Banished Pt. 19

"This is far enough," I said, and she frowned.

"Not in the mood to play?" she asked, and I sighed.

"I'm tired of these games," I said, and she brushed my cheek with an almost strangely genuine kind of affection.

"Beautiful children indeed," she whispered. "I need you to change me with your spell. Only then can I be free."

I eyed her.

"You're still bound to this shadow monster?"

She nodded.

"There are less restrictions on me. I am after all of the same tier as Leona; but his binds are unbreakable without some assistance."

I studied her.

"Why do you need me to change you?" I asked.

"The manners of all binding are the same; a name is given, and that name represents the very essence of the one who is named at the time of the naming. But if that essence were to change..."

"Then they no longer answer to the given name," I said, and she smiled.

"Very good, mon ami. Now bend me into something I am not."

I bit my lip.

"How?" I asked, and she smiled.

"Make me love you with all that I am," she said, a teasing smile on her lips.

"Loving me? That would be enough?"

My thoughts immediately went to Raul, not merely because of the introduction of Alva into his life, but who had indeed changed substantially from who he was on the day that he pledged to me.

"For some, it would not. To love, is after all, so human. But I can barely be described as such; and loving a man like you?"

She shuddered a little, before continuing:

"Loving a man like you would make me the very thing that I am least."

I studied her carefully.

"How much energy would it take for me to use a suggestion strong enough to make you fall that deeply in love?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"If I resisted? Perhaps more than you could manage at full strength. But that is the beauty of your suggestions, mon ami. If I am willing...? And I most certainly am; then the suggestion will take just... 'un petit peu'," she finished, gesturing a small bit with her fingers, and I chuckled a little at the gesture.

Cute, I thought.

"So, if I do this, you'll tell us what we need to know to defeat this monster? And...?"

"Yes, yes," she said, waving her hand quickly. "You will have all you desire, and I will go off and fetch my armor, then I'll find a cute little cottage house, settle down, and spend the rest of my days dreaming of my long-forgotten love."

I raised an eyebrow at this, and she laughed.

"Oh, I jest, mon ami. As soon as this is done, I will break free of your spell and do as I wish," she said.

"Fine; we have a deal," I said. "Uh...?"

"Amelie," she said. "You may call me Amelie."

I nodded as I activated my skill, and I could feel her energy threads extending to me, creating a direct pathway to her own core.

But as I began to weave the suggestion, I suddenly realized that I had little idea of how to create a compelling argument for falling in love.

I mean, what was love, really?

I wasn't entirely sure I really understood, but my mind went to Cameron, and rather than words, I began to convey through our link the things that I felt in my most intimate moments with Cameron, and after doing this for a bit, Amelie suddenly severed the link between us.

"I- I think that should be enough," she said.

There was a little flicker in her eyes, and I could tell that she seemed a little unsettled.

"Can you tell if you're free of it...?"

She nodded quickly, that same slightly distracted expression on her face.

"We should be quick. I will need to make my escape from this place soon. Ethan has a special skill which increases his abilities based on what he's fighting."

I shook my head.

"What? So, the stronger the opponent-?"

"The stronger he is," she replied, nodding. "We made the mistake when we fought him; going at him together. It made him virtually unstoppable. You need to make sure no one raises a sword to him as the ability increase lasts for some time."

"Then I'll need to face him myself," I suggested, and she smiled.

"Yes, mon ami. You are his kryptonite. You have collected many abilities, but all of them, just about tier-one. If anyone can beat him, it is you."

I bit my lip.

"And the shadow monster?"

The girl sighed.

"Nizhalgal. You will need to be wary of him; he can summon shadow versions of any of the people who were killed under his control."

"Then Leona?"

She nodded.

Having Raul with us would be a must then; just not to fight Ethan.

"Is that everything?" I asked, and Amelie nodded.

"Your girlfriend is in a room in the western wing of the fort, on the third floor. Ethan has been up there for the past two days. We don't know why, but whatever he has been doing, his energy level always seems close to depletion."

I swallowed uncomfortably, and to my surprise, Amelie rested a hand against my cheek.

Her eyes wavered a little, then without warning, she kissed me; our lips pressing together for just a lingering moment, before she quickly broke away.

"Be well," she whispered, before turning and hastily heading off.

I looked after her as she vanished into the night, before turning and heading back to the main group.

"Where's the girl? Gone?" Casey asked, and I nodded in response.

I gave Casey a quick rundown of the info Amelie provided, and fidgeted a bit as she went deep into thought.

"Who's here right now?" I asked.

"Everyone. Your arbiters, some hunters, the Accalians."

"Did you move the whole camp?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Jayden and the newcomers are watching the prisoners back at our old campground, along with Astrid and some of the hunters."

I nodded.

"We'll leave Francesca behind, then; have her and the Accalians escort the new captives back there," I suggested, and Casey studied me.

"I can kind of see the logic, given that we're bringing Raul along; but even with a broken hand, can we really afford to leave her behind?"

"Her hand isn't the only thing broken right now," I said, remembering the defeated look in her eyes, and Casey swallowed uncomfortably, then nodded. "How long before we can head out?" I asked.

"Less than ten minutes, but are you sure you don't wanna rest a little? We have well over one segment before light."

I shook my head.

"I don't want to give Ethan even an inch here. If my son is-"

I cleared my throat a little, lowing my voice to a calmer register before continuing:

"If my son is still alive, then this can get complicated. We might not be able to move Cameron until she gives birth, and if that's the case, we'll have to hold the fort until she does," I said. "Evie can come with us, right?"

"Uh, yeah..." Casey said, "but there'll be no one at the camp to treat Francesca."

"She can treat herself. Alva is here too, right?"

Casey nodded.

"Find out if she can deliver a baby, and if she'll come along for the trip."

Casey nodded, then turned to leave.

As she walked away, she passed Evie, who shot me a worried look.

"Do you really think the baby survived?" Evie asked.

"Speculating doesn't matter right now. We need to prepare for Ethan, then consider the eventual outcomes and plan accordingly."

Evie studied me a bit.

"Are you sure that's all it is?"

I bit my lip, then shrugged.

"Focusing on anything else right now would just be a distraction."

Evie guided me to a sitting area in the midst of the group, then placed a hand over mine.

"I understand, you know? You want to believe that-"

"It's fine," I said, taking her hand. "I'm not gonna lose my shit if the baby turns out to be dead; if that's what you're afraid of."

Evie swallowed uncomfortably, then nodded, before moving to examine my throat which Leona had very nearly crushed.

"If you were tier-one or less, you'd be dead right now," Evie said, sighing as she examined the damage, and I nodded.

"Did you take a look at Francesca?" I asked, and Evie bit her lip.

"Yeah. The break is clean, and I've already set it... what happened though? I've never seen Francesca look like that."

I sighed, shaking my head.

"I think she's finally seen what a real monster looks like. It was strange, though. That woman was after her, specifically."

"Ethan's orders?"

I nodded.

Evie rubbed her chin, her expression thoughtful.

"What's odd about it? He already tried to take Cameron away... and your son? Doesn't it seem natural that he'd start going after the people you care most about, one by one?"

"Maybe..." I replied.

He did say he wanted to teach me about pain and sorrow, right?

Was he testing my desire to protect them?

Or was Casey right, and his entire objective was simply to make me suffer as much as possible by killing the people around me I most cared about?

My mind instinctively went to Lucia, and I shook my head.

One way or another, I would get my answers soon enough.

When we got everyone patched up and ready to go, Francesca made her way timidly to my side.

"Nate, I-" she began, squirming uncomfortably, and I cut her off, placing a hand comfortingly against her cheek.

"You don't need to say anything, kiddo," I said. "Just rest up, okay?"

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes, and I leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

As we saw their group off, she looked back a few times with that same sad look, and I tried my best to convey some reassurance to her.

"Nate, we have a problem."

I turned around to see Casey, her brow furrowed with worry.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The bodies are disappearing," she explained, and I frowned.

"We left armor on a few of them. Did the armor disappear too?"

She shook her head.

I guess this Nizhalgal was preparing for us, then.

"That shadow monster was Ethan's eyes in the forest, huh?" I asked, and Casey nodded.

"If your 'friend' can be trusted anyway," Casey said, and I frowned.

"Do you doubt her?"

Casey shrugged.

"She's the enemy. A healthy distrust seems valid enough," she said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Whether we trust her or not, the way forward is the same right now though, isn't it?"

Casey nodded, biting her lip as she thought a little.

"Except for you taking on Ethan," she muttered, letting out a soft sigh.

"Well then. I guess you have from now until we get there to figure out how we should proceed with that, right?" I suggested, and Casey eyed me.

"Y-yeah," she said, seeming a bit flustered for a second.

While we spoke, the hunting party led by Raul and the hunters finally met up with us, and my eyes were immediately drawn to Raul's new look.

His armor was white and seemed to glow slightly in the darkness of the night; he had the usual five pieces, along with shoulder guards, shin guards, and a quite spectacular looking shield that sported the emblem of a great tree, embossed in something that looked very much like ivory.

His armor had a similar white gilded look to it, and to my surprise, the pieces themselves seemed to have expanded and molded themselves into a form that offered his body much more coverage, leaving very few places that seemed outrightly vulnerable to an attack, and I let out a long, impressed whistle as he approached, but his own expression was one of worry.

"Nate; can we talk?"

"There is nothing to discuss!" Alva quickly responded, moving quickly past Raul to Casey's side. "If the child lives, my attendance is mandatory."

"But Evie-"

"-is a capable healer; but she has not welcomed new life into this world. It is not for discussion, High Protector," she said, glaring at him a little, but even as Raul shot me a pleading look, Alva was already strapping on a pair of greaves, and fixing the attached belt plate into position as she activated the piece.

"This one is for endurance," Casey said, but Alva waved a hand.

"My own endurance will suffice. The life force must be preserved to sustain the life where it is needed."

"She'll be fine; we'll keep her safe," I said, but Raul still seemed uneasy.

Casey and I went over our battle plan while Alva got armored up, then we gathered everyone together, and as they settled down, I nodded.

"Okay; it's time to go over our battle plan," I began. "As far as we know, there are two main threats at the fort to deal with; Ethan, and the shadow monster. So, we'll be splitting into two groups"

"The first group will be led by Nate," Casey continued. "Bianca, Blair; the two of you are with him."

"Fuck yeah!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Finally; making some sensible decisions," Blair added, smirking at me a little.

"You two will be tasked with keeping enemies off of Nate while he engages Ethan," Casey said, stressing the role as much as she could, and Blair frowned, and Bianca made a whining sound in protest.

"Why aren't we fighting Ethan as well?" Blair asked.

"We'll get to that in a bit," Casey replied. "The second group will follow Raul in dealing with whatever the shadow monster throws at us."

"Whatever the shadow monster throws at us?" Nolan asked, and I bit my lip.

"Uh... we've been led to believe that it'll be shadow replicas of all the enemies we've killed."

"Even the crazy-psycho bitch?" Bianca asked, and I nodded.

"Raul will take her on if she is there; the rest of you will handle everyone else," I said.

"You really think you can take Ethan?" Nolan asked, and I bit my lip.

"If the info we got is accurate, then yes, but that hinges on everyone following a very important rule," I said.

"Which is?" Nolan asked, and I took a deep breath before continuing:

"No one raises a weapon against Ethan."

"Come again?" Molly asked.

"Don't even so much as look at him with intent, if you can manage it," I continued, and Molly glanced at Casey, who swallowed uncomfortably, before nodding.

"It seems his unique ability allows him to gain strength depending on the total strength of the enemies he's up against," she said.

"So, if he fights Nate, he's only as strong as Nate?" Blair asked, and I nodded.

"And what if this info is a load of 'B-S'?" Nolan asked, and I shrugged.

"Then we reconfigure and adapt," I replied.

We spent a few more minutes making certain that everyone knew what they needed to do, before getting ready to head out.

We organized into a formation with a forward team consisting of Blair, Lucia, Jordan, and Leanna, along with two of our hunters, while I hung back with the rest of the group.

Evie moved to my side as we walked.

"You're healing yourself?" she asked, her mouth slightly agape, and I nodded.

"It's easier with everyone around to guide me and keep focused on our surroundings, but I got the idea from Ethan back when he was injured."

Evie shook her head.

"Speaking of that... what do you think did that to him back then? Aletta's 'puppy' seemed pretty much unharmed, didn't he?"

I bit my lip.

"Could have done it to himself, maybe? Trying to make us underestimate him?"

Evie shook her head.

"I saw his wounds, and I'm pretty sure they were made by claws," she said, and I shrugged.

"I'm not sure what else was out there, but if a monster escaped the domain and got as far as the Accalian's lands, then it's not too farfetched to assume that there were other dangerous monsters left over from the purge," I replied.

Hans was also still out there, technically, but was he strong enough to hurt Ethan?

I doubted it.

Our progress was consistent but a bit slower than I might have liked, and long before the fort came into sight in the distance, the sun began to rise, and light filtered in through the dense canopy of trees above.

I noted for the first time, however, that the leaves seemed to shine golden under those first rays of light, illuminating the treetops and giving the canopy a true dome-like appearance.

"That's pretty," Evie said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Would you say it's a good sign?" I asked, and she eyed me, smiling a little.

"I can't tell if you're mocking me or not."

I shrugged.

"Beautiful things make me feel at peace. Maybe I want it to be a good sign," I suggested.

"Well... then we'll make it a good sign," she said, and I gave a nod, smiling back.

"Wowoah!"

I turned as the cry came from up ahead.

"What is it?" Evie asked, but as I gazed into the distance, I caught the sight of a group converging on our forward party, and I sprang into action.

"Nathan, don't you dare-"

"Create a perimeter!" I yelled, cutting Casey off as I darted forward. "Bianca, with me!"

She didn't miss a beat, and as we arrived on the scene, I whipped out my halberd and got in between an otherworlder and one of the hunters just as the man was about to strike him down.

I fended off the blow, then getting close, I kicked at the man's knee, then swiping away his weak counter attack, I kicked into his neck with my steel boots and left him reeling on the floor.

Bianca had quickly taken down another otherworlder, and as I scanned the field, I spotted Jordan and Leanna surrounded by three men.

Jordan was keeping them at bay, standing protectively in front of Leanna, but as he moved to engage one of the three, the other two converged on Leanna, and as she covered her head and screamed, shadowy blades sliced outwards from her, cutting the two men to pieces.

Bianca moved in to engage the third man, and Jordan quickly shielded Leanna away from the corpses just as I moved beside them.

"Are they okay? D-Did I- Did I hurt them?" Leanna asked.

"They're just wounded; Nathan's taking care of it," Jordan said, leading her away from the grisly scene, while Blair moved beside me, observing the carnage with a look of admiration.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side," she said.

I nodded, remembering for a moment what had happened the last time we let a psychopath get near to Leanna, but as I looked over at Jordan, I noted how protective he now seemed of her.

Though... I couldn't discount this possibility that this relationship was just a way of ignoring the growing problems between him and Nolan.

"How many were there?"

"Eight," Blair said.

"How many killed?"

"By me, personally?" she asked, but as I shot her a sharp look, she smirked. "Looks like... five. What's going on with that one, though?"

I followed her gaze to Lucia whose fists were clenched, and her hands shaking as she stared off into the forest a little way east of the fort.

Bianca was standing beside her, a worried look on her face.

"What is it?" I mouthed, as I stole to her side, and she shook her head.

"Hans," Bianca said. "She thinks Hans is here."

"He is," Lucia muttered, her teeth clenched, and I stooped down beside her.

I placed a hand over hers, then turned her face towards mine.

"Are you sure it's him?" I asked, and she nodded.

"There; over the water."

I followed her gaze, and bit my lip a little.

Why would Hans be here?

We hadn't seen Hans since the princess used her suggestion on him, but his presence here seemed too convenient to be a co-incidence.

Ethan already had a monster on his team, didn't he?

It was difficult to merely dismiss the possibility that Hans was under his control as well.

We gathered up the survivors and after making them pledge, we tied them up and left them by a thick bit of brush, then we signaled to the rear group to meet up with us.

"We have a problem," I said, as soon as Casey walked over to join me. "Hans is here."

She let out a sigh.

"Fuck. Are you sure?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Lucia wouldn't make a mistake about that," I said, and she sighed.

"What do we do?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"This opportunity is still too good to pass up. We'll just have to assign a squad to deal with him. Gather everyone up."

Casey nodded, and as everyone gathered round, I spoke:

"There's gonna be a slight change of plans," I said, and Nolan let out a frustrated sigh.