EX-Grade Grass

Chapter 6

Drake pointed his sword at Ren. “Last chance. Kneel and apologize for making the Kane family look bad. Do that and maybe we only break your arms.”

The two men behind him spread out left and right. Their coats hid more weapons. Kael stayed where he was, hand resting lightly on his own sword, watching like this was interesting instead of dangerous.

Ren did not kneel. He pushed the warm feeling in his chest outward.

Grass exploded from the dirt in every direction. Thick vines shot toward Drake’s legs and the two men’s arms at the same time. Sharp leaves spun through the air like knives.

Drake burned the first vines with a burst of fire, the same way Victor had. But Ren made more grow faster. One vine wrapped around Drake’s sword arm and squeezed hard. The two men cut through their own vines with practiced swings, but the grass kept coming.

Kael still did not move.

Drake shouted and forced more fire down his arm. The vine blackened and broke. He charged straight at Ren, sword glowing red.

Ren grew a solid wall of grass in front of himself. The sword slammed into it and cut halfway through. Before Drake could pull free, Ren shaped the wall into spikes that pushed outward. Drake jumped back, but one spike scraped his shoulder and left a thin line of blood.

One of the men circled behind Ren and swung a heavy axe. Ren dropped low and sent a wave of grass across the ground. The man’s feet tangled. He fell hard. Ren did not stop to finish him. He turned back to Drake.

Drake’s face was red with anger. “You think grass can stop us forever?”

He slammed his free hand on the ground. A circle of fire spread out from his feet, burning everything green in a wide ring. For a second the field was clear of grass.

The second man used that second. He rushed in and slammed a fist into Ren’s bruised side. Pain flared white-hot. Ren’s knees buckled. The man followed with a kick that sent him rolling across the dirt.

Drake walked closer, sword raised. “Stay down this time.”

Ren tasted blood. The warm power flickered but did not disappear. He pressed one hand to the ground and pushed everything he had into it.

Grass did not just grow. It erupted. Long, thick stalks shot up around Drake and the two men like a sudden forest. The stalks hardened into something close to wood. Leaves became sharp edges. In three seconds the three attackers were trapped inside a cage of green that rose higher than their heads.

Drake burned and cut, but every stalk he destroyed was replaced by two more. The two men hacked wildly. Their weapons got stuck. One of them cursed when a leaf cut his hand.

Kael finally spoke. “Enough.”

His voice was not loud, but it carried. He walked forward and drew his sword in one smooth motion. The blade looked plain, yet when he swung it once, a clean arc of light cut through an entire side of the grass cage. Stalks fell in a neat line.

Drake and his men stumbled out, breathing hard. They stared at Kael’s sword.

Kael looked at Drake. “You were told to leave the boy alone after the academy. Your uncle’s words, not mine.”

Drake wiped blood from his shoulder. “This is family business. Stay out of it.”

Kael’s eyes turned colder. “Your family business is making noise in places it should not. My employer dislikes noise.”

For a moment no one spoke. The only sound was the remaining grass slowly settling.

Drake glanced at his two men, then at Ren still on one knee, then back at Kael. He was angry, but he was not stupid. He lowered his sword.

“This is not over,” he said to Ren. “Next time there will be more of us.”

He turned and walked away. The two men followed, one still holding his cut hand. They disappeared between the trees.

Ren stayed on the ground, one arm wrapped around his side. Every breath hurt. The grass around him faded back into normal dirt until only scattered green scraps remained.

Kael slid his sword back into its sheath. “You held your own longer than most level-two awakeners would against three trained fighters. That talent of yours is not simple grass.”

Ren forced himself to stand. His legs shook. “You knew they were coming.”

“I knew someone from the Kane family would try again,” Kael said. “I did not expect them this soon. You should be dead right now. The only reason you are not is because I was ordered to keep you alive long enough to hear the offer.”

Ren wiped blood from his mouth. “What happens if I still say no?”

Kael looked at him for a long second. “Then I walk away. The next person who finds you will not give warnings or second chances. The Kane family wants you broken. Other groups want to know how a boy with an unknown talent fights like that. Some of them collect interesting people. Some of them cut interesting people apart to see how the power works.”

The words settled like cold water.

Kael took a small black stone from his pocket and tossed it to Ren. Ren caught it on pure reflex.

“Crush that stone if you decide to accept,” Kael said. “It will tell me where you are. You have until midnight tomorrow. After that the offer ends, and I stop protecting the area around you.”

He turned to leave, then paused. “One more thing. The Rein girl who helped you yesterday? Her family and the Kane family have old bad blood. That is the only reason she stepped in. Do not expect her to save you again. She has her own problems.”

Kael walked into the trees and was gone.

Ren stood alone on the quiet hill. The black stone felt heavy in his hand. His side burned. His inventory still held the cores from the goblins, but they suddenly felt small.

He looked at the stone for a long time.

If he crushed it, he would belong to someone he had never met. If he did not, the next group that found him might not stop at bruises and threats.

The sun was going down. He needed to get back to the safe zone before the monsters grew bolder in the dark.

Ren put the stone in his pouch and started walking. Every step sent pain through his ribs. He kept one hand ready to call the grass if anything moved in the shadows.

Somewhere behind him, in the city or deeper in the dungeon, more people now knew his name and what his talent could do.

And the clock until midnight tomorrow had already started.