Distance had to be put between us and the palace as quickly as possible. They were already sending out men to look for the killers, and several witnesses testified that it had been a kid with long blond hair. I swapped my clothes at some point to further hide myself, and as did Jerric. For him, this was much easier. Less recognizable, and he'd not even been the one to land the death blow. Somehow, he was still grinning stupidly as we fled through the narrow backstreets, moving towards the front gates of Dranum. It was a long way from the palace, but we were fast. Everything was going well until several men in steel armor decorated with the symbol of the Ridgelands seemed to come out of nowhere and block our path. Jerric and I stopped. I was just about to suggest climbing back to the rooftops when Jerric spread his hands out and pointed at the troop of men, sending a wave of incredibly hot flames blazing down the alleyway and washing across them. Screams filled my ears, along with the sound of crackling tongues of fire. Seconds ticked past, and the screaming was replaced by a stark silence and the aroma of burning flesh and hair. Looking on with emotionless eyes, I nodded at Jerric, and we continued. No words were exchanged as the grim pyre faded behind us. Aside from that one incident, we escaped without any difficulties. One job done, one to go.
The further we got from Dranum, the safer I felt. While there was still the occasional rider sent out to carry the news or search for the killers, it wasn't nearly as dangerous as it would be in a city where we were surrounded by the enemy. Although after Jerric's display of ruthless power, I was somewhat less concerned about external threats and more worried about him. Having hardly trained my Gift, I doubted I could stand against the flames he mastered. Speaking of, I decided to work on that as we paced away and left the city at our backs. We'd have a long journey ahead of us, needing to go around the mountains again, through a vast stretch of plains, across a river, and then into the Pine. It would take multiple days even at a quick rate. Nonetheless, I felt out with my abilities and lifted a large quantity of dirt and rocks into the air, upholding the exertion to keep it suspended in the air next to me as I walked. Jerric eyes the clump of earth, obviously questioning it, but waited for a while before saying anything. Curiosity finally took him, though, and he had to ask.
"What's all that for?"
"Practice." One-word answers were all I felt the need to offer. He didn't need to know the real reason.
"You should really ask Yviss to help you with that. It's pretty helpful." Of course, Jerric would recommend the assistance of the Emperor again. As if I was able to get anything from him for free. Although...maybe I could get Jerric's help? It would be shameful and awkward to ask, so I'd put that off.
"The Emperor will not offer his assistance on any matter aside from torture." I glanced at Jerric as I spoke, "Although I assume you've not had to go through much of that."
"Yviss has moved past that," he said slowly, as if doubting himself. He'd seen the Emperor tear open my back right before we left on this mission. "He doesn't torture me, and I don't give him a reason to."
"So you are a mindless slave."
"No, more like I'm his son. He actually likes me." Jerric was truly a fool. There was no way the Emperor truly loved him...that was impossible, wasn't it? Words failed me, and I kept stepping along the rough path in skeptical silence. From the map, we were on one of the smaller roads, but it was still sufficient. Even though it seemed to be nothing more than a poorly made series of stones embedded in the ground to lead the way. Having no response for Jerric, I let the rest of that day be one of little words from me. Being who he was, my companion repeatedly tried to start conversations and get me to talk to him about random things, but I quickly shut it down. We made camp for the night around a small fire lit by Jerric's Gift, and this time it was him standing guard. Regardless, I didn't have enough trust in him to allow myself to slip into the realm of dreams, so I held myself awake through most of the night. Failing significantly, I ended up acquiring two or three hours of involuntary sleep.
Morning startled me. Having fallen asleep, I expected I would be killed. It was quite pleasant to realize that I was indeed alive. Shaking my head to clear it of the haze that comes upon waking from a dream-the same one as usual with the tall man-I got to my feet off the patch of coarse grass I'd slept on. Brushing off my clothing, I spun in a full circle in search of Jerric. Seeing nothing, I grabbed my sword and began circling the spot I'd seen him last in an ever-widening circle. The person himself was nowhere to be spotted, and an eerie silence had settled over the area like a thick fog. No birds, no footsteps, no wind. Each time I moved, it felt like I was disturbing something of incredible importance. I didn't see Jerric anywhere, but instead something else imprinted itself in my vision.
The grass was burned. Not simply a small patch, but immense smoldering letters torched into the earth to spell out three words. Darkness never dies. A chill suddenly hit me, sliding through my body and taking me in its grip. It was clear enough who'd written it, but Jerric wasn't the thing that bothered me. The words themselves could only refer to one man. Why was this here? What had Yviss done to Jerric that made him create things like this? And again, where was Jerric? Mind working in all the wrong ways, I was too slow to see what was coming next.
Knives fly fast when thrown properly. A pure black one was twirling towards the side of my head, and it very likely would have killed me if instinct hadn't taken hold of my body. I twisted myself and my head, causing the knife to merely gash open the side of my face rather than end my life. Ignoring the wound for now, I glared at its source. Jerric was swaying slightly, another knife in his hands already. It was as if he'd appeared from thin air. I was absolutely sure he hadn't been there before. Even from this distance, I could tell something was off. His eyes were the same shade of black as the knife had been, differing greatly from his usual hazel brown. For once, he wasn't saying anything, although I'd prefer to be hit by words than a blade. The next knife flew from his grip, but I was readier to defend against it this time. My sword was drawn and in position to whack it away before it was even truly a threat.
"What is the purpose of this?" I asked Jerric. As much as I expected him to turn on me, I wasn't happy about it. His only response was a line of flames that crawled up his arms from his hands, lighting him up with superheated fire as he drew his blade. Knowing I couldn't defeat him either in fair fighting or with magic, this was going to go terribly. I took a few steps back, torn between fleeing or entering combat. In the slight chance of victory, what would the Emperor do knowing I'd slaughtered Jerric? No safe way through things, as usual. Strangely, it all flipped in an instant.
Jerric's eyes flashed back to normal, and he put away his weapon suddenly. With a smile, he marched towards me through the grass.
"Hey Vite! Good morning for travel, isn't it?" he said, weirdly friendly for a man who'd just attempted murder. I pointed my sword at his chest, keeping him from moving any closer to me.
"You cannot pretend that that did not just happen. Murder is quite a notable thing," I said while gesturing towards the burning words with my free hand, "And that is not invisible."
Jerric's eyes demonstrated shock and nothing else as he turned his head to read the writing on the floor.
"I don't remember putting that there..." He trails off, sounding almost as confused as he looked. Either he was an incredible actor, or he was telling the truth. I refused to let him off that easily.
"I suppose you'll also claim you didn't assault me, and you aren't responsible for this?" Gesturing at the slice across my cheek, I let myself keep speaking. "You can hardly expect me to trust you when you act in such a manner."
"That's the whole point of trust, Vite. You trust that I didn't do any of that, at least not of my own will. The burning does make me look a little guilty, I'll admit." Jerric sounded as if he cared that I trusted him, or that I tried to. I was unable to tell if he was serious or not, or if any of it was real. Maybe it wasn't an ideal choice, but I made a solid decision.
"If this happens again, I will not hesitate to kill you." With that, I spun my sword into its sheath and began walking. Once again, I skipped breakfast. How long had it been since I'd eaten? Two days? Three? Hunger gnawed at my insides, but I ignored it. The needs of the body could be set aside for a while, and I'd settle for distracting myself by walking. We still had a lot of distance ahead of us, and I would waste no time.