Light from the Shadow

Chapter 15

Seven men dressed in black appeared out of nowhere and were now approaching Ayna's group carefully.

"Who are you?" Rishi asked. The seven men did not answer. Rishi could see they were carrying sickle-like weapon on their hands. It was a bad situation. There were only two royal guards accompanying them at the moment. Other than them and him, the rest members were pretty much useless. They did not know how to fight. The princess' magi was obviously out of question. Wrong move, and she could turn the situation into a mass suicide.

"Take anything you want but don't harm my people!" Ayna shouted. They were probably just mountain bandits.

"Stay back." Rishi warned her. He did not think they were here for the gold.

One of the seven men walked forward. He looked like the leader of the pack. "Drop your weapons or we won't guarantee what we'll do to you."

Rishi laughed. "As if I'll let you do anything."

The leader gave a signal and all his men came at them at the same time. The two royal guards tried to hold them. "Run everyone!!"

The group tried to escape but two of the bad men blocked their way front and back, trapping them in between. One of them attempted to attack the coachman but Rishi was faster. He swiftly took out his dagger and slashed the man at the neck. Thick red blood splattered out from the cut. Ayna and the rest watched the killing in horror. They were lost at words. The other man was in shock too. Rishi took the chance and stabbed him in the heart. Both attackers died on the spot.

"Ri...shi..." Ayna could not believe what she just saw. The quiet librarian he knew was stabbing people like it was a natural thing to do.

The now frenzied librarian continued to launch attacks on the other members. Slashing everything in front of him. The leader ran to the side. He too was stunned. He had not heard anything about this. Who is this man? How can he defeat my men easily... He then saw his chance. The princess was unprotected! He jumped and snatched Ayna from the group, dragging her to the edge of the cliff.

"Akh! Let go!" Ayna cried. Rishi quickly turned back. His face and clothes were drenched with blood.

"Let her go!" He pulled the dagger out from one of the fallen men. More blood on him. The coachmen and the maids had all fainted from seeing too much blood in a day. The two royal guards were barely hanging.

"Stop." The leader pointed his weapon at Ayna's neck, taunting him. "... or I may accidentally cut the princess' veins."

"You bastard..." Rishi clenched on his blade angrily.

Ayna saw a wounded friend of the leader behind Rishi. He was aiming his sword at him.

"Look out!!" She screamed. Rishi saw the mark on her hand reacting and ran towards her.

"AYNA!! NO!!"

The man behind used his last strength and slashed Rishi's back with his sword. Both fell to the ground afterwards. Blood started oozing out from the librarian's body.

"RISHI!!!" She screamed. And suddenly, the ground around them started to shake.

"What is this... earthquake?" The leader was startled, trying to stabilize himself.

Rishi's vision was blurry. He tried to get up. "Stop... Ayna..."

He gathered all his strength and threw his dagger at the last member of the mysterious men. The dagger missed the vital organ by an inch. The leader screamed in pain and lost his balance. Rishi ignored the pain on his back and rushed to save Ayna, pulling her away and letting her captor fell from the cliff on his own.

Rain started to fall. Did she cause this too? It was getting heavier. It would cause landslide if it continued, he feared.

"Ayna! Snap out of it!!" Rishi shouted at her. He shook her body.

"Ri...shi...?" Ayna called his name.

"Are you alright?" He noticed the glow in her hand had gone.

Ayna weakly nodded. There were bruises and small cuts on her body but nothing looked life threatening. She looked at the fallen bodies around. The blood had been washed away by the rain.

"Are they all... dead?" She shivered.

Rishi got up slowly. "Can you walk? Let's get you to a safer..." He tried to walk but soon dropped to the floor. He cried in pain.

"Rishi!!" Ayna crawled to him. Her legs felt weak. Her dress felt heavy. She touched him. His body felt cold. "Somebody... somebody... please help..." She cried and looked around, trying to find her attendants. "Guards! Aria...! Maria..." Her voice echoed in the middle of the mountain. She kept calling but no one answered her.

She looked at the librarian again. His face had turned pale. "Rishi!! Wake up!! You can't die here!!" She wailed desperately.

"Your Highness..." Rishi called. His voice was weak. He could not see her face properly. He lifted his hand and touched her wet face. "Don't cry..." He smiled, and then, everything turned dark.