A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1) by D'Artagnan Rey (mystery books to read TXT) 📕

snickered as he flipped onto his back to look at the sky again. “You obsessing about your mistakes or something like that? I know you fighting types always seem to go on and on about things like that. We defeated them all in a few minutes. Nothing to—”

“No, it isn’t that,” he interjected. “When I looked at the leader’s body, he was banged up good.”

“Well, yeah.” The diviner chuckled. “You threw him a hundred yards and his hammer pounded into his chest. I have to admit I was surprised to see he was still breathing after that.”

Devol tensed slightly before he sighed heavily. “I was too—and relieved, to be honest.”

His teammates focused on him. “Were you worried you killed him?” the other boy asked.

He nodded. “I’ve killed beasts and creatures. But another human?”

Jazai regarded him with a thoughtful expression. “You are fairly young so I guess you’ve never had a fight end that way, eh?”

The young swordsman shook his head. “No, I have not.” He rolled his eyes at his friend. “Have you?”

“Not me, no,” the boy responded and looked away as a memory surfaced. “But when I was about ten, I was traveling with my father and I saw him kill a couple of guys.” He sighed when he recalled the incident. “We were ambushed on a road to Luxor or someplace like that by bandits very similar to those we fought. He dealt with most of them himself. I got a couple down too but two had exotics. They got the jump on my father and he… His instincts took over. He attacked them with a powerful cantrip. It wasn’t graphic or anything, but I knew they were dead even before they landed.”

“Did it…disturb you?” Devol asked, his full attention on the diviner.

Jazai shrugged. “Not disturbed, that’s too harsh—maybe unsettled?” He sounded uncertain and frowned as he tried to find the right words. “I remember feeling numb and taken aback. It was my first time seeing someone who was alive not seconds before suddenly gone. But at the same time, I realized what my father had to do in his line of work—and what he was capable of doing also hit me. I suddenly thought, ‘this is how it is,’ and it shocked me as much as the dead men did.” He turned his hand palm-up in a show of indifference. “He was quite apologetic that night that I had to see it, but he also used it as a moment to teach me what could be expected of me should I choose to walk the same path.”

“And did that worry you?” Asla asked as she turned to join the conversation.

He responded with another shrug before he rolled onto his back again and placed his hands behind his head. “I already knew about it on some level, even then. But seeing it happen is a very different thing. I guess it put it in perspective. I’ve had years to think about it since then and I’m prepared to kill if need be, but I’m sure it won’t be easy when it happens.” He glanced at the other boy. “Your pops is a guard captain, right? I’m sure he’s had to deal with some terrible people in that fashion.”

Devol nodded and cast his mind back. “I know he has, but he’s never discussed it with me. He was even responsible for a few executions while I was growing up but I’ve never had to see it.” He considered it and thought about the bandit leader’s body. “I know that if I become a guardsman or a Templar or anything like that, I’ll have to get used to it. I guess I’m not that great at thinking ahead.”

“I’ve come to that conclusion,” Asla interjected and although her tone didn’t contain malice or sound chiding, it still stung a little.

He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I thought this was a simple retrieval mission. I should have expected that we could run into complications like bandits. It is a wonder I did not run into so much as a peddler on my way to the Templar Order, I suppose. Even during the fight, I thought I could handle them without much trouble, but when I was pushed too far in the end and my majestic’s power came out…” He extended his hand to trace the sheath of his sword. “It could have ended differently, I guess.”

Jazai mumbled an agreement but wasn’t sure what to say. He had found peace with the idea of having to maim or kill others over the years, but Devol seemed quite vexed about it at the moment. He didn’t feel right to simply tell him to buck up and deal with it, but it could end in tragedy for him if he pursued any profession that might demand that from him and he was not prepared for it.

More immediately, it could cause issues with their mission if they encountered another complication like the bandits. He looked at Asla to see if she had any words of wisdom or comfort, but she stared off into the distance.

“Do you see that bush?” she asked after a moment and pointed directly ahead. The boys sat quickly to peer at a rather large bush with many brown-red nubs along its branches. “Those seeds-like lumps are special. They are bloodflowers that have yet to bloom.”

“Bloodflowers?” Devol asked. “I’m not sure I’m familiar with them.”

She nodded her understanding. “They aren’t particularly common in the Monleans kingdom. Most consider them to be an ill omen. It is said that bloodflowers only bloom when someone is near who is either about to experience death or is quite familiar with it.” She brought her knees to her chest.

“I’m not sure if you’ve seen the gardens we keep in the castle,” she continued, “but we have bloodflowers there, both blossomed and not. I pass them almost every day in the morning.” She bit her lip. “I am not sure how much I believe in many of