No Place For Me | [boyxboy]

CHAPTER 32

Once everyone was through, Rue turned back to close the portal. When he did, he could see the unsettling look in their eyes as they saw the once enchanted forest now torched around them.

It was not even a month ago that Tinso, Reilo, and Lashun visited this forest for the first time. Despite knowing of the possible threats, no could have predicted the moment their lives would be turned upside down.

When the anguish could be felt in the air, it was a reminder that life would never be the same again. As Rue watched them, he wondered if they would still be as enthused about winning back Nulta, when they start to see all the dead bodies around Cotol.

When Rue had scanned below, the bodies he saw outside were those of Uniguards and a few who tried to fight back. Almost everyone who passed died because their homes collapsed on top of them. So they knew their loved ones were gone, but Rue doesn't know if they were ready to see what he saw. It was only a matter of time until their spirits were broken.

"Is the entire forest like this?" Reilo asked Rue.

"Most of it," Rue replied, sadly. "Very few animals survived the fire."

When their eyes dropped to the ground, Rue opened another portal to Cernia, giving them all a chance to change their mind. The truth was, Rue would prefer to do this alone because he doesn't know what he would do if any of them died while he was present. Still, Rue didn't feel like he had the right to force them to run from their home.

"This is your chance to go where it's safe," Rue reiterated. Hoping for his sake, they would.

"Zsuzsi and Eka are safe?" Simon asked again.

Rue nodded. "For now."

When Simon saw Roxas' sword on Rue's hip, he smiled for a second but didn't draw attention to it. "I have a shop filled with weapons that are buried now. I can't let Zutar's soldiers find them and use it against our people. So as long as my wife and daughter are safe, I will stay."

Rue nodded.

"We are also staying," Tinso told him before Rue could ask him to go.

Rue nodded, closing the portal.

"Do you have a plan to take back Nulta?" Astron asked, with his arms folded.

"No," Rue replied, honestly.

When Astron's face paled, and Tolum released a sound of frustration, Rue put both his hands out in front of him and generated the province. Rue then released the hologram so that they can approach and take a closer look.

"My goal is to remove all of the soldiers in the province quietly," Rue said, directly to Astron. Other than Simon, who knew of Rue's ability, and Tolum, who stayed away from the group, the others gasped as they moved closer to look at the province.

"This is Nulta!" Reilo gasped.

Rue nodded. "Every red dot is the heat produced by a living being that has mana," Rue spoke. As Rue zoomed, they can see that the dots were moving. "We are here in the forest."

"Will this include those who fly?" Simon asked him.

"No, they need to be on foot. So we must anticipate that not everyone will walk. There are 507 dots on the province in total. 75% of them are below resting or celebrating, but there's less activity below," Rue replied.

"Flip it," Simon asked, alarmed when he noticed the cluster concentrated on the hill beyond their town.

"To them, Nulta is now Zutar's territory. The men left, I believe, is to maintain control, which is why they have set up their stronghold there. My goal is to remove them should more of their man plan to arrive in the coming days."