Chương 60: The Road That Wasn’t There

The road east of Velaris was nothing like the roads Leo had traveled since leaving the capital. For the first few hours, it followed the river, winding between low hills covered in dry grass and scattered trees whose leaves had already begun to yellow. By noon, however, the river disappeared behind the hills, and the road narrowed until two wagons could barely pass one another without one of them leaving the packed earth. There were no milestones. No merchants. No travelers. Even the birds seemed quieter.

Leo noticed the absence long before he understood its cause. He had been walking since before sunrise, carrying only what he considered necessary. His cloak was plain, his sword concealed beneath it, and the black mask remained hidden inside his pack. There was little reason to wear it here.

The road had taken him far enough from the capital that nobody should have recognized him, and he had no desire to attract attention simply by walking through another settlement as the figure people had begun calling the Heavenly Demon. The name had spread faster than he expected. That was one of the reasons he had chosen to travel without companions. People became troublesome when they believed they knew who you were. Leo stopped at the edge of a shallow slope and looked ahead.

The road continued for perhaps another kilometer before vanishing into a dense stretch of forest. He studied it for several moments. Something was wrong. Not dangerous. Not yet. Just wrong. The grass beside the road had been flattened recently, but not by carts or horses. There were footprints beneath the weeds, too numerous to belong to a single traveler, and most of them were partially concealed by someone who had deliberately dragged branches across the ground. A poor attempt.

Leo crouched and touched one of the impressions. Boot. Heavy. The heel had sunk deeper than the toe. Someone carrying weight. He followed the tracks with his eyes until they disappeared beneath the trees. Then he noticed the second detail. There were no tracks coming out. Leo straightened. A distant sound reached him. Metal striking wood. Once. Then silence. He remained still. A minute passed. Nothing followed. He could have continued east. That was what he had intended.

Velaris was behind him, and whatever had happened there was no longer his concern. Darin had his own problems, his father's letter, and whatever connection his family had possessed with the organization carrying the black crystals. Leo had deliberately refused to become involved. He had made that decision for a reason. A journey became meaningless if every strange event on the road dragged him back into someone else's affairs. Yet the absence of travelers bothered him. Not because he cared about the road.

Because someone had made it empty. Leo stepped away from the road. He entered the forest without drawing his sword. The trees were close together, their branches forming a rough ceiling overhead. Sunlight reached the ground in narrow strips, and the deeper he went, the cooler the air became. After roughly two hundred meters, he found the first wagon. It lay on its side between two trees. One wheel had been broken. The canvas covering had been cut open. There were no horses.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. No bodies. Leo examined the ground. Three sets of footprints. Then six. Then more. The tracks became confused around the wagon, but one trail continued deeper into the forest. Blood stained a piece of torn cloth caught on a branch. Fresh enough to still carry a faint smell. Leo's expression hardened. He followed. The trail led him downhill until the forest opened around a narrow stream. Someone was sitting beside it. A boy.

Perhaps fourteen. His back was against a tree, and one hand was pressed tightly against his thigh. Blood had soaked through his trousers, but the wound was not immediately life-threatening. The boy saw Leo and reached for the knife lying beside him.

"Don't." Leo's voice was calm. The boy froze. For a moment, neither moved. Then the boy's grip tightened around the knife.

"Are you with them?"

"No."

"How do I know?"

"You don't." The answer seemed to confuse him. Leo approached slowly and stopped several steps away.

"Who are they?" The boy looked toward the forest behind Leo. His face had gone pale.

"I don't know."

"You do."

"I don't." Leo glanced at the wound.

"That cut wasn't made by a sword." The boy said nothing.

"Someone wanted you alive." The boy's eyes shifted toward him. Leo continued, "If they wanted you dead, you wouldn't have escaped." A long silence followed. Finally, the boy lowered the knife.

"They took my sister." Leo did not immediately respond. The boy swallowed.

"There were six of them. Maybe seven. They came to the village last night. They said they were looking for someone, but nobody knew who. Then they started taking people."

"Where?"

"North." Leo looked toward the trees.

"How long ago?"

"Maybe two hours."

"How many people?"

"Eight."

"Armed?" The boy nodded.

"All of them?"

"Most."

"Any mage?" The boy hesitated.

"One."

"What kind?"

"I don't know. He didn't use a spell." That answer interested Leo more than it should have. He looked at the boy again.

"What did he do?" The boy's breathing became uneven.

"He touched the ground."

"And?"

"The trees moved." Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. Not a normal earth mage. Perhaps a druidic technique. Perhaps something else entirely.

"Where is the village?" The boy pointed through the trees.

"About half an hour north." Leo looked at the blood on the boy's leg.

"You can't walk there."

"I have to."

"You'll slow them down."

"My sister—""I'll bring her back." The words left Leo's mouth before he considered whether he wanted to make the promise. The boy stared at him. Leo sighed quietly.

"I'll look." It was not a promise. That distinction mattered. He took a strip of cloth from his pack and handed it to the boy.

"Press that against the wound."

"What about you?"

"I'll be back." Leo turned toward the northern forest. The boy called after him.

"Why are you helping me?" Leo stopped. For a moment, he thought about the question. There had been a time when he would have answered without hesitation. In his former life, people were assets, enemies, liabilities, or obstacles. Compassion had never been absent from him, but it had rarely been allowed to interfere with purpose. That man had died a long time ago. Perhaps Leo had not completely become someone else. Perhaps he simply had more choices now.

"I don't know," he said. Then he walked away. The forest became denser as he traveled north. Leo moved without making unnecessary noise, following faint traces through the undergrowth. The kidnappers had not bothered to conceal their route after leaving the village. They were moving quickly, which meant they either believed nobody was following them or did not care if someone did. Neither possibility was comforting. After twenty minutes, Leo heard voices. He stopped behind a large oak. Five men stood in a clearing.

Two were guarding a group of villagers. Three others were examining a wooden crate. The missing people were bound together with rope. Among them was a girl of perhaps sixteen. She had blood on her cheek. The boy's sister. Leo counted again. Five. The boy had said six or seven. The sixth was nowhere in sight. Leo waited. One of the men opened the crate. Inside were black stones. Not crystals. Not mana stones. Something rougher. Each one had the same faint silver thread running through its surface.

Leo's attention sharpened. The same material. The same organization. The same symbol. He had encountered the pattern in Velaris. He had told himself he would leave it behind. Apparently, it disagreed. One of the kidnappers lifted a stone.

"Still warm." Another looked toward the northern trees.

"The buyer won't wait."

"Then we move."

"What about the mage?"

"He'll meet us at the river." Leo remained behind the tree. So the missing man was not here. That explained the confidence. These men were only transport. He could attack them. But the villagers were too close. If the fight became chaotic, someone could die before he reached them. Leo slowly drew his sword. The blade came free without a sound. He lowered his stance. The first guard turned. Too late. Leo crossed the clearing in a single movement.

The man's weapon had barely cleared its sheath when the pommel of Leo's sword struck his wrist. Bone cracked. The weapon dropped. Leo pivoted and drove his shoulder into the man's chest, sending him backward into the second guard. The clearing erupted.

"Enemy!" The third man raised his hand. A spell began to form. Leo's sword flashed. Not toward the man. Toward the ground. The blade struck a buried root and severed it. The tree above them shifted. The mage's spell collapsed when his concentration broke. Leo stepped forward. Heavenly Demon Step. His body seemed to disappear between one breath and the next. The mage found Leo directly in front of him. A fist struck his stomach. Air left his lungs.

Before he could fall, Leo caught his collar and threw him against a tree. The remaining two attacked together. One used a short spear. The other carried a heavy axe. Leo moved between them rather than away. The spear passed over his shoulder. The axe came from the opposite side. Leo caught the spear shaft beneath his arm, twisted, and forced its wielder into the axe's path. The axe stopped inches before cutting into his companion. That hesitation was enough. Leo's knee struck the axeman's ribs. The man folded.

The spear wielder tried to pull free. Leo twisted the weapon from his hands. A second later, both men were on the ground. The entire fight had lasted less than ten seconds. The villagers stared at him. Leo sheathed his sword.

"Stay where you are." He cut the ropes. The girl looked at him.

"Who are you?" Leo did not answer. A sound came from the forest. A branch breaking. Then another. Leo turned. The missing man had arrived. He stood at the edge of the clearing. He was older than the others, perhaps forty, wearing a dark coat covered in pieces of bark and leaves. His eyes settled on the unconscious men. Then on Leo.

"You again." Leo's expression changed slightly.

"Have we met?" The man smiled.

"No." He touched the ground. Roots erupted from beneath the soil. Leo moved. The first root struck the place where he had been standing. The second tore through the clearing. The villagers screamed. Leo jumped onto the trunk of a fallen tree as roots twisted around him. The man's smile disappeared.

"You should have kept walking." Leo drew his sword.

"That's what I was planning." The forest shook. And somewhere beneath the roots, something enormous began to move. End of Chapter 60.