Crown Sword

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"You imbecile!" Julian hissed, reeling me by the arm into the shadow of the building he was hiding by. Scar stood a few feet away from him, his arms folded leaning against the building.

"So I'm guessing you saw?" I asked the wizard gesturing at the wooden posts down the street.

"I heard. Do you think I could have risked being seen by the guards? I don't know if you know this, but I am well known throughout Arkaysa. For peace and prosperity, I'm the King's sorcerer! And Malakye is, well, Malakye. Those men would have recognized us in an instant. Seeing me here would have caused much suspicion!" He glared at me.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? They were going to kill her! They still might if I don't kill that Rynak thing!" I threw my hands up in frustration.

"Ryzac."

"What?"

"Ryzac. It is a sea lizard, only about two hundred times larger and much more murderous. It is known to take down entire ships and eat their crews alive, one by one. No one is able to detect it coming before it's attack. "Isn't that fascinating? Such calculated predatory behavior..." He shook his head with a soft smile.

"Oh great! That makes me want to fight it even more!" I put my face in my hands.

"Well, you will be needing this." I looked up to see Julian brandish a sheathed sword from the inside of his robes. One glimpse at the hilt had me backing away.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no. Are you kidding me?" I asked as he held the crown sword to me.

"How else do you believe you'll defeat the Ryzac?" Julian scoffed.

"Not with that thing. Are you being serious? I'd only just escaped from the prison I was thrown in because of the accusation that I stole it. Can't we use guns or something?"

"Guns?" He cocked his head at me.

"Yeah, you know those things that you shoot bullets from at crazy speeds and cause great damage?" I mimed shooting at him with my fingers.

He just squinted at me.

"Of course." I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. "Nevermind. But I'm not using that thing. I want nothing more to do with it."

"Did you have another sword in mind?" He looked at me skeptically.

"Well, no... but we could ask the guards for one?" I grimaced looking at the building they had gone in.

Julian's look turned from skeptical to incredulous.

"Or not? I don't know! I mean, I don't even know how to use a sword." I slumped against the wall. "I don't even know how to find that monster, and I don't know how to kill it."

"What am I going to do?"

"You'll use this sword, that is what. As for where to find the Ryzac we will sail out to sea. You won't find the Ryzac, the Ryzac will find you. And when he does, we will strike with the intent to kill. Now come along, we've less than a day now." He pulled his hood over his head and strode away.

Scar pushed off of the wall and walked past me, following him. I trudged along behind them.

We had walked past many buildings and I kept an eye out for people that would recognize us. Many of the workers just walked by, their shoulders hunched. Their refusal to make eye contact was prominent as they quickly bustled past.

We reached the docks, which had just begun to get busy again. Up close, the work looked even more laborious. They were loading cargo and food on and off of the ships. The people's gray weathered faces were grasped in fear as the dock guards circled around, the whips swishing from their hands.