Rune System: The Crimson Knight

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Across the stream, the towering cluster of trees shook as a terrifying roar echoed from behind the woods. Then a massive creature shot into the sky, its wide wingspan temporarily blotting out the sun. Wide-eyed, Draàl flinched as the dragon—covered in red, metallic scales—unleashed another deafening roar as it hovered above the gathering. It had barely landed when three individuals jumped off its back, sprinting at the alarmed men.

The first person wore a dark blue tunic, cinched at the waist with a loose belt. Her long, dark dreadlocks swung behind her as she ran, and when she moved her hands, water from the stream obeyed her gestures and lashed out at the men like giant tendrils.

The second person—a rather young man, most likely in his twenties—charged with two daggers in his grip. Wearing a dark-green leather costume, he confused the men he attacked with words he uttered, disorienting their minds as he beat them with impressive combat skills.

But it was the third person who had all of Draàl’s attention.

With flowing white hair, he wore a blood-red, scaly battle armor, cutting his opponents down with a glowing, red-hot sword. His speed and skill were unmatched, and his strength seemed unnatural as he effortlessly picked one of the men and flung him several feet into the air. Like his armor and sword, his eyes gave a fiery red glow, making his scowl look all the more intimidating.

In less than a minute, the trio had plowed through seventeen men, standing over their beaten bodies victoriously.

“Well, that was ridiculously easy,” the young man said, quite disappointed as he combed his fingers through his dark, straight hair. “What does a guy need to do to get a decent fight around here these days?”

“Careful what you wish for, Flynn,” the woman retorted cautiously. “These runeless fanatics are getting more dangerously creative these days. With the experiments I keep hearing about, we might soon face warriors who are completely impervious to magic.”

“I’m disappointed that you believe in such nonsense, Darah,” the white-haired man drawled, though he sounded more amused than disgruntled. “Nothing can be immune to magic. Especially when you possess a powerful rune sorcery.”

“Well,” Darah shrugged, “I’m just saying we should be more careful, Ko’vo. That’s all.”

Draàl watched as she strolled over to the girl, who still maintained a kneeling position and now looked pale and fragile. Darah stood behind the girl, ripping the back of her dress off. She paused for a moment, staring in disbelief with wide, sea-blue eyes. Then she summoned water from the stream again, this time applying it gently to the girl’s back. Within moments, the young girl started to breathe more easily, and her eyes drooped as she became drowsy. When she passed out, Darah walked back to Ko’vo, who’d sent Flynn on an errand.

“The girl has to come with us,” she proclaimed with hands on her hips.

“I know,” Ko’vo replied. “We’ll leave her with the other children at The Shawl. That’s the plan.”

“No, no.” Darah shook her head. “We can’t do that. She has to come with us to the lair.”

Ko’vo stared at her like her brain was leaking from her nose. “Perhaps after you explain why we should do something that reckless, then I’ll remind you of how you said we should be more careful.”

“I know what I said, and I still stand by it. But this girl isn’t like the other children we’ve rescued. She had twelve rune-canceling leeches attached to her back. Twelve, Ko’vo! Most of us would be incapacitated with just one. Yet, given the state of that crumpled knight on the ground, she was able to use her powers to defend herself. That’s raw and extremely rare talent, Ko’vo.”

“These men were part of the King’s Guard, Darah,” Ko’vo countered. “Not ordinary bounty hunters on the chase for quick coins. That either tells you how valuable this girl must be, or how badly they want her dead. In any case, it’s too much trouble to deal with.”

“Which is precisely why she has to be with us at all times,” Darah pressed. “Leaving her with the children whose abilities may never amount to a hill of beans is just a waste of her innate talents, don’t you see that?”

Ko’vo scoffed as he glanced at the girl for the first time. “And you’re absolutely sure about her powers?”

“Twelve rune-canceling leeches!” Darah repeated with open palms. “That’s more fingers than I have. They must’ve known she’d be too powerful to control eventually, that’s why they wanted her dead.”

Ko’vo opened his mouth to respond, then paused when he heard Flynn laughing behind him.

“Look at this!” he called out, still chuckling. “I didn’t find horses, but I stumbled upon this hilarious squire hiding in the woods. He’s already offered me both his betrothed and his sister if I spare his life, and I didn’t even use my dagger or my Compulsion yet.”

Emerging from the woods, he tossed the petrified young boy forward, causing him to grunt painfully as he rolled on the gravel shore.

“What happened to the horses?” Ko’vo inquired, calmly but menacingly.

“She killed them,” the squire revealed, shaking visibly. “With one wave of her hand, a terrible shadow appeared beneath the horses as we chased her and swallowed them all up. That’s how we lost most of our men. I swear, that’s the truth.”

Ko’vo turned to Darah, who returned the look with a raised eyebrow.

“I told you. We should keep her. She’s something else, I can feel it.”

Ko’vo faced the squire again, lowering himself until he sat on his haunches. “Do you know who I am, boy?”

The squire nodded rapidly, his teeth clattering with morbid fear.

“Good,” he said as he rose to his full height. “Then you’ll leave a message for me. Go back to your king and tell him what has happened here. Tell him the Crimson Knight sends his regards.”

As if on cue, the dragon lifted its massive, horned head and unleashed a fiery roar into the sky. For his part, Ko’vo’s hands suddenly ignited with red flames, and he wasted no time in cremating the lifeless bodies on the shore to nothing but smoke and ashes.

Draàl stood there, stunned to silence, in their midst but utterly invisible. When the flames reached him, a force tugged him back to reality. With a sudden, deep breath, his eyes opened with a start. His gaze settled on a high ceiling, decorated with elaborate diamond-shaped patterns, and the gentle breathing of a sleeping Valeria floated into his ears.

He’d finally woken up from his bizarre dream, but with more questions than he had answers to.