Blood Oath of the Shadow

Chapter 11

Sparks of electricity from the Order’s sealing bolts shot out and burned through the theater seat exactly one inch behind Axel’s head cutting off every exit in the blink of an eye. The whole room turned into a high voltage furnace in an instant and the hair on Axel’s arms stood straight up stung by static that sank deep into his bones. The air felt dry and boiling just as it had all those times he stood beside the metal smelting furnace in the Order’s hidden workshop.

Henderson’s hologram faded away leaving the two of them trapped alone inside a web of magic that drew closer like closing jaws. The glowing metal shafts shifted inward narrowing the cage circle fast enough to steal their breath. Axel gasped for air his chest heaving unevenly. The shock of his mentor’s betrayal had shattered the sharp hunter’s instinct he had spent years honing. His mind would not clear and the world spun wildly around him. Henderson’s cold smirk the name Vane carved into the badge Rena’s words sharp as thorns all swirled together into a chaos he could not untangle.

Before he realized it the tip of his silver spear pressed right against the hollow of Rena’s throat. His eyes blazed red and his breath came in ragged bursts like a cornered beast. "You manipulated all of this didn’t you," he hissed his voice cracking with despair. His fingers whitened around the shaft. "You used illusion magic to fake Vane’s name on that badge! You broke my mind with lies! This is all your plan isn’t it? You and Henderson pretended to be enemies just to crush me completely."

Rena did not move back an inch. Fresh blood trickled slowly down her neck staining her collar dark red where the spear pressed against her skin. Yet she did not blink once. Her gaze locked straight into Axel’s eyes. There was no fear no sign of surrender. Only unyielding resolve that stoked the fury burning hotter in his chest.

"If driving your weapon through my neck will bring back that fake black and white world you cling to then do it now Axel." Rena challenged her voice calm but cutting sharp. "Go back to being the blind weapon they control. Be the loyal guard dog until your last drop of blood runs dry! But remember this every drop of mine that falls today will stay with you forever. You will live with questions you will never dare to answer. Who really was Vane? Why did Henderson call you a test subject? Why have you never once asked yourself the truth."

Axel pressed the spear deeper. The skin on Rena’s neck split a little wider and a thin red line trailed down under her collar. He stood at the edge of a choice that would change everything. One more push and it would all be quiet again. He could go back to being the celebrated hunter forget everything he had seen and heard. But the instinct he had always trusted screamed loud that the Order’s rot was no illusion. There were too many traces too many truths he could not pretend not to see.

His hand shook violently. The weight of the spear in his grasp was nothing compared to the burden crushing his heart. He closed his eyes and behind his eyelids Vane’s face rose up again. Vane smiling warmly teaching him that honor was the only thing worth fighting for. Vane who was likely already dead at the hands of the very people now hunting him.

"How can I ever trust you," Axel whispered sounding more like he spoke to himself. "How can I trust anyone ever again?"

Rena heard his quiet doubt. The hardness in her gaze softened just a little. "You do not need to trust me Axel. But trust what your own eyes have seen. Trust the blood on your spear the name Vane carved into silver every word Henderson just spoke. None of this is an illusion. It is the truth you have been running from."

Axel let out a long slow breath and in that moment all the blazing anger in his chest ebbed like a receding tide. He opened his eyes and looked at Rena lying hurt before him blood still seeping from her wound. He realized how close he had come to killing the only person brave enough to show him what was real.

"I cannot do it," he murmured his voice nearly vanishing. He lowered the spear roughly and the metal tip slammed into the wooden floor with a dull thud that echoed through the silent room. "I just cannot."

Rena wasted not a single second. The moment the weapon fell she slammed her palm against the floor with every last scrap of strength she had left. The motion looked weak but from beneath the floorboards two massive shadow spikes shot upward with terrifying force. The inky black shadows tore the wood apart opening a dark chasm right under their feet. The world tilted and Axel fell into nothingness.

They crashed into the murky water running beneath the building a fraction of a heartbeat before the magic cage could grind their bones to dust. The cold bit deep into his marrow thick with sewage and mud but Axel did not care. All he felt was Rena’s hand clamped tight around his wrist pulling him away from the hole that now glowed bright blood red.

The underground current swept them far from the theater. Axel’s body slammed against rough concrete walls over and over as they tumbled through narrow pipes. He fought to keep his head above water and beside him Rena did the same even though her wound must have burned with every movement. No words passed between them. They had no breath to speak. Only the roar of rushing water and their ragged gasps filled the dark.

Finally they crawled out of the drain gasping for air on the wet asphalt beside an empty main road pelted by Jakarta’s freezing rain. Axel lay still for a while staring up at the gray sky pouring water over his face as if trying to wash away every stain and scar.

He leaned against a concrete wall fighting to steady his breathing. Every breath felt like swallowing broken glass. He had cheated death but his life as an official hunter had ended right then and there. There was no going back. The Order would hunt him to the ends of the earth.

Rena sat beside him shivering violently from cold and blood loss. She pressed her wound tight with the last scrap of cloth still clinging to her shirt but red kept seeping through her fingers.

"You holding on," Axel asked his voice raw and hoarse.

Rena gave a faint nod. "I am still breathing. That is enough for now."

Axel huffed a bitter weak laugh. "We are both still standing. That is more than I thought possible today."

Suddenly a loud buzz from the giant billboard across the street cut through the rain. The screen which had been running an energy drink ad flickered wildly then flooded completely crimson. In the center appeared a high resolution photo of Axel pulled straight from the Order’s archives. He stood tall in his clean uniform silver badge gleaming on his chest looking like the very face of protection for the whole city.

But the bold words scrolling beneath his face turned his blood to ice.

WANTED TRAITOR HUNTER. EXECUTE ON SIGHT.

Axel froze staring at his own face now marked as a target for every soul in the city. A line of terrifying warning followed: ^Exposed to high level demonic energy. Extremely dangerous. Do not approach. Report to authorities immediately^

His chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. People who once waved at him who begged for his help when monsters came would now see him as a monster himself. The whole city had become his enemy. There was nowhere left to hide.

"I..." his voice was barely audible. "They have named me traitor. The Order has told everyone."

Rena glanced at the flashing screen then turned back to Axel. Deep behind her exhaustion her eyes held cold certainty. "This is how they work Axel. Change one story and yesterday’s hero becomes today’s villain. It keeps anyone from asking what really happened. You are not the first and you will not be the last."

Axel looked down at the badge still clutched tight in his right hand. He turned it over reading the name once more slowly ^Vane Elric^. His teacher. The man who had raised him like a son. The man silenced for daring to ask questions.

"Now I understand," he whispered. "Why Vane never told me anything. He did not want me to end up the same way."

Rena reached out her trembling hand and touched his arm. "We cannot stay here. They will track blood and magic in minutes. There is an old hideout in the Old Town not marked on any Order map. But we have to move now before every path closes."

Axel lifted his head. Rain still streamed down his cheeks. In the distance faint sirens grew louder by the second. The Order would spare no resource to hunt him down.

He took Rena’s hand and helped her stand. All doubt had vanished from his eyes.

"Take me there," he said firmly.

Rena gave a faint weary smile one that held the thinnest spark of hope amid the storm. They walked slowly away leaving the billboard behind still glowing with Axel’s face.

To be Continued.