Wallace fought all the three.
Vanola had managed to break the barrier and even though Wallace was no match for them, he still fought them. He hit the ground, but got back up, and swung his sword to his will.
Wallace.. why did I never expect this to happen?
My hand reached out.
"Surprised?" Vadon smirked, grabbing a hold of my face. I was losing consciousness. He brought his other hand up and snapped his fingers. "Wallace, the intel."
My eyes flicked to look at his figure furiously keeping the nobles out of our reach. Wallace groaned, "Rustwood village."
"Didn't catch that." Vadon raised his eyebrows.
"Rustwood!" He screamed, "To the south!"
Vadon let me go, standing upright on his feet again.
"Rustwood?" I croaked out, "No,"
My heart was sinking, and the world around me was spinning. I couldn't move a nerve, I couldn't fight. It was as if I was getting betrayed, but at the same time, I was the one who failed.
I felt pathetic as hot tears welled up in my eyes.
Not Aenor. Please, Wallace, tell me you didn't just give away my sister.
At that moment, I realised, after all that I've told him and after all that he's told me, this was the result of my faith in him.
Wallace threw me a glance, no regret in his eyes. "Dark arts," He grinned, "Blood thinning!"
Jonan was the first to crumple, face going pale.
The nobles couldn't keep up. I couldn't imagine what was Wallace doing to them, as they dropped one my one to the floor, drained.
"No!" I cried. "Stop!
Vadon, who was standing next to me, watching the show, heard me and he gladly pressed on my bleeding wound with his feet.
If only I could fight.
If only I could kill Vadon..
Kill Vadon.
I had to kill him.
There was an unexpected adrenaline rush coursing through my body, and in a second, I reached out to my sword, picked it up and pierced it through his chest.
His eyes widened at the sight, blood spilling out.
But he grinned. "Fucking fool, you cannot kill me." That sickening laugh, that laugh I had grown to hate so much in the span of just minutes. "I'm immortal."
His body sunk in, as if melting into the floor.
If only I had someone to call for. Someone to rely on.
"I won't let you get Aenor." I gritted my teeth, muttering to myself. The heavy weapon slipped from my grasp, hitting the ground.
Clinking of swords stopped abruptly.
The absence of movements put me off so much that I looked back on the nobles.
A familiar green lit blade rested against Wallace's throat, barely cutting through. The blade also accompanied a familiar face, a hard jawline and an incredulous look.
"Bind."
It was as if that one command sprang into action and Wallace was bound to himself immediately.
"Oswin?" I hobbled towards him.
"What is happening here?" He narrowed his eyes at other half noble at his feet. "Who are these people?"
"Oswin," I took a deep breath, looking around at others, who were barely awake. Wallace's abilities were powerful enough to totally weaken the nobles. I wasn't surprised, but I never would have thought he'd use it against them. "It's Vadon. We have to stop him."
"Vadon?" Oswin gulped. "Are you sure?"
"There's no time." Eden squeezed her eyes shut, trying to gain her strength together, but cursed under her breath instead.
"He's already on his way." Wallace chuckled. "To Rustwood."
Oswin's head shot up to look at me. "Rustwood?" He questioned.
"He's after Aenor." I cried. "She's a noble. He'll take her."
I had to go. There was no time to waste today, at this moment, right now.
Not even a second to spare.
"We need to get to him before he reaches Rustwood." I nodded, dragging myself towards the gates of the training grounds. "I have to go."
"Wait!" Vanola sprang up to her knees, so that she could have a better look at me. "My ride is yours, take my horse."
My sight flickered, looking back and forth between Vanola and the stables on the backside of the building that I had never visited in the last one and a half months.
"Perfect." I took a deep breath. "I owe you."
"I'll go with you." Oswin looked at me dead in the eyes. "I know how to ride a horse."
"Please, hurry." I heard Eden say, and I glanced at Jonan who was passed out along with Judah. I didn't know if Judah was still breathing. "I will take care of us."
I only had one question from the beginning. And it was simple, yet I hadn't found a proper answer to it.
Why?
Later on, I learned that, the smallest of questions were the hardest to reason with.
Even then, I kept repeating it to myself, day and night. Why? Why was it the way it was?
Why, when I look at the ground, I'm so far away from it, and when I look at the sky, I'm never close to it.
Why was there a place I was trapped in all alone?
Why was I obliged to?
Suffocating.
"You're bleeding." Oswin ripped his sleeves, tying it around my thigh. "Oh my god, you're bleeding."
We were standing next to the horse.
"I know." I said. "Please take me to Rustwood. I can hold on until then."
Oswin nodded, helping me up on the horse. I winced slightly, but it was far from what I was supposed to be concerned about right now.
"Stay put, Quinn. I won't let you die."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yes." Oswin replied. "Anything."
"Why?" I looked down at my blood stained hands. "Why was blood shed? For power? But why? Just why?"
"Sinners will be punished, Quinn. They'll face their death by the hands of God."
I stared at the back of his head as we kept riding the horse back to our hometown.
And for some reason, I hoped his words were nothing but the truth.