mo ang mga pera mo," saad ng pinakamalaki sa kanila. Napabuntong-hininga nalang siya at inilabas ang isang malitt na bag na puno ng pera. He threw it on their feet and agad namang napatingin ang mga ito sa kanya. Probably wondering why it was so easy to get the money from him. 

The big man jerked his chin towards the bag at agad namang lumapit dito ang isa sa mga kasamahan niya at binuksan ang bag. Nanlalaki naman ang mga mata nito nang makita ang laman niyon. The man nodded enthusiastically at each other seeing the amount of money on the bag. 

He slipped his hands on the pockets of his coat dahilan para mapaatras ang mga kawatan. They're mostly Ordinaires or those people who don't have any magic in them. Sometimes, if they're lucky, they'll have one member who has magic, but some groups like this in front of him are unfortunate. 

"Can we go now?" tanong niya rito. Nakita niya namang napalunok ang mga ito ng laway. Despite not giving his aura nararamdaman pa rin ng mga ito na hindi siya pangkaraniwan. Kaya siguro ito nagtataka kung bakit ang dali niyang ibinigay ang pera. When in fact, he really doesn't have any other reasons. He just want to pass through para makapunta sila sa nais nilang puntahan kung saan sila mamamalagi ngayon gabi. 

"Sino kayo?" tanong lider ng mga kawatan. 

"You have the money. You can take it and divide it amongst yourselves. Pick up the bag and go. Bago pa magbago ang isip ko." 

Ngunit nanatiling nakatayo ang lider nito sa harapan niya. The others were giving wary looks to him and to their leader na walang balak umalis. He muttered a silent curse inside his head. Hindi niya maiwasang mapaisip kung kailan umiiwas siya makipaglaban saka naman sinusubok ang pasensiya niya. 

"Paano kung niloloko mo lang kami? Totoong pera ba ito?" 

He rolled his eyes. Nagsasayang lang siya ng oras doon. Hindi niya alam kung anong tunay na motibo nito ngunit nauubos na rin ang pasensya niya. Kaya naman naglabas siya ng punyal. 

Agad namang napaatras ang mga ito habang nakatingin sa sandatang inilabas niya. He couldn't risk letting his power out since they're still near the royal capital. 

"I told you to pick up the bag and go. Do you really want to have this with bloodshed?" tanong niya sa mga ito. The one in the middle, the leader, picked the bag up at agad silang tumakbo papalayo. Napabuntong-hininga nalang siya saka hinarap ang Prinsesa. 

Tinanggal nito ang takid sa ulo saka tumingin sa kanya. Namamaga pa rin ang mga mata nito dahil sa kakaiyak kanina. She looked at him with furrowed brows dahilan para taasan niya ito ng kilay. 

"You didn't hurt them," saad ng babae. It was a statement but he knew it was also a question. 

"I didn't have to. They won't stand a chance. And I don't fight anyone who doesn't stand a chance." 

Nakatitig lang ang babae sa kanya saka tumango-tango. "Indeed, you don't have to prove to anyone you're strong because you know it yourself." Ngumiti ito sa kanya dahilan para mapatigil siya. It wasn't exactly a happy smile but a smile still. And he couldn't remember the last time she smiled at him. 

"I forgot you have that side," saad ng babae saka nagsimula na itong maglakad. "When we were kids I would often challenge you to a battle but you never accepted the challenge. And when you were dueling with ..." Natigil ito ngunit alam niya sino ang tinutukoy ng babae. 

He sighed. "You saw how powerful I was and how far our abilities are from each other and I made you realize you are not worthy to be my opponent and that was the first time I made you cry," dugtong niya sa nais nitong sabihin. "I could still remember that, Princess." 

Binigyan naman siya nito ng masamang tingin. "Why are you so harsh to me before?" tanong nito. Bigla naman siyang natigilan. Hindi niya rin alam ang kasagutan but he looked at her and told her the first answer that came to his mind. 

"Because like I said, I like making you cry. You make those very ugly faces and I want to make you cry even more. But hey, I did agree to fight you in the mansion before. Remember Murdu?" 

Nakita naman niyang sinamaan na siya nito ng tingin. "You are an asshole."

He shrugged and a smirk formed his lips. "You've called me worse, Princess." 

Katharine did not respond and he figured she was done with the smiles. Tahimik nilang binagtas ang daan. Bayroncliffe was still several hours away. Sometimes, they'd rest for a while near a lake where they could refresh and cool off. Sometimes, they'd sit under the shade of trees habang kumakain ng prutas.

The Princess didn't talk much and would talk if it's necessary or if she asks if Bayroncliffe is already near. She wasn't the usual Princess who always complains about things. She accepts everything he gives to her. Hindi nga niya inaasahan na kakain ito ng isda na nakuha niya sa maliit na ilog. Kinain ito ng babae nang walang reklamo. And she even thanked him for the food.

Knowing the Princess' attitude since they were kids and seeing the drastic change was something terrifying. Killian could really tell that the Princess wasn't herself.

Matapos ang ilang oras na paglalakad nakarating din sila sa nais nilang puntahan. Bayroncliffe was a small town west of Lancaster. It's perfect for them to stay for a night bago sila maglakbay ulit papunta sa Viles kung saan sila magkikita ng iba. Moondin still hasn't returned which means the shadow demon was in search for the other kingsguard to deliver the news. It would take them two days para bumiyahe papunta sa Viles since they can't fly or winnow.

Killian's magic is dark and there are only a little people in the whole Terrasen na gumagamit ng ganoong klaseng mahika. If he so much let out a portion of his power, maaaring magbibigay iyon ng impormasyon kay Alastair kung nasaan sila. For Katharine, the cloak he gave her was to cover her face and body and cloak her powers. They'd have to cloak it dahil kung hindi ay maaring malalaman ni Alastair na buhay ito.

Though she could use other magic she now possesses, like the healing magic, she couldn't use her fire a moment.

Napatingin naman ang babae sa kanya. "You gave all your money to the bandits. Anong gagamitin natin?"

He just waved a hand and said, "The money inside that bag was just a few coins. Other things inside it were just illusion." He slipped his hand into his pockets and showed her his money.

"No need to worry, Princess," saad niya rito. The Princess just sighed. And then her eyes became alert as if she just remembered something.

"My things," saad nito. agad naman niyang naintindihan ang nais nitong sabihin.

"I have your things. Huwag kang mag-alala. All the things the Kingdom has given you on your birthday is in my possession. You're going to see them once we find a place to stay."

Tumango naman ang babae at hindi na nagsalita. If she was relieved, he couldn't tell.

Nagsimula na silang maglakad papasok sa bayan. Despite being a small town, it was swarming with people. The road was bordered with stalls sellimg different products coming from different parst of the land. Some were selling jars of water that was from the oasis in the Cidarian Desert which was said to have healing properties. There were also knives and different kinds and styles of daggers made by the assassins themselves. They could also see stalls selling branches of trees from the Astaeria forest to ward off evil spirits. Different kinds of flowers from Emberlane said to bring good luck to one's house. Dress made of dragon scales, jars of water taken from the Cursed River, soil from the Valley of Death, vampire's blood from Castamere, and dark objects from Arythea, particularly taken allegedly from the Archeron Mansion's Dungeon.

"This one is very hard to get. This is called the Moonshine," saad ng lalake habang pinapakita sa kanya ang paninda nitong galing kuno sa mansion ng mga Archeron. He just stared at it. There was indeed a Daematin in Maynederlev mansion called Moonshine but it wasn't purple. It was of the lightest blue with a hint of white. And it was a necklace, not a diadem.

Tinaasan niya mg kilay ang lalake. "And what does that exactly do?" tanong niya rito.

Nagpalinga-linga naman ang lalake ba para bang ayaw nitong may makarinig sa susunod niyang sasabihin. Then he leaned towards him and said, "They say that if one wears this Daematin, they could be as strong as the Archerons. Since Daematins contain ancestral powers from the Archeron bloodline, the one who bears this will also have the power." Nagniningning ang mga mata na para bang naniniwala ito sa sariling kalokohan.

Inilapit pa nito ang bagay sa kanya dahilan para kumunot ang noo niya.

"You can have this for a million quartz."

"You expect me to wear a diadem?"

Umiling-iling naman ito saka itinuro ang Prinsesa na nasa likuran niya. "She can have it, good sir. After all, this is a perfect gift to give to a loved one." Ngumisi pa ito nang napakalapad sa kanilang dalawa. Napatingin  naman siya sa Prinsesa and the latter just shrugged.

She looked at the man and pushed the diadem back. "We don't have a million quartz."

And then they sauntered away. Naghanap sila ng matutulugan at nakahanap naman sila agad. It was a small tavern. It wasn't packed like the others dahil medyo malayo ito sa sentro. He had his hood on and the Princess too. Kahit pa walang masyadong tao doon ay kailangan pa rin nilang mag-ingat. Thankfully, the people inside didn't pay much attention to them.

He was about to pay for two rooms but Katharine held his sleeve dahilan para mapatingin siya rito. And he understood immediately what she wanted to say. So he paid for only one room.

"I don't want to be alone tonight," saad ng babae. Tumango lang siya and jerked his head to the bed.

"You have the bed. Sa sofa ako."

Tumango naman ito sa gawi niya. She removed the cloak at set it gently on the chair near the bed. Agad naman itong humiga sa kama at nagtalukbong ng kumot. Hindi na niya ito inistorbo dahil paniguradong pagod ito sa paglalakbay nila kanina. And she just came back from the dead.

When he could hear the woman's stable breathing, he walked to the corner, farthest from the bed.

"Murdu," he called. Agad namang lumabas ang Shadow Demon niya. He was tall and his slanted red eyes stared at him, waiting for his order.

"Watch her while I check the perimeters," he said and nudged his head to the Princess on the bed. Nanliit naman ang mga mata ni Murdu habang nakatingin sa kanya.

"Alright, I know you two fought before, but she needs you right now. And she's not going to fight you kung hindi ka lang magpapakita sa kanya."

Murdu huffed. Clearly in disagreement.

"Gusto mo ba wala kang hapunan mamaya?"

Naging alerto naman ang mga mata nitong napatingin sa kanya. Its red eyes grew wider and he could feel his excitement oozing.

"You'll have dinner later. But first, I have to check the area. I will be back with fresh sheep's blood. Until then, I want you to stay here, guard the Princess, and don't let anyone come near her. Understood?"

The Shadow Demon nodded enthusiastically with the mention of sheep's blood. And then Murdu placed his hand on his head as if doing a salute. Hindi niya mapigilang magpakawala ng mahinang tawa.

He walked out of the room. So far, he didn't feel anything odd or unusual the moment they came but he has to make sure.

The first floor of the tavern was starting to get packed. Buti nalang at nasa taas na ang Prinsesa. Agad naman siyang lumapit sa may-ari at binigyan ito ng isamg maliit na bag na puno ng gintong barya. It was just the right amount for seven bottled of sheep's blood. 

"Six bottles of sheep's blood. Fresh. I'll know if it's not. Keep the change. I will come back for it later." Hindi na niya hinintay pang makasagot ang may-ari at agad siyang lumabas.

People were still roaming around. The sun is about to set and some of the stalls are starting to pack up. He looked around the area. All he could see were drunkards and shoppers. Nothing put of the ordinary.

He went behind the tavern only to find a small pond. It was closed enough not to see who's in there.

Wala naman siyang napansing kakaiba sa paligid. But he knows it would only be a matter of time before the royal guards arrive there. Kaya naman nang matapos niyang libutin ang lugar malapit sa tinutulugan nila, saka siya bumalik.

The woman gave him the seven bottles of sheep's blood at agad naman niya iyong dinala sa kwarto.

Ngunit hindi niya inaasahan ang nakita niya. Nakatayo sa kama si Katharine. Si Murdu naman ay kaharap nito. Nagsusukatan ng tingin ang dalawa. And the room was in a mess.

Just looking at it, alam na niya agad kung anong nangyari.

"Oh god," usal niya at napapikit nang mariin.

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