Kapitel 33: Harry’s Eye

Dry skin covered its old grey bones showing a cadaverous posture. Its skin tone resembled the old papyrus paper. Its long hair covered an eyeless face that seemed to look directly at the couple.

Its pants corroded by the passage of time, and some thin, bony hands held a long sword that appeared to be made of bone. The creature stood up and looked like a rickety old human, its large-clawed feet ripping the floor where the creature stood and its toothless mouth grinning.

Malcom knew what it was immediately. It was the same creature that had attacked the old habitants of that kingdom long ago, and that had caused them to leave it.

One of those apparitions filled the hearts of travelers with fear—a Guardian of the Sun.

The creature tightened its bony fingers around its sword, and in a split second, it moved from its position to where the two mages were.

It swung its sword with such speed that if it weren't for Malcom's magical boots, Skyler would have been cut off instantly.

The Marked young man had used the maximum power of his magical treasures to move the young woman to the throne at the other end of the room. He carefully sat her down. Malcom heard her cough, and blood came out of her mouth.

"Hold on a second," Malcom said seriously as he faced the creature that slowly began to turn around. "If I don't finish with this guy, both of us will really be dead."

Malcom, without thinking twice, took the dagger behind his back and, with his free hand, placed his hat on his face yelling, "Harris's eye!"

And with a strong glow, the eye plastered on Malcom's hat opened to reveal a strange golden eyeball.

The Guardian of the Sun ran at full speed in the direction of Skyler, who did her best to keep her eyes open. Still, his trajectory was interrupted when a sword tried to cut off his head.

Skyler looked around with the energy that she had. What she managed to see was a blurry Malcom flying around the room, trying to hunt down the Guardian of the sun.

The mage and the creature were clashing swords with such speed that Skyler's eyes could barely follow the points of impact.

Malcom used his dagger turned into a sword, and moving with the speed that his boots allowed him, he won the back of the creature and tried to deliver a blow that cut it in half.

The Guardian of the sun, without moving anything more than its arm in an impossible contortion for a human being, stopped the attack of the young man, then with its speed, it managed to jump to prostrate on the ceiling and from that height throw its sword at full speed against Malcom.

Still, as if he had foreseen the movement, the young man dodged it, letting the sword hit the ground only to see how in the next fraction of a second, the hands of that creature were prostrate on the handle of the sword that had been nailed to the ground.

Its legs kicked the chest of the mage with such force that it made him fly until he crashed on the wall of the place.

Malcom felt like several ribs were broken by the terrible blow he had received but, anticipating the next attack, he turned his dagger into a shield and stopped a rain of sword blows that the Guardian of the sun gave him.

Using his free hand, the young man threw one of his cards that transformed into an iron maiden ready to end the life of the monster. However, it used its sword to break that spell only to see how a frantic Malcom attacked him with a direct cut to the neck that the Guardian of the Sun stopped with its sword.

The creature had managed to stop Malcom's attack. However, at the last second, he had transformed his sword into a huge scythe making the block of the Guardian useless and the edge of his weapon embedded in the neck of the creature.

Malcom fell to his knees as his cap returned to normal just like his scythe, and watching the warrior of the sun stagger, the young man sighed and said, "Right on the bastard neck!"

The creature stumbled several more times and fell to its knees to ignite in flames and disappear, leaving an orange gem in the place where it became ashes. But none of that was relevant to Malcom, who ran towards the throne to help Skyler, whose condition deteriorated in seconds.

Malcom came to her and, taking two cards from his deck, he made two wooden shits appear that he opened with speed. The young woman kept spitting blood, and the boy taking a red potion made the girl drink it.

"Here!" Malcom said, "This will stop the bleeding!"

Skyler swallowed with difficulty and slowly felt her airways begin to unclog. Her tear-filled eyes felt some relief from the air that was beginning to enter her lungs.

Malcom, without wasting time, used his dagger to cut the girl's blouse and be able to see how her wound was.

On the side of her abdomen, it was beginning to branch through her skin, turning the veins around the wound to a deep crimson.

The young man looked at her for a minute and took another bottle from her suitcase, and he poured it all over the wound.

When the colorless liquid touched the young woman's skin, she let out a scream so loud that for a second, it seemed that her vocal cords would be destroyed by the effort.

Malcom placed on it one of the towels of his second suitcase and pressing the wound he hugged the young woman before speaking commandingly, "Hold on just a little more. I need the wound to heal!"

The dying girl clutched the boy's jacket while she inconsolably cried when she felt the strong burn of the scarring and could not bear it.

"Ah! Please! I'm begging you! It burns me! Enough! Enough! ALREADY! Enough! Please…" she continued to mutter deliriously as her body began to shake violently.

Malcom held her tight, and after a few seconds, the pain lessened, and the young woman was able to breathe again. Her teary eyes revealed her tiredness as Malcom continued searching through his bottles to see what more he could do.

The girl looked at the crimson color of the veins on her abdomen, and with difficulty, she said, "Wh… ugh!! Why…? Why do they look like that?"

Malcom looked at the veins and said as he took out three bottles with a greenish liquid from his suitcase, "You are poisoned."

Skyler saw Malcom's eyes widening.

"I didn't even know that those things could poison people..." The young man said as he opened one of the bottles he took out and gently brought it to Skyler's mouth. He continued, "…I don't have an antidote for that poison, but I have retardants that will prevent it from spreading through your body until we get to a healer."

Skyler looked at the bottle suspiciously. She looked at Malcom with frantic eyes, "I don't want to feel more pain, Malcom... Please!"

The girl's eyes were about to burst into tears again when Malcom placed his hand on the girl's face and softly said, "It won't hurt, I promise!"

And with those words, he gave her a drink from the bottle while he said, "Take half now and half in two hours, so we'll save them as best we can! We must go."

Skyler nodded and then, trying to get up her legs could not hold her before the young woman hit the ground.

Malcom held her in his arms and said, "Don't strain the retardant to paralyze part of your functions," when placing it on the ground, Malcom felt the stabbing pain of his wounds and took a red potion.

Skyler, who took her own arms, trembled from a cold she had never felt. She saw how Malcom took off his mantle of fire and placed it around the girl's shoulders.

The cloak fitted perfectly on the young woman's body, who weakly smiled as she said, "Thank you. Malcom, you defeated a Guardian of the Sun."

Malcom looked at her, walking to the pile of ashes that that creature had left and took the gem in which it had become.

"This bastard was very fast, and he did know how to kick," He said with a slight tone of annoyance while he held the side of his torso and approached the young woman to take her in his arms.

He then added, "You won't be able to walk, so I'll take you," he then carried Skyler before continuing, "We must hurry; I don't know how long the retarder will hold."

The girl nodded and said, "At least I no longer feel pain."

"We must go!" Malcom said, looking at Skyler's face and saw if she still looked hurt.

"How did you do it, Malcom? How could you win that fight?" Skyler asked, placing her head on Malcom's shoulder.

Malcom once again looked at the pile of ash and felt the lack of magic power in his body. He released a tired sigh before answering, "Harris's eye. It is my last treasure."

"What does that thing do?"

"Nothing special. It only allows me to see the future," he casually replied.

Skyler was speechless due to his response.

It could well be the surprise of that incredible magical treasure that that boy possessed or perhaps the fact that his crimson veins began to slowly expand. She was not able to think further as she succumbed to sleep.

Malcom could see her condition deteriorating in seconds. They were in the middle of nowhere, and his magic had been completely drained by the fight.

He himself was in great pain, and now he was the only one who could take Skyler to a safe place. Malcom could only ask the gods to help him to save her life, or else her blood will be in his hands for the rest of his life.