"An ambush!" The guards shouted. Steel rang as they drew it and something else rose in the air, the same energy that Kyrexiel felt, it made the air heavy.
Mana. Kyrexiel knew it now and it was used for powering their bloodline technique. He sat up in the chest to see the battle, the guards had stopped the beast that was twice the size of a normal horse but with a slim build and horns, that was pulling the carriage.
The first thing Kyrexiel noticed was that they were on the worst side of Xandros. The place where the criminals and the underworld live.
Crumbling buildings surrounded them and it was there that dark shapes poured out. They carried weapons, short swords, and daggers.
They surrounded the carriage and the guards.
The guards raised their swords, their faces fell into the flat muted expression of professionals. They formed a triangle around the carriage. The one in the lead spoke. "You dare to attack the blue shield of the Bloodscion?"
The attackers shifted among themselves at the mention of Kyrexiel's mother but that was not enough to stop them because they moved closer.
Kyrexiel counted eleven cloaked attackers, this was getting troublesome. Especially for him, with his hand tied in front of him.
When the guards saw that his words didn't move them he tried another one. "We are tier three, rank one. You are what? Tier two at best!"
The level of Bloodline technique and power of Rashakas were ranked in Tiers. Each with three ranks. Only the last tier has a single rank– the twelfth tier.
"And you are proud of your that." A woman's voice sneered, a voice that was husky and light. "Well then," she stepped forward, the others making way for her. "I am rank three, tier there."
The guards stiffened and Kyrexiel knew why. At tier three, rank three, Rashaka manifested something known as Shorv. A weapon and a reminder of what they are, rolled into one. The Shorv gained more power the higher the rank they climbed.
A Shorv will always leave a physical mark. Like the third hand of Elder Cormac.
The woman removed her hood and showed her face. She was a tall muscular woman with silvery eyes and black braids.
No, Kyrexiel flinched as he saw that what was on her head wasn't hair. It was thick as a braids but the things that writhed on her head were fleshy, even hairy tips.
It reminded Kyrexiel of the rat's tail.
He swallowed and wished for a weapon of his own because immediately the guards saw the woman's Shorv they leaped into action.
Their swords lit up with blue light and they all leaped forward to the woman who laughed and removed two daggers from her waist. But she didn't use it.
Her living hair stiffened and grew long, they shot off like arrows. They were fast and blended well with the darkness. One caught one of the guards in the throat and he crumbled.
The others cut the air and managed to deflect a few arrows but the arrows kept coming and another guard soon fell from an arrow to the forehead.
The last reached the woman and she caught his sword with one of her daggers, and then stepside him and took him out with a quick slash to the throat.
Kyrexiel blinked. And blinked. It happened so fast. In seconds. The guards and the woman moved that fast, they were a blur of colors. He shuddered. How did he end up in Maledicta again?
"Fools," one of the attackers said. "They always thought their High Rashakas count for something, they forget that in front of power, only death is the salvation."
Others groaned. And the woman rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Urlk. No talking nonsense tonight."
Night. That made Kyrexiel look up at what his memory had shown him. The moon here was nothing more than a blue streak, a long brush of silver in the sky, and yet the light was bright.
"What do we have here?" A voice said directly in front of Kyrexiel and he was startled, looking down to see the woman in front of him, her hair had relaxed.
"I....." Kyrexiel trails off. He didn't yet know if they were his rescuers or if they might even be worse. "I am Kyrexiel."
She snorted and her dagger flashed down, cutting the rope that tied him in one swipe. "You don't have to worry. We are not here to hurt you unless you are working with blue Shield?" She leans closer, her silver eyes like a laser on him.
Kyrexiel shifted, unease. He was now thankful that Cormac had dyed his hair and his eyes. "Not that I can remember." He tried for a smile and it came out as a grimace.
The woman studied him, and he felt his heartbeat beat faster but he focused on her face. She's pretty and maybe one year older than him.
She grunted softly, satisfied with herself but her nose wrinkled. "You should remember that you stink." The others on her team laughed with her.
Kyrexiel sniffed himself and realized it was the truth. The blood and sweat from the sanctum was still plastered on him. He bobbed his head. "Thank you?" 'Way to go, Kyrexiel' he told himself mentally.
Urlk slid forward, moving smoothly. He swept his cloak aside and put down his hood. "You are welcome. Do you have anything to thank us though?"
The woman's hand snapped out to smack him but Urlk danced out of reach. "Don't interfere, Elyrixa, we spend a lot to buy information to know they will pass here. We should at least get some kind of compensation!"
Elyrixa folded her hands on her chest. "We don't do it for rewards. If we want, we know where to get those!"
Looking at them, Kyrexiel was reminded of Reginald. He froze. He just remembered that this body had a friend. Reginald. Who was both his friend and guard. Kyrexiel had pushed him away closer to the months that he finally committed his crimes.
He sighed. It has been one hell of a day after changing souls. And his headache was getting worse. He needed sleep so he could think. "Thank you very much, Elyrixa. Since you're not going to kill me for rewards or whatever. Can you let me go now?"
Elyrixa stopped arguing with Urlk, turned to Kyrexiel, and raised her brows. "No," she said flatly. "You work for me now."