Chương 59: The Bells of Velaris

The first bell rang once. Then another answered it from the southern quarter. A third followed from somewhere beyond the market. Within seconds, the whole city was ringing. The sound came through the walls of the abandoned building in uneven waves, each bell slightly out of rhythm with the others. It was not the measured toll of a ceremony. It was an alarm, and the people of Velaris knew the difference. Doors opened. Voices rose in the streets.

Somewhere nearby, a horse broke loose and clattered through the darkness while someone shouted for the guards. Inside the building, nobody moved. The man holding the blade against Darin's throat was the first to recover. He glanced toward the broken window.

"What did you do?" Leo looked at him.

"I walked through a window." The man stared. For the briefest moment, Leo thought he saw genuine confusion in his eyes. Then the man laughed.

"You really are strange." Leo's sword remained pointed at the floor.

"Let him go." The man pressed the blade slightly harder against Darin's neck.

"You don't understand the situation."

"I understand enough."

"You don't know what that boy is carrying."

"No." Leo's gaze moved to Darin.

"But I know what you want." Darin said nothing. His eyes met Leo's for only a second before shifting away. There was something in that look that Leo couldn't quite place. Fear, certainly, but not only fear. Shame, perhaps. Or the exhaustion of someone who had spent too long carrying a secret that was never meant to become his. The leader noticed the exchange.

"You've met him before."

"We've been traveling together," Leo said.

"And yet you don't know him."

"I didn't say I did." A strange silence settled over the room. Then the leader smiled.

"That makes two of us." He pulled Darin to his feet. One of the other men moved toward the door.

"Forget the boy. We have to leave." The leader shook his head.

"We're not leaving empty-handed." His attention returned to Leo.

"Take off the mask." Leo almost laughed. Not because the demand was amusing, but because it was so familiar. People always wanted to see the face behind something they feared. As though a face could make a mystery smaller.

"No." The man's expression hardened.

"Then I'll remove it myself." He shoved Darin aside. The other three attacked. Leo moved before the first sword had fully cleared its sheath. He stepped into the attack rather than away from it, turning his shoulder so the blade passed across his cloak. His own sword came up beneath the man's guard and struck the flat of his weapon hard enough to send it spinning across the room. The second attacker came from Leo's left. Leo caught the movement from the corner of his eye. He turned. Steel met steel.

The impact rang through the building. The man was stronger than the scouts in the mountain pass, but his technique was crude. He relied on force whenever a smaller movement would have been enough. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Leo gave ground once. Twice. Then he changed the rhythm. Heavenly Demon Step. His foot touched the floor. His body slipped past the man's shoulder. The swordsman turned too late.

Leo struck him behind the knee with the pommel of his sword. The man dropped. Leo's blade stopped at his throat.

"Stay down." He released him. A dagger flew toward Leo's back. Darin shouted. Leo twisted just before the weapon reached him. The dagger struck the wall. The third attacker had already drawn another. Leo looked at him. The man hesitated. That hesitation cost him. Leo crossed the room in two steps. The man's eyes widened as Leo's sword stopped against his chest.

"Don't." The word was quiet. The man dropped his weapon. Leo turned. The leader was gone. So was Darin. For half a second, Leo stood completely still. Then he heard footsteps above him. The roof. Leo sheathed his sword and moved. He emerged onto the roof just in time to see two figures disappear across the neighboring buildings. Darin was being dragged along by the leader. Leo ran.

The rooftops of the old quarter were uneven, connected by narrow gaps and wooden bridges built by people who had long since stopped caring about whether the structures were safe. The leader was fast. Faster than Leo expected. He moved with the confidence of someone who knew the district well. Darin struggled in his grip.

"Let me go!"

"Quiet." Leo closed the distance. The leader looked back. Their eyes met. For the first time, the man's expression showed something other than confidence. He stopped. Darin nearly stumbled. Leo landed on the roof several meters away.

"End this." The leader smiled.

"You still don't understand."

"Then explain it."

"You think this is about a crystal." Leo said nothing. The man's hand tightened around Darin's shoulder.

"It isn't." He reached into his coat and removed a small silver-threaded token. The symbol caught the moonlight.

"The crystal is only a key." Leo's eyes narrowed.

"A key to what?" The man smiled.

"You'll find out." He crushed the token. A burst of smoke erupted around him. Leo moved forward, but the smoke expanded too quickly. By the time it cleared, the leader was gone. Darin remained. He was standing alone on the roof, staring at the place where the man had disappeared. Leo approached.

"You let him take you." Darin looked at him.

"I had no choice."

"You could have shouted earlier."

"I did." Leo looked at him. Darin lowered his eyes.

"You were already fighting." Leo said nothing. Below them, the bells continued ringing. But now another sound had joined them. The distant roar of people moving through the streets. Guards were coming. Darin looked toward Leo's mask.

"You shouldn't have come."

"I know."

"They'll come after you now."

"They already were." Darin's expression changed.

"You know about them?"

"Enough." Leo turned toward the edge of the roof. Darin caught his sleeve. Leo looked down at his hand. Darin immediately released him.

"Sorry." Leo waited. Darin swallowed.

"My family has dealt with them before." That was the first honest thing he had said. Leo looked at him.

"How long?"

"Years."

"And the crystal?" Darin hesitated.

"My father found it."

"Where?"

"In the mountains."

"When?"

"Three months ago." Leo's expression remained unreadable.

"And he gave it to you?"

"No." Darin looked toward the city.

"He died." The words were simple. There was no dramatic pause afterward. No attempt to make them heavier than they were. Leo understood that kind of grief. Sometimes the worst thing about losing someone was how ordinary the sentence sounded when you finally said it aloud.

"My father was transporting goods through the eastern mountains," Darin continued.

"His caravan disappeared. When they found the wagon, he was already dead. The crystal was hidden beneath the floor."

"Why did you keep it?"

"I didn't know what it was."

"And now?"

"I still don't." Leo studied him. He believed him. At least partly.

"What did the man mean when he said your family owed them?" Darin looked away.

"My family used to work with them." Leo waited.

"Not willingly," Darin added.

"At least, that is what my father always told me."

"Doing what?"

"Transporting things."

"What things?" Darin's face tightened.

"I don't know." Leo almost asked another question. Then stopped. He had no reason to become Darin's investigator. The bells were still ringing. Guards were approaching from the eastern street. Whatever happened next would involve the authorities. Leo stepped back.

"You should go." Darin looked at him.

"Where?"

"Anywhere that isn't here."

"And you?" Leo glanced toward the opposite rooftops.

"I was never here." Darin looked at the black mask.

"You're serious."

"Yes."

"Why?" Leo's gaze settled on the distant mountains.

"Because people who know my face tend to become problems." Darin almost smiled.

"You're strange."

"So I've been told." Leo turned away.

"Wait." He stopped. Darin reached beneath his coat. For a moment, Leo thought he was going to reveal the crystal. Instead, Darin removed a small piece of folded paper.

"My father left this." Leo looked at it.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"Then why give it to me?"

"Because they were searching for it too." Leo did not take it.

"Keep it." Darin frowned.

"You don't want it?"

"No." Leo looked at him.

"Whatever is written there, you're the one who needs to understand it." Darin slowly folded the paper again.

"Then why did you save me?" Leo considered the question. The answer came easily.

"Because I happened to be there." Nothing more. No grand reason. No promise. Darin nodded. Leo walked away. He left Velaris before sunrise. There was no farewell. Serah was asleep when he departed, or at least he assumed she was. Rowan had left a note downstairs complaining about the inn's coffee, and Darin's room was empty. Leo suspected Darin had already left. That was probably for the best. The eastern road stretched ahead beneath a sky that was slowly turning gray. He walked alone.

For several hours, the city disappeared behind him. The mountains grew closer. Eventually, the road split into three paths. One continued east toward the Red Plains. Another curved north toward the mountain settlements. The third disappeared into a forest marked only by an old stone sign. Leo stopped. He unfolded his map. The eastern route would take him toward the regions he had originally intended to explore. The northern road, however, passed close to the mountains where the missing caravans had disappeared.

He stared at it for a long time. Then folded the map. He took the eastern road. He had already decided. He would not chase every mystery that crossed his path. There were too many. And he had spent another life allowing mysteries, enemies, and ambition to dictate where he went. This life would be different. He would choose his road. Even if that meant walking away. Leo continued east. Behind him, Velaris was waking. Ahead, the mountains waited. And beneath his cloak, the black mask rested against his side.

The name attached to it was spreading. He could feel that much already. But names were fragile things. People created them. People changed them. People eventually forgot them. Leo had no intention of becoming a legend. He only wanted to become strong enough that no one could decide his path for him again. The road disappeared into the morning mist. Leo kept walking. End of Chapter 59.