章 146: - How the Demon Warns the Dragon
Arnold couldn't help but stare, his eyes boring deep into the red of this man before him, as he stood calmly, half cloaked in shadow and rain. The wolf's blood ran down the man's forearms, his face, his entire body itself was covered in it. But it didn't seem to bother him.
The sounds of battle were now over, the smell of iron and rotting flesh filled the air as Arnold's team turned to face their savior, only to widen their eyes in fear.
Cain brought his hand to his face, wiped the blood from his eyes and smiled.
"Arnold the Dragon slayer. To be honest, I had been contempt with watching you up until now, but I think the time for fun and games can end. My entertainment can wait."
Arnold gripped his spear, waiting for Cain to make a sudden move, but instead, the man bent down towards Lukali and lightly touched his forehead.
"I'm glad my spell kept him asleep, otherwise it would be a lot more difficult to keep him calm."
Arnold blinked several times, realizing that his son, whom he had thought was walking alongside them, was in fact deep in sleep.
'Wait, when did he…'
Cain smiled, turning to the man who instinctively gripped his spear, ready for an attack. But instead Cain simply stood up and chuckled, as if he found the situation slightly humorous.
From behind him, Arnold could hear Gilbert's shaken voice as he spoke, both afraid but angry at the same time.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just find it ironic that you've been so focused on running away that you never stopped and noticed the illusion on yourselves."
Arnold raised his spear so that the tip was pointing directly at Cain's heart, his eyes passing between him and the steel tip as he spoke, cautious yet curious.
"What illusion?"
Cain didn't answer, instead he simply raised one hand and snapped his fingers, a sound that echoed throughout the forest. It stuck with the group like the horrid sound of a bone snapping in half, a sound that they could never forget.
Instantly the rain that poured down heavily from the sky, muddying the ground and mixing with the blood that ran down their faces, stopped. The rain droplets hovered in the air for several seconds before they vanished in front of their eyes. There was no more lighting, no more wind, not even the sound of thunder that rumbled off in the distance.
Instead, as Arnold stole a glance up to the sky beyond the trees above them he could see the heavy and dark clouds that once rained water and lighting down on them dissipate in seconds, replaced by a bright and sunny sky.
"It was never night, or was it ever raining."
Cain chuckled again, finding the look of dumbfoundedness on their faces quite amusing.
"You didn't even notice that your son was asleep their whole time, nor did you realize you were all just walking in circles. You don't remember anything do you?"
Arnold took one hand from his spear and brought it to his face, slowly removing it from his skin. But instead of seeing water or even blood, Arnold saw nothing. There were no longer any wolves dotting the ground by their feet, nor were their weapons covered in red blood any longer.
There was nothing to show that the battle from before had even taken place - even the ground itself was no longer muddy but instead dry and dusty.
"You've been fooling us their entire time, haven't you?"
Cain held a bemused appearance on his face as he smiled, looking over all of them as the shock began to set in.
"Actually, no. You've only been fooling yourselves really-"
Arnold thrusted the spear towards Cain, who vanished before his eyes just as the spear crossed the space he once stood in. His face twisted in anger as the realization that everything; all the fear, anger, doubt and any sense of victory he thought he had was fake began to slowly set in.
"How long have you been fooling us?!"
He turned around to face Cain, whom he knew was standing behind him from the way the air shifted in his presence. Even nature seemed to want to get away from this man as fast and as quickly as possible.
Cain shrugged, seemingly uninterested at such an amazing feat as this, having tricked the entire team into falling for some type of illusion.
"Since I noticed you in the woods watching her."
"So all night. You've been fooling us for hours?"
"Well, really all day. When I met you it was night time, I simply fiddled with your perception of time and made you believe that each hour was only a few minutes. It's the middle of the next day, you see?"
It was Trevor who spoke next, releasing the bandage he had pulled for his pack, now that he knew he no longer needed it.
"Then why didn't you kill us?"
Cain turned to him as a look of recognition came over him. He pondered for a few moments, then shrugged, sighing as he looked back towards Lukali.
"Because that's no fun."
Arnold shook his head, gripping his spear tightly to his chest as anger began to flood his blood. He could not accept that he had been fooled, nor could he accept that such a feat was done for such mediocre reasons.
"Agh! You impudent little - do you think this is some type of game?!"
"No. I told you before that I was done playing games. Weren't you listening?"
Arnold gripped his pear even harder, his knuckles turning white as he stared daggers into Cain's side, who looked towards Lukali without any care in the world.
"Why you little-"
"It's because of him."
His words stopped Arnold in his tracks, spilling water over his fire, as anger turned to confusion, and then to fear.
Cain was pointing towards Lukali.
"You see he's a friend, or rather, a friend of a friend. She cares about him and would do whatever it takes to make sure that he is safe."
"So all this was to buy time for your friend to get here? Is that it? You want us to fight your friend, that pipsqueak of a warrior; Lia of Endless?"
His red crimson eyes turned to Arnold so quickly that it sent a jolt of fear down his spine as he spoke, his voice as deep like the rumbling of the mountains.
"Be careful what you say. And no, my goal was not to buy time for her to arrive. In fact, she doesn't even know you're here."
Arnold was silent for a moment, a still thread pulling his mind deeper and deeper into confusion as he failed to wrap his head around who this man was, and why he was doing all of this.
"Then what's the point of you being here? To gawk at us?"
Gilbert asked as he stood up from the ground where he had fallen, his broad sword tightly gripped in his hands as he held it towards Cain in a threatening manner. However, the man simply smiled and shifted the blade away from him using the tip of his finger.
"No, no, you misunderstand again. I'm here to give you a choice."
"Life or death?"
Cain turned to Arnold with an amused expression, but not one of acknowledgement.
"Flee or fight."
It was several minutes before anyone could find the words to speak, and even then Arnold could hardly believe he was even talking to begin with.
"...What?"
"You see, she cares for your son very much and will do anything to bring him back. And I do mean anything."
"So…what then?"
"You can turn and fight her, take your chance and roll the dice of fate against her, but I warn you, you will lose. Or you can run, let her chase you, tire her out and then kill her."
Arnold shook his head , still unable to grasp what the man was saying, which Cain picked up on quite quickly.
"I want you to run. Let her chase you, let her hunt you - you'll live for a little longer and you might even be able to survive. But I want to see what she will do."
Cain was in front of him now, his red eyes boring deep within Arnold's as the man stood rooted to the ground in fear.
"I want to see just what she is capable of, when she acts on her anger and lets the rage lead her on."
Arnold gulped down his saliva, his spear falling to the ground as he lost his grip on the weapon. A mocking, almost humorous smile painted his face.
"You're insane…"
Cain only smiled, the red in his eyes glowing as a faint trail of crimson mist floated from his eyes, dissipating in the air.
"I know."
***
The walk back was as one would expect, slow, quiet, and full of questions. The Lady and her daughter - Sina - were as quiet as the dead who filled the graves Lia had dug for her escorts. Five bodies; two coach men and three armed guards. The two had nothing to say for this, and kept to the carriage, held within one another's arms.
The supply line reached them just as Lia had finished burning the men, Kal leading the escort with one other familiar face.
Totlac. He led the supply line with his caravan and many freed slaves. Lia was glad to see him, embracing him in a hug the moment he stepped down from his coachmen seat.
But it wasn't this that kept her silent on the walk back. It was the words that raced through her mind as she led her horse onward, dragging behind it the carriage containing the two frightened women. The other horses had run off, so it left Lia with a long and slow journey back with the extra weight on one horse, but it didn't bother her. It left her more time to think, more time to process what had been said.
The story that Cain told her.
'So he ran?'
Since Lia didn't want anyone else hearing this conversation, she made sure that Cain was seated within the carriage, watching over the two women as they spoke in her mind. Those two seemed to relish in his presence, a sense of security falling over them.
'Yes. When I finally did catch up to them, I found their camp abandoned. Their trail leads to the Eastern mountains, a long ways away.'
Lia didn't care about the distance, she only cared enough to hear two simple words.
'Eastern Mountains.'
Lia took a deep breath as she watched her hands shake at the reins. She was nervous, yes, but she was fueled now with a purpose, a chance.
'Do you think we can catch them?'
'It's possible. Their camp wasn't too old so I would imagine they're about a day's journey away. If we're fast then we can catch up to them just as they reach their destination.'
She shook her head, remembering the conversation she had with the Master about the clans and Arnold's assumed destination.
'If he reaches the Fire Clan, we're done for. We won't be able to harm him there since it's another Master's territory.'
Cain frowned from his spot within the carriage, watching as Sina snuggled up against her mother's lap, fast asleep and exhausted from the events earlier.
'Forgive me for asking, but didn't the Master say he had a plan involved to help you?'
'The plan was to remove all the monsters from the area, hoping that Arnold was hiding in one of the sectors. We couldn't cover all of the Earth Clan, so all the surrounding towns and cities were warned about him.'
'So he put out a chase?'
'...'
Lia was silent for a moment, thinking deeply to herself about what the Master had done to solve this little issue of her's.
'Now that I think about it, all he really did say was he would negotiate with the Master of the Fire Clan. Past that, he just put out a wanted notice for the Arnold's team.'
'Lia…You were used.'
'Used?'
'He had no plan for catching Arnold, a newbie Master like him wouldn't be able to request anything of a fellow Clan head, much less for them to give up their most valued Hunter.'
Cain sighed, secretly wishing that he had been there for Lia when she was negotiating with the man. Perhaps then he could have helped her more.
'Now that the monsters have been removed from this land, he has no use of you. He'll keep you around just long enough to display your strength. He wants to use you as his show of power.'
Lia was silent as a mouse, her face shaded by the sun's glare as the heat bore down on her skin. The only noticeable change in her demeanor was how tightly she gripped the reins to the horse.
'Lia?'
'...So what should I do?'
Cain was silent for a moment, his eyes peering through the open window of the carriage as he watched the fields of grass blow against the wind. Much different than the marsh and its sweltering heat and muddy grounds.
'For now, we watch his movements, watch how he acts. If he delays going after Arnold or gives us some excuse, then we know.'
'And if he has just been using me all this time? He's the Clan head for the Earth Clan, I can't force him to do anything.'
'Ah, but you can. For you see…'
Cain turned his eyes towards two individuals, one that laid in deep sleep against her mother's lap, while the other watched the world pass them by slowly from the window seat.
'...we have leverage this time.'
***
Once the caravan full of supplies and the carriage had entered the city, Lia was immediately swarmed by people who lined the streets in hopes of seeing the supplies, some even cheering and hugging one another once they saw it.
But the celebrations didn't stop Lia from catching a few dirty looks in the crowd. Many people still feared her, some had even begun to blame her for the monster attacks, saying that she was somehow responsible, though how that was possible she did not know.
Totlac led his team towards the town square where a small party of the Master's soldiers had already set up a station, taking down names and distributing what supplies the Master could spare from his personal food bank.
The minute the carriage stopped, while Cain skillfully helped the two ladies down, the Maser and a few of his guards, captains and even the commander rushed from the front steps of the Great House.
"Yasmin, Sina!"
He wrapped his arms around the two of them, tears already in his eyes as he hugged them closely, as if he was afraid they would disappear again.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I won't ever ask you to leave again, and if you're truly uncomfortable with the people in the manor, I can move them to-"
Yasmin held a finger to his lips, a warm smile on her face as she looked towards the ground.
"No, it's my fault in the first place. Your people shouldn't have to suffer for my foolishness and arrogance. I was just scared. I was afraid that this nightmare would never end, and I saw how it was changing you."
She held a hand to his cheek, caressing it slightly as she smiled with her own tears filling her eyes.
"I was watching as the kind man I loved turned rough like stone. I don't want you to turn into some political figure. I just want my husband to stay the same."
They hugged once more as Lia and Cain watched them, the latter of which was already digging into their memories from afar, and within Yasmin's thoughts he heard a silent thanks.
'But I know now that a show of strength is necessary when keeping everyone safe. Thankfully I didn't learn that the hard way thanks to him.'
Yasmin stole a glance at Cain, her eyes filled with thanks as he silently turned to Lia, caring little for the thoughts he just uncovered.
"Will you speak with him now?"
Lia nodded her head, slowly, carefully as if she was afraid it would fall off with too much force.
"The arrow has already been drawn, so there's nothing I can do to stop it."
She watched the family reunion with much care and sympathy in her eyes, a small and deep longing for that same love filled her chest.
"I just hope I don't have to use it."
Cain stared at her for several seconds, watching as the wind blew her long hair from her face. He took a deep breath, and sighed as she stood rigid beside her.
"I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid that I have to leave you for a little while longer."
Lia didn't speak, she didn't turn to face Cain and demand an explanation. Instead she just smiled and sighed, a sight that said more than any words could.
"I know. You've been reading my mind for so long I suppose I've learned how to read yours now."
They stood in silence for several moments, letting the wind brush past them in a strong breeze. The sun was now passing through the sky, heading for the other end of the horizon.
Soon it would be night time. Soon the day would be over. Soon another would begin, but what it held they did not know.
"I hope this all ends well. I've been fighting for so long now that it seems almost fake. Like an illusion."
Lia suddenly mumbled to herself, bowing her head to the ground. Cain couldn't see her eyes, but he knew she was tired, he knew she was at peace in this moment.
"I just hope it ends well."
He hoped she would find peace.
"I doubt it will…"
But a lie was a lie.
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