Liberation Saga: Volume 1

Chapter 19

Speeding toward the village, my mind was in chaos. I hoped at any moment I'd snap awake. Be told it was a nightmare, or a simulation gone wrong. Tell all my friends what a strange experience it was. Be able to sigh and reassure myself it wasn't real.

Except it was real.

After arriving at the village gates, I dismounted, rushing toward my home. I burst through the door, nearly tripping over a man's body as I entered. My father was sitting on the floor, hugging my mother close. She was holding Twisted Key in her grip, its blade stained with fresh blood. She was covered from head-to-toe in it as well, and I finally noticed several other dead men on the floor. One was an Adversity Management soldier.

"Mother!" I shouted, kneeling in front of them.

"She's fine, Taylor. Just weak. You need to worry about Ghost," Father said.

"Ghost? I'm sure Ghost is fine. He's—"

"He's not. After he took the enhancer device off and gave it to your mother, he wasn't able to fly. The other soldier captured him and fled after they lost the fight here. I don't know where, but I could guess. Please be careful..."

I attempted to leave, but felt a hand grip my ankle. I turned and saw Mother holding Twisted Key by the blade, offering the hilt to me.

"What if they come back?" I asked.

"I couldn't fight them even if they did. This enhancer is transferable, but it was made for Ghost. It was hard for me to control, but we're still alive because of it."

I gripped the hilt of Twisted Key.

"And one more thing, Taylor," Father said. "Don't hold back... Do what you feel is right. Just come back alive. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before."

"No, you did the right thing. I'm glad I listened to you. And you don't need to worry. I was never very good at holding back anyway."

I left our home, making my way to the chieftain's. I had some idea of what to expect, but not what was running through Ghost's bird brain. It was impossible to tell whether he was caught on purpose as some sort of ploy, or if he was truly just caught by surprise, in a confined space, unable to fly.

I stayed away from the open areas leading to my destination. With the optics a soldier's helmet offered, it was very much on par with what an enhancer did, if not better. I was fast, but I couldn't dodge an energy blast.

Now, where could our sniper be?

He'd have his work cut out for him here in the village. None of the buildings had a high enough vantage point to get a long view, and there were too many random alleyways to watch all at once.

I had to be careful, and assume I'd be ambushed on my way, but it was entirely possible there was some other trap waiting for me there. A bomb when I opened the door. Some kind of turret. Dealing with Adversity Management toys could make this more complicated. Remulo no doubt had his hands full and likely hadn't noticed his two turncoats slip away. At this point he'd just assume they were casualties or ran from the battle with the Explorer's League.

As I inched closer to the chieftain's home, I took a lesser-known path around that would put me on the side. I peeked in the window but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I considered my next move for a moment. I could break through the window, but if they were somewhere else it would only cause more chaos and frighten whoever else happened to be inside. I'd take my chances and, at the very least, show him I wasn't afraid.

I knocked on the door and waited a moment. I'd not taken the time to recover my sheath, so I held the sword down at my side, still bloody.

"Go away," he said. "I know you are here to kill me."