Runic Domination

Chapter 11 || Getting Chased

Strong hands gripped my arms, steadying me. I was about to reach for my magic when I looked up, my eyes meeting a pair of familiar dark ones.

Tyler looked just as disheveled as I did as we stared at each other for a second before he quickly dragged me behind cover to dodge the barrage of spells flying our way.

"Where the hell have you been?" I yelled, trying to make myself heard above the screams and shouts around us.

Instead of replying, his eyes scanned me briefly, and a relieved look made its way across his handsome face. "I will tell you later. First, let's get out of here."

Not wasting any more time, he started dragging me down the street in front of us. The bounty hunters were hot on our tail. The air smelled of burned wood and cloths magic exploded all around us. None of the range spells ever hit us of course, but I was starting to feel the strain from the constant usage of mana within the last few weeks. Plus, the general exhaustion of several stressful days in a row didn't help.

"I suppose your informant sold us out," I huffed, annoyed.

"I know. Stop talking, and run faster," Tyler growled. With one hand on my back, he basically pushed me down the street. His forearms were bare, the plates hovering around us, occasionally blocking off spells and projectiles.

Ahead of us, a big plaza with a large fountain set at its center opened up. A group of watchmen on break was sitting at a café, their loaded spoons stopped halfway to their mouths as they gaped at us wide-eyed. Another spell flew over our heads and hit the fountain, which exploded in a wave of debris and water. That finally spurred them into action.

The cluttering of plates and chairs sounded as the watchmen got up and rushed towards us. Some of them seemed to be water mages because the water on the street suddenly started to move.

Shit.

We came to a halt. A churning wall of water rose high before us, effectively cutting off our escape route. My chest was heaving as I spun around, frantically looking for a way out.

From behind, the bounty hunters had caught up to us.

Two spears, fully made of ice, flew towards us from the crowd. I noticed them too late as they cut through the protective storm I had conjured.

Ty was the first to react. He grabbed me and turned us around as his metal plates blocked the projectiles. A wave of cold air and ice enveloped us upon impact, but since Ty was closer, he took the brunt of it. In an instant, his whole body erupted in shivers. The look on his face was murderous as he shook off the ice crystals clinging to him.

Slowly, he pulled out his sword. The runes inscribed on its blade started to light up one by one as he channeled his mana into them. This was bad. Really bad. Despite the many times we had fought off the hunters in the past few weeks, the number of times I'd seen him pull out his weapon could be counted on one finger. It was the day we escaped from Black Castle.

"Ty-" I started but he had already turned his back on me. There was a strange pressure in the air as he eyed the mass of grim-looking people. As if sensing the danger, the crowd seemed to halt their advances. I could see the front men eying us warily. When the pressure seemed to reach its climax, Ty raised the black blade and casually swung it downwards.

The devastation that followed didn't match his casual stance. For a second, I thought nothing had happened, as his wide back blocked my view. Screams sounded and I saw hunters diving to the sides in panic. I stepped out from behind Ty and gaped at the destruction in front of me.

A deep gouge ran down the center of the street. It was more than three meters wide, two meters deep, and over twenty feet long.

Note to myself. Don't piss Ty off too much.