Arc 4: Chapter 26: Separate Ways
As my oldest friend and I stood there, locked together above the kneeling crowfriar, I felt the rage creep in through the confusion.
“Lias.” My voice sounded oddly calm to my own ears. “What is this?”
Lias’s green eye narrowed, while the false one remained still. I could make out my own fragmented reflection in the crystal’s red surface, blood-smeared and angry.
Instead of answering me, Lias spoke to the knight confessor. “Can you stand, Vicar?”
He knew the crowfriar’s true name. He knew, and he’d saved him.
Growling, I tried to free my weapon. Lias kept the lock with a deft movement, his form stiffly perfect. I was stronger, but he hadn’t been idle the last decade. He’d trained, and in more than just sorcery. He used leverage with a warrior monk’s expertise. By the odd pressure I felt, I suspected he used aura as well.
Vicar rose to his feet, backing away. His hands were ruined and useless, but even still I didn’t trust him not to be dangerous.
My focus remained on Lias.
“Stop this!” I snapped. “He’s a monster. I won’t let him roam free.”
“Monster?” Lias shook his head. “Alken, he is us. He simply serves different masters.”
“Are they your masters now, Li?” I shifted a step, adjusting my grip. Lias responded by rotating his staff, freeing my axe. He carried the motion in a whirling movement, the air whooshing around the length of ebon wood. The iron nail froze under my chin. I batted it away, glaring.