We ran for what seemed like forever. I always made sure that Ana didn't get too far ahead of me and that we weren't being followed. I yelled for her to stop. She slowed down and bent over to catch her breath. I stopped next to her and leaned up against a tree, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. I looked back towards the town and couldn't see the orange glow of the fires anymore.
"You're an arsehole, Koga. What happened back there? Where's Louis, and why the hell did you kidnap me?" She asked between her breaths.
"I've been called worse by better people, but thank you anyway. I left Louis unconscious on the ground about three blocks away from where I ran into you. I kidnapped you because I needed a hostage, and that old woman would have slowed me down, and what happened is that they found me, obviously." I sat down, leaning against a tree.
"How did they find you? Nobody told anyone anything."
"All magic users have a unique signature to them, and it makes ripples throughout the ether whenever a magic user casts any spell. I cast a few of them in a very short time yesterday. Healing magic makes a powerful ripple depending on the amount that it's used to heal. So when I healed myself to perfect health, I sent out a beacon, signaling anyone sensitive to those ripples. Mathios has people dedicated to searching for my energy signature. That's how he was always able to find me."
"What other spells did you cast yesterday anyway?" She looked at me with only a little less anger in her eyes.
"Well, another healing spell after the fight with Louis, Shocking Touch to end the fight with him, and a Fire Arrow shortly after I settled in."
"That is a lot of magic. If you knew that it sent off a signal, then why did you use so much of it?"
"Honestly, it slipped my mind. I wanted to be rid of that town as fast as possible, and I suppose I got my wish." I chuckled and then yelled in pain as she hit my shoulder.
"That's for causing my town to burn down." She swung at me again, hitting my other shoulder. "That's for almost killing Louis. Oh, I hope my fiancé is alright. Someone left him unconscious on the ground surrounded by burning buildings."
"Listen here, I didn't cause him to fall unconscious, and I certainly didn't go looking for a fight with him as I made my escape either. So lay off me for that, would you?"
"What do you mean it wasn't you?"
"Exactly what I said. Louis had his knife against my throat and was about to cut me. I was saved."
"Who saved you?"
"I did, and you're welcome for not killing that peasant fiancé of yours who had the audacity of almost killing his better," Amelia said, stepping out from behind a tree. Analise stepped back in fear of the raven-haired woman who had appeared.
"Do you mind not appearing out of thin air? I know you love just dropping in on me, and to be honest, I do too, but we have company right now who's not used to it." I said, looking at my lover with a faint smile.
"Ko-Koga, who's that, and why does it sound like you know her?"
"That's because he does, intimately, I might add. Now, hush, girl, the magic users are talking."
"She can use magic, too, Amelia. I think she might be my cousin or something." I said, standing up, brushing off my clothes. I looked at Analise and saw shock on her face.
"Cousin? I knew your grandfather got around, but I didn't think you would actually meet one of them, let alone kidnap them. What would he think about this?" Amelia teased me. She knew who my grandfather was and never let me be about it.
"What do you mean, cousin? Are you telling me that I'm related to him?" Her face was a mixture of shock and disgust now that things had started to settle in.
"Well, I'm not sure yet. You're not even sure who your grandfather is. I do, so once we figure that out, then I will know for sure."
"Your grandfather is-"
"Justin Thyme, yes. That insufferable old fool was my grandfather. May he rot in pieces and the worms get full from his decaying corpse."
"How can such a wonderful man be related to such an intolerable villain?" Analise mused.
"Wonderful? The old codger was a selfish womanizing jerk who was running from his past to make up for all the wrongs he had done. You don't know him as I did. You haven't seen his journals." I scoffed and quickly felt my voice rising. "What he had to do to become the 'wonderful hero' that this land remembers."
"Koga, as much as I love hearing you yell, you're giving away our position. So quiet down and think for a second besides opening old wounds." Amelia scolded me. Analise chuckled at how easily she was able to curtail my outburst. I shot her a dirty look, and she just smiled at me.
"So, where are we going exactly anyway?" Ana sighed, looking at the two of us.
"I'm not joining you for this part of the journey, but you two are going to Greenwater. It's the next step of Justin's journey, so it is your next step." She said, looking at her fingernails, "I think I broke a nail when I was helping you, Koga. You're going to pay for that later."
"Maybe I will, and maybe I'll end up with a blade in my back when we're in Greenwater." I chuckled, looking at her.
"Greenwater, what's in Greenwater?"
"My inheritance, my grandfather left me a few things in a few different places, and I'm going to get them. Greenwater is just the next place we're going."
"I don't remember hearing about Justin going to Greenwater."
"It's not well known that he went there. It's often left out of his tale. Most people think he left Woods Refuge and went directly to Thren's Shoulder." I explained to her.
"That's a name I haven't heard for a while. I sometimes forget my town had a different name."
"Yes, another monument to his infallible hubris. Well, we should rest tonight and continue our journey tomorrow. Amelia, I would offer for you to stay, but you don't rough it." I looked at my lover and smiled.
"Quiet, and no. I won't join you for the night; my bed is waiting for me, and it's silk sheets and down pillows. Using a log is not something that I will lower my standards for, even for you, love." She shot me a dirty look and walked over to me. She lifted my head and kissed me.
"Sorry to interrupt you, but if she uses magic, won't Mathios know where we are?"
"His men are tuned to my energy signature, not Amelia's. So you two may use spells as often as you like and we won't be found, but as soon as I use any spell more complex than a simple candle lightning spell, they'll know where I am and can predict where I'm going." I said, holding my head to Amelia's, not wanting to let her leave yet.
"And with that, I bid you two farewell. I'm sure I will see you both soon. Sleep well, and remember: if you run and tell anyone where my Koga is, I'll go back and finish the job on that peasant fiancé of yours, and make you watch. Understand?" Amelia said, flashing that look I fell in love with.
"Yes, ma'am." Analise yelped. Amelia snapped her fingers and disappeared in a blinding light. "You two are perfect for each other. Utterly terrible people you two are."
"You do realize we take that as a compliment, right?" I sighed as I stood up, dusting off my clothes of the dirt and leaves. "Right, well, we should build a fire. I'll look for some suitable logs, and you gather small sticks, leaves, and rocks."
"You know how to start a fire without magic? I find that hard to believe. I bet you can't wipe your own bum without magic." Analise chuckled.
"My grandfather taught me a lot of things, and magic wasn't the only thing. Now, stop questioning me and gather what I asked for." I started to walk away and looked back. "If you don't find rocks, it's not the worst thing."
As I walked, my mind drifted towards the letter my grandfather had left. It told me nothing about where the next book in Greenwater was. I had been in the town once before, and I kept a low profile. The less you stood out, the less likely you were to have a knife in your ribs. I bent down and grabbed a log. I grumbled that my robe was getting dirty as I picked up another. I grabbed one more log and decided this was enough for the rest of the night.
I walked back and saw that Ana had gotten a pile of leaves and sticks in a small circle of rocks. I put down the logs and started breaking them. "Thank you for getting these, Lise."
"You're welcome. Huh, hearing you show gratitude is weird after the last few hours." She gave me a soft smile.
"Yeah, well. I learned manners." I snapped my fingers, and a small flame appeared on a small stick that I had picked up. I twisted the twig so the flame started to climb up it.
"Hah, I knew it. You do have to use magic to start a fire." Analise chuckled.
"Shut up, just because I know how to start a fire without magic doesn't mean I will lower myself." I snapped at her.
"Well, aren't you worried about being found?"
"No, this is such a minuscule amount that even if it does register, it'll probably only show up as a flicker and not a beacon. Now, we should get some sleep. It's still a bit of a way to go." I said, pulling off my cloak, and started to cover up with it.
"How far away is it?" She asked, looking at me.
"Well, we'll leave at sunrise, hopefully find a road immediately; if and IF we're lucky, we'll be there in a few days." My eyes were already growing heavy.
"A few days? My legs are already tired from all the running we did; can't we ask Amelia to teleport us there?" She said, yawning at the end of it.
"No, she's powerful but not powerful enough to teleport more than just one more person with her power." I yawned in turn. "Now go to sleep, it's going to be a long journey."
I awoke a few hours later, as the sun began to peek through the trees. The fire had burned down to embers, the birds chirping and leaves rustling in the distance. I smiled at the peacefulness of the situation. I sighed as I destroyed the letter my grandfather had given me. I thought about what he said, and I shook my head at the thought. I sat up, and I rubbed my eyes. Greenwater was not a place I would consider even going back to. Though I knew someone there who would help me out, he owed me one and had been my friend at one point. It was a few days till we got there. I heard rustling next to me, and I sighed, remembering I had a hostage.
"Wake up, this isn't a bed and breakfast. We gotta get moving." I said it a tad more harshly than I meant to.
"Look, I know that you're supposed to be my 'captor'," She said, emphasizing, "But, I know deep down in that serious shell of yours, you are still his grandson. So it wouldn't kill you to be a little nicer to me."
I looked at her and sighed, "Fine, besides, it'll stop you from yelling at me all the time."
"I don't know how to respond to that. I wasn't expecting you to cave that easily. Well, alright then."
"Fantastic, we should get going," I said, standing up and wiping off my clothes. I offered Lise a hand, and she looked wide-eyed at me.
"T-thanks, I suppose," She said, grabbing my hand and pulling herself up.
"You suppose?" I shot her a questioning look, then shook my head. She looked away and dusted off the leaves and debris from the night.
I sighed as I realized that we had no idea where we were. I looked up and saw smoke rising from the town's wreckage. Greenwater was north of where we came from, and judging by the sun, we were east of the city. I chuckled at our luck. I looked toward what I thought was North-West and started walking.
"Wait, how do you know that's the right direction?"
"I'm using the sun and the smoke in the distance as landmarks. I'll admit it's not a perfect system, but it'll definitely get us where we need to go." I said, then kept walking. I could tell it was already going to be a long journey.
"That's actually really smart; now you being his grandson doesn't seem so-" She paused
"Unbelievable? That someone like him could produce someone like me." I started walking slightly faster.
"Alright, I can tell that this is a touchy subject for you, and I'll drop it. I'm sorry I brought it up. It must be hard to be expected to live up to such a name."
"Well, the thing is, I grew up knowing who he was, but nobody around me knew who I was in relation. My father died in a war where he didn't even use his name. I bet you didn't know that's not even his real name." I said, trying to control my sadness and anger from lashing out at her.
"Now that you mention it, his name does sound kinda off." She chuckled, and I could feel myself join in. It was funny how many people thought of him and believed that was his real name.
"He told me what his actual name was when I was young. Of course, to me, he was Grampa. Called him Grandfather to irritate him when I was feeling like a brat."
"I bet you did all the time, I'm guessing."
"Not as often as you would think, and certainly not as often I could have or should have, for that matter." I chuckled.
"Then why do you hate him so much if you have such fond memories of him?"
"You said you were done asking about that."
"Oh, you're right. It just baffles me so much."
"Either way, save your strength. It's gonna be a long couple of days."