Chương 237: A Rank 2 Skybound?!!

The figure made no move, continuing to observe them with those burning red eyes. The stillness was somehow more terrifying than any attack, this predator was studying them, assessing, perhaps even enjoying their fear.

"Why doesn't it attack?" Selene whispered. Dorrik had no answer. By all accounts, Skybound practitioners were savage, impulsive creatures, driven to violence by the red sun's corrupting influence. They didn't employ patience or strategy; they overwhelmed with brute force and bloodlust. But this one was different. Calculating. Methodical. It had eliminated three trained Lightweavers with precise ambush tactics, separating and neutralizing them one by one without ever revealing itself fully.

And that was what truly chilled Dorrik's blood. Not the power, though that was terrifying enough, but the intelligence behind it. A Skybound that retained its sanity, that could plan and execute with such cold efficiency, was infinitely more dangerous than the berserkers they were trained to combat.

"It's toying with us," he realized aloud. As if in response to his words, the figure finally moved. With eerie grace, it rose to a standing position on the branch, balancing perfectly despite the narrow surface. Then it raised one hand, fingers splayed as if in greeting, or perhaps in preparation for some devastating technique. Dorrik tensed, ready to pour everything he had into their barrier. But instead of attacking, the figure turned its palm upward. A small seed rested there, ordinary and innocuous.

With deliberate slowness, the figure closed its fingers around the seed, and when it opened them again, a blood-red flower had bloomed in its place, petals unfurling like reaching fingers. The message was clear: life and death, growth and destruction, all within its control.

"We need to run," Selene whispered urgently.

"Now, while it's distracted." Dorrik nodded slightly. Their barrier wouldn't hold against a full assault from a Rank 2 Skybound. Their only hope was to reach the road, where the increased traffic might deter their pursuer from revealing itself. The hooded figure made no move to pursue as the two Lightweavers fled, vanishing into the forest with the enhanced speed their rank afforded them. This, too, was unexpected, why let them escape when they were clearly outmatched?

Was it arrogance, or did the Skybound have some other agenda that took priority? As he ran, Dorrik risked a glance over his shoulder. The red-eyed figure had turned away from them, attention now focused on the stable yard where Lady Laelyn's group continued their frantic preparations for departure. For a moment, Dorrik considered returning, not to complete the mission, but to warn the innocents about to be slaughtered.

His oath as a Lightweaver demanded the protection of those threatened by the red sun's corruption. But pragmatism overruled idealism. They were no match for a Rank 2 Skybound. Their intervention would only add three more corpses to the night's tally.

"We make for the rendezvous point," he murmured as they put distance between themselves and the inn.

"Orlen should be there by dawn. We'll report what we've encountered and return with appropriate force."

"And Lady Laelyn?" Selene asked.

"If she survives this night, we'll find her again," Dorrik promised, though privately he doubted any in that stable yard would see the morning.

"For now, our priority is bringing word of this Skybound to the Order." And like that the two remaining Lightweavers disappeared into the forest.

In the stable yard of Crossroads Inn, Lady Laelyn watched in horror as the shadowy battle unfolded at the edge of the property. Even from this distance, she could see flashes of blue light, Lightweaver techniques, followed by the unnatural movement of plants that could only be the work of a Skybound practitioner.

"What's happening?" she whispered, her hand instinctively reaching for Beric's arm. The guard captain stood rigid beside her, his experienced eyes assessing the situation with grim intensity.

"An attack," he replied tersely.

"But not on us, at least, not directly." Around them, the remaining guards formed a protective circle, their manifested light-swords casting a golden glow over the hastily prepared horses and carriage. Lady Mara, Laelyn's chaperone and distant cousin, clutched her traveling bag to her chest, her normally composed features tight with fear. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Are those... Lightweavers?" Lady Mara asked, her voice barely audible. Beric nodded once, his expression darkening.

"Assassins."

"And the other presence?" Laelyn asked, her eyes fixed on the stable roof where a robed figure now stood silhouetted against the blue sun.

"That's a Skybound, isn't it?"

"Yes," Beric confirmed, his grip tightening on his light-sword.

"And it appears to be... helping us? Or at least targeting the same enemy."

"That makes no sense," Lady Mara hissed.

"Why would a Skybound interfere with an assassination attempt on a Lightweaver candidate?" Laelyn shook her head, equally confused. The ancient enmity between the Orders ran deep, with centuries of hatred and violence on both sides. A Skybound practitioner had no reason to protect a potential Saintess of the Order of the First Light. Unless... A terrible thought struck her.

"The village," she whispered, connecting the threads.

"The Skybound who attacked Porvale. What if it's the same one?" Beric's face paled as he reached the same conclusion.

"Then it's not protecting us," he said grimly.

"It's eliminating competitors for its own attack." One of the guards, Korin, the one who had been injured in the previous day's ambush, stepped forward.

"Captain, we need to leave immediately. While they're distracted with each other."

"Agreed," Beric nodded sharply.

"Everyone in the carriage. Now." Lady Mara didn't need to be told twice, hurrying toward the waiting vehicle with surprising speed for a woman of her years. The guards followed, maintaining their defensive formation. Laelyn, however, hesitated, her eyes scanning the inn's darkened windows.

"We can't leave yet," she protested.

"Tomas still isn't here."

"We've already waited for him," Beric's expression hardened.

"And, with all due respect, my lady we cannot risk your safety for a village boy we barely know."

"I gave him my word," Laelyn insisted, standing her ground despite the danger surrounding them.

"He saved my life yesterday. I will not abandon him."

"And I won't risk yours for his," Beric countered.

"For all we know, he could be connected to this situation somehow." Lady Laelyn's eyes flashed with indignation.

"That's absurd! Tomas is an innocent victim who lost everything to the raiders. He's not involved in this."

"Nevertheless, my lady," Beric said firmly, "we are leaving now.

"That Skybound could turn its attention to us at any moment."

"Captain!" One of the guards by the carriage called out urgently, "the Lightweavers are retreating, but the Skybound remains!" Beric muttered a curse under his breath, then fixed Laelyn with a stern gaze.

"My lady, I have served your family faithfully since before you were born. I have never forced you to do anything against your will." His voice dropped lower, taking on an intensity she rarely heard from him.

"But tonight, I must insist. Your life, and the future of the Order, hangs in the balance." Laelyn felt tears of frustration sting her eyes. The thought of leaving Tomas behind, especially after promising to take him with them, felt like a physical pain in her chest. But Beric was right, her responsibility extended beyond one village boy, no matter how much she had come to care for him in their brief acquaintance.

"Very well," she conceded, her voice tight with suppressed emotion.

"But we leave word with the innkeeper. And funds for him to travel to Hyelin on his own." Beric nodded tersely, already guiding her toward the carriage with a firm hand on her elbow.

"Agreed. Now please, my lady." As they approached the carriage, Laelyn cast one last desperate glance toward the inn, hoping against hope to see Tomas emerging from the shadows. But the windows remained dark, and the doorway empty.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the absent village boy, a strange ache in her heart that seemed disproportionate to their brief acquaintance. Lady Mara was already inside the carriage, her face a mask of barely controlled panic. The guards had taken positions: two driving, four riding alongside as escort. Beric practically lifted Laelyn into the vehicle, his urgency overriding the usual protocol and deference.

"Go!" he commanded the drivers as soon as he had joined the women inside.

"Eastern road, as planned. Full speed until we reach the forest crossing." The carriage lurched forward with a jolt, the horses responding to the driver's urgent commands. Laelyn steadied herself against the sudden movement, peering out the small window to catch a final glimpse of the inn, and the robed figure still standing on the stable roof, those eerie red eyes now turned in their direction.

"It's watching us," she breathed, a chill running through her that had nothing to do with the night air.

"Keep down," Beric instructed, pulling her away from the window.

"And prepare yourselves for a rough journey. We won't be stopping until we're well clear of this area." The carriage picked up speed as it cleared the inn's courtyard, the horses' hooves thundering against the packed earth of the eastern road. Inside, Laelyn clutched her seat as they bounced over ruts and stones, the driver clearly prioritizing speed over comfort. Lady Mara had begun muttering prayers to the Blue Sun, her fingers tracing protective symbols in the air that glowed faintly before fading.

Beric's attention remained divided between watching out the windows and monitoring Laelyn's reaction.

"I should never have brought you this way," he said after a moment, regret heavy in his voice.

"The northern route would have been safer, despite the additional time."

"You couldn't have known," Laelyn replied, trying to sound reassuring despite her own fear.

"None of us expected my competitors to find us so easily."

"It's not just that," Beric shook his head grimly.

"A Rank 2 Skybound in the same area as Lightweavers... it's too much of a coincidence. Something larger is at play here." Before Laelyn could respond, the carriage suddenly jolted violently, as if something had grabbed it from behind. Lady Mara screamed, her prayers forgotten as she clutched at the nearest handhold. Beric was on his feet instantly, light-sword materializing in his grip.

"We're under attack!" came a shout from outside, one of the escort guards. Beric moved to the door, ready to leap out and confront whatever threat had emerged. His face was set in the hard lines of a man prepared to die in service to his duty. The carriage door rattled, then began to open despite Beric's grip on the handle. He raised his light-sword, prepared to strike at whatever came through. A hand appeared, gripping the edge of the door.

A human hand, not the monstrous appendage they might have expected from a Skybound attack. It was followed by an arm, then a shoulder, as someone pulled themselves up onto the moving carriage from outside. Beric's sword halted mid-strike as a familiar face appeared in the doorway, illuminated by the golden glow of his weapon. Tomas, the village boy, hung precariously from the side of the speeding carriage, his face flushed with exertion and determination.

"Room for one more?" he gasped, a strained smile somehow finding its way onto his features despite the circumstances.