The Weakest Commoner Controls All Elements

Price of Survival

"Get your hands off her!" Jolie Hades screamed. She lunged forward and grabbed the wrist of the man holding her daughter.

"Let go of me, you old hag," Edric snarled. He shoved Jolie backward, and she collapsed hard onto the wooden floor of the living room. "You owe me fifty silver coins. Since you cannot pay, the girl comes to work at my tavern until the debt is clear."

Janie struggled against the grip of the two enforcers holding her arms. She kicked at their shins, but they only laughed and tightened their hold.

"I told you the harvest was ruined," Jolie cried. She pushed herself up onto her knees and reached out. "Give me one more week. I will find the money."

"You have been saying that for three months," Edric said. He adjusted the collar of his silk coat and looked around the dilapidated room. "Look at this place. The walls are rotting and the roof leaks. You are out of time, Jolie. Take the girl away."

"No!" Janie screamed. She twisted violently to the left, but the enforcers dragged her toward the front door. "Leave me alone!"

The wooden door to the house suddenly splintered inward. The frame shattered as Jamie kicked it off its hinges. The timber crashed onto the floor, and a cloud of dust plumed into the air.

Silence descended on the room. Edric and his five enforcers turned around in surprise.

Jamie stepped over the broken door and walked into his childhood home. He took in the scene instantly. His mother was on the floor, and two men were holding his sister against her will. The cold nausea in his stomach morphed into sharp focus.

"Let her go," Jamie growled. His voice was quiet and devoid of any emotion.

"Jamie?" Jolie whispered. She covered her mouth with her hand as tears filled her eyes. "You came back."

"Jamie?" Janie echoed. She stopped struggling and stared at the young man standing in the doorway.

Edric looked Jamie up and down. He took note of the dirt-stained clothes and the lack of any visible armor or insignia. Edric smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who is this beggar?" Edric asked. "Another rat looking for scraps in this broken house?"

"I am her brother," Jamie said. He took a slow step forward. "I will only say this once. Take your hands off my sister and get out of my house."

The two enforcers holding Janie laughed. They exchanged amused glances and tightened their grip on the young girl.

"Or what?" Edric mocked. He stepped into Jamie's path. "Are you going to run and cry to the city watch? They are too busy dying in the streets to care about a poor family failing to pay their debts. You have no muscle on your bones, boy. You are in no position to issue threats."

"Do you really think you can take five men by yourself?" one of the enforcers sneered. "We break legs for a living. Walk away before we break yours."

Jamie did not respond to the taunts. He did not issue another warning. He simply closed the distance between himself and the nearest enforcer in a fraction of a second.

The man did not even register the movement before Jamie's fist connected with his jaw.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bone echoed in the small room. The enforcer's eyes rolled back in his head, and his body lifted off the floor from the force of the impact. He crashed into the rotting wall and slid down into an unconscious heap.

The second enforcer holding Janie let go of her in shock. He reached for a wooden club on his belt, but Jamie was already moving.

Jamie grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it violently outward. The joint popped, and the man screamed in agony as he dropped the club. Jamie stepped inside the man's guard and drove an elbow directly into his sternum. All the air left the enforcer's lungs, and he collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath.

Edric stumbled backward. The smug smile vanished from his face, replaced by genuine panic.

"Kill him!" Edric yelled.

The remaining three enforcers rushed forward. They drew iron daggers and swung wildly at Jamie's head and chest.

Jamie dodged the clumsy strikes with minimal effort. Three years of enduring brutal training in the northern peaks had made him a weapon. He parried a thrust from the man on his left and swept his leg, sending the man crashing onto the floorboards. Without pausing, Jamie grabbed the second man by the collar and hurled him across the room, where he smashed into a wooden table.

The final enforcer hesitated. He looked at his fallen comrades and then at the young man standing calmly in the center of the room. The enforcer dropped his dagger and raised his hands in surrender.

Jamie did not care about the surrender. He stepped forward and delivered a swift kick to the man's knee. The joint buckled, and the man dropped to the floor, clutching his leg and groaning in pain.

Jamie turned his attention to Edric.

The wealthy debtor was backed against the wall. His face was pale, and he was trembling.

"Wait," Edric stammered. He held up his hands. "We can talk about this. The debt is fifty silver. We can renegotiate the terms."

"The terms have changed," Jamie said. He walked up to Edric and grabbed him by the throat.

Jamie lifted Edric until his toes barely touched the floor. Edric choked and clawed at Jamie's hand, but the grip was like iron.

"You will never set foot near my family again," Jamie whispered. "If I see your face on this street, I will pull your head from your shoulders. Do you understand?"

Edric nodded frantically. His face turned a deep shade of purple as he struggled for air.

Jamie released his grip, and Edric crumpled onto the floor, coughing violently.

"Get your men out of my house," Jamie ordered.

Edric scrambled to his feet. He kicked the nearest conscious enforcer and barked an order to retreat. The men groaned and dragged their injured comrades out of the broken doorway. They practically fell over each other in their haste to escape.

"You will regret this," Edric wheezed from the street. He clutched his bruised throat and glared at Jamie. "I know the city watch captain. I will report you for this assault. You will hang for attacking an honest businessman."

Jamie ignored the threat. He turned his back on the open doorway and walked toward his mother.

Jolie was still sitting on the floor. She stared at Jamie in shock, unable to process the violence she had just witnessed.

"Are you hurt?" Jamie asked. He knelt down and offered his hand.

Jolie took his hand and let him pull her up. "Jamie. You are really here. You are alive."

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Jamie hugged her back tightly. He closed his eyes and let the tension drain from his muscles.

"I am here, mother," Jamie said softly. "I am sorry it took me so long."

Janie ran across the room and tackled Jamie in a hug. She buried her face in his chest and began to sob.

"I thought they were going to take me," Janie cried. "I was so scared."

"No one is taking you anywhere," Jamie said. He rested his hand on her head and stroked her hair. "You are safe now. I promise."

They stood there for several minutes, holding onto each other in the center of the ruined living room. Jamie looked around at the rotting walls and the leaking roof. Edric had been right about one thing. The house was falling apart. His family had been living in poverty while he was bleeding in the mountains.

Jolie pulled back and wiped the tears from her face. She looked at Jamie and noticed the change in his demeanor. He was no longer the soft-spoken boy who had left three years ago. He was taller, broader, and his eyes held a cold intensity that she had never seen before.

"What happened to you out there?" Jolie asked. "How did you do that?"

"The training was difficult," Jamie said. He kept his tone neutral. "But it worked. I learned how to fight. I learned how to survive."

"Edric said he is going to the city watch," Janie warned. She wiped her eyes and looked at the broken doorway. "Captain Rylen is a cruel man. He always takes bribes from Edric. They will come back for you."

"Let them come," Jamie said. He walked over to the broken door and picked up the heavy wooden frame. "I will join the knight army tomorrow. Once I am an official knight, Edric and Rylen will not be able to touch us. I will earn enough coin to fix this house and give you both a good life."

"Joining the army is dangerous," Jolie said. She frowned and wrung her hands together. "The monsters are getting bolder. They attacked the village square today."

"I know," Jamie said. He set the broken door against the wall to block the opening. "I saw them on my way in. The city watch cannot handle the threats anymore. They need real soldiers."

Janie looked at her brother in awe. "Did you fight the monsters too?"

"I dealt with them," Jamie said simply. He walked back to his sister and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry about Edric or the watch. My training has paid off. I am ready to protect this family from whoever tries to harm us."

Jolie smiled through her tears. She reached out and touched Jamie's cheek. "You have grown into a strong man, Jamie. Your father would be proud."

"I am just doing what needs to be done," Jamie said. "Go pack whatever belongings you need for tonight. We will sleep in the back room away from the open door. Tomorrow, everything changes."

Jolie and Janie nodded. They turned and walked toward the small bedroom at the back of the house.

Jamie stood alone in the living room. He looked at his hands. They were calloused and scarred from three years of relentless combat. He had killed a demon in the village square and broken the bones of thugs in his own home. He had become exactly what the world demanded him to be.

He was not just a survivor. He was a weapon. And he was finally home to take back everything he had lost