Ignas jumped, and fire burst around him in a spiral, burning away the roots. He hacked away with his sword and bounced on the balls of his feet. He raised his gun, aimed, and fired.
Miklos blocked with his arm and grunted. The bullet embedded, almost breaking the armor. It sizzled as it fell to the ground. He surveyed the guns in Ignas’s hands. “I think His Excellency would enjoy torturing you for information.”
“Would he now?”
Faust’s anger rose. He would not let either deity lay a hand on Ignas! He watched the battle for an opening to attack. Ignas danced around Miklos, trusting in his people to shoot around him. The blades of green dug deep into the ground and toppled trees without remorse, but a concentration of magic behind Ignas caught his attention.
Ignas turned his back to the area.
Miklos’s eyes flickered, and the ground flung at Ignas from behind in the form of a spear.
Faust flung his hand out, his earth stone a wild spark of jade. The spear shifted off course.
Miklos dodged and jumped backward. “There you are.” Miklos swung right, and green blades cut away the wooden cartons by the airship.
Faust jumped and rolled out of the way. He scrambled to his feet and drew his blades. His heart pounded, but he stared Miklos down.
Miklos parried with Ignas and kicked him away. “I don’t have time for you.”
Faust took a step back. The Servant of Power flung more green blades his way, and he skipped and danced around, but he couldn’t concentrate on everything. A vine grabbed his leg and flung him into the air.
Miklos rushed forward.
Faust’s nerves spiked. He grasped at his magic, each stone lighting in his panic.
“Don’t!” Ignas shouted.
Faust struggled to bring his magic back, but the fire stone sparked hotter than the rest and his magic blew past Miklos. A red aura grew behind the advancing Servant of Power and exploded with a loud bang.
A red line passed through Miklos’s forehead, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Miklos crashed and flopped around in the dirt, his armor silent, blood pooling around his head.
Faust slowly turned his head.
Miklos’s helmet had one hole, melted and sizzling where Ignas’s bullet pierced it.
Faust brought his gaze back to Ignas, his eyes on Ignas’s decorative guns. The red gems pulsed, and an overwhelming heat came from them, seemingly fueled by Ignas’s rage.
Shouts echoed from the captured Volant.
Ignas waved one gun. “Silence them. Take their armor.”
Gunfire rang out.
Faust grimaced. Warmth came closer, and Ignas’s hand caressed his face. He forced himself to open his eyes. He couldn’t stop shaking, his heart was still racing. He’d nearly let his magic burst out of control, and yet, Ignas harnessed it.
Ignas gave a weak smile. “Are you all right?”
Faust nodded. He was better off not knowing what Ignas did. It seemed impossible. “You really know what you are doing.”
Ignas cut the vine off Faust’s leg. “There are many ways to combat certain magic and even more so a Volant that the deities want to keep hidden.” Ignas helped Faust to his feet. “Someone in the past was quite proficient in combat between deities and decided to leave us details.”
Faust brushed himself off and looked around. The area was a mess, but all the guild members looked proud of their victory. He took a brief glance at Miklos. Lathil would kill them for this—all of them would pay. It wouldn’t matter if they took a shot or not.
Ignas pulled Faust into his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“I won’t let you get blamed for this,” Ignas said and tapped Faust’s forehead. “It is obvious what you are thinking. The remnants of battle will remain, and we will leave.”
Faust rubbed at his forehead with a pout.
“This does cause us a problem, though.” Ignas glanced up to Earl on the deck. “Move the guild back into Windilum and inform Cedric what has occurred. Prepare the borders for war.”
Earl saluted and gave orders to the guild.
Faust frowned. Ignas must’ve been awfully close to call Duke Baldwin by his first name. He also carried way more authority over the guild than he thought a simple guild member should, but he trusted Ignas, as silly as that sounded. There was still something he couldn’t ignore about the mercenary.
“Let us worry about it. We’re used to this,” Ignas said, his eyes apologetic. “I’d love to let you rest, but we need to get out of here.”
A guild member brought over two horses and supplies. He handed Faust his satchel as well.
Ignas took off his battle armor and slung a coat over his shoulders, keeping many of the smaller weapons on him. “Make sure everyone stays safe.”
The guild member nodded and moved to prepare the Volar for storage again.
Faust gripped his tunic. If they waited, Lathil would find them. There was no way Lathil would stay in Limorous after feeling the loss of his Servant of Power. Faust didn’t want to face Rene so soon, but the sooner they got to Roltan, the safer they would be and he could contact Konrad about this.
Faust walked over to his steed and swung into the saddle with a bit of a sway. He shook his fatigue away, aware of Ignas’s eyes on him. “I will be all right.”
Ignas nodded and kicked his steed into a trot.
Faust was quick to follow.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Faust took in the bustling city of Haven before him. It had taken a week by horseback to arrive, and he hadn’t missed the green that streaked the sky the night prior. Ignas had been right. If they hadn’t left after the battle, Lathil would have caught them. The deity must have been nearby all along. It seemed more likely he’d been close. It was easily a two-month trip from Limorous. They’d avoided bringing trouble to Haven at least.
Haven was nothing like he remembered. The paths were covered with cobblestone, and the buildings rivaled the wealth he’d only seen in Limorous. The alleyways were clear and the atmosphere jovial. There was also a lack of Kingsley Knights even though they were stationed in every city under Emoris’s rule.
Ignas brought his horse alongside Faust’s. “The Guild of Masters’s home base is here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other cities in Roltan are like this as well.”
Faust nodded and tugged at his hood. “What about the knights?”
“Roltan has taken back a few things in the last few years,” Ignas said. “Their guard is rather particular.”
Faust supposed that was another reason why Konrad was to meet with the King of Roltan later this year. The Kingdom of Roltan was rebellious, but that meant Konrad was taking a gamble vying for Roltan’s help or perhaps an alliance.
Faust stretched his senses out and blinked. “Rene is here.”
“We’ll let the horses rest in that stable and meet up with him then.” Ignas pointed.
Faust led the horse over. It was busy, and he glanced to Ignas. The mercenary slid off his horse and pulled out a bag of coin. He negotiated for the horses’ care and asked that they be sent as a gift to the Guild of Masters.
A young woman with dark skin and hair trekked over to Ignas and waited. She wore light armor and held herself in a manner that suggested she served Ignas. Faust raised an eyebrow in interest.