The Path of Giants by B.T. Narro (best novels to read .txt) 📕

over at Remi closely. It was hard to get a read on her thoughts, but she must hate Eden. Her friend had betrayed her and had just about killed her with a knife through her neck. I could still remember the feeling of Remi’s chest cracking when I was pushing on it to pump her heart. It was a testament to mana that not only was she standing here today, but she was also completely better.

“Eden and Valinox attacked later,” I informed her, “when it was just Hadley and I traveling to the castle.”

“Can you tell me what happened exactly?”

“I would, but shouldn’t we be watching out for traps?”

“Perhaps, or perhaps not. It could be better if they think we’re not ready for an attack.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because then they might try something.” She paused. “I can’t imagine you would let anything happen to us. We might actually capture someone else.”

It was nice to hear that she put so much trust in me. I supposed I trusted Aliana’s earlier statement, as well. These thieves did not wish to kill us. And if they didn’t want to kill us, then Remi was right. Nothing would happen to us with me around.

She continued to lead me to the blacksmith’s forge as I told her about the event. I had to make a decision right away about how accurately I would describe Eden’s hesitation.

I was tired of keeping things in around people I trusted, and who trusted me. The truth was best.

I described the event from beginning to end, telling Remi exactly where Eden had impaled me with her dagger each time. I also told her how I hesitated when I had a chance to kill her and found that I couldn’t. I expected Remi to share her thoughts, but she didn’t speak. Even after I finished, she just showed me a glance here and there with a blank expression.

“I strongly believe Eden didn’t want to kill me,” I said.

Remi looked back at me silently, still. I didn’t know how else to get her to speak up, but I tried again.

“I’m pretty sure she missed my vital spots on purpose.”

Remi’s eyebrows bent downward. “She didn’t spare me.”

“I know.”

“And we were close.”

“I know,” I repeated.

“Then why do you think she spared you?”

“I can only guess that she’s starting to change her mind about following Valinox.”

“Or she thinks you’re more important than I am.”

“It’s not that, Remi.”

“It’s fine,” she told me to my surprise. Her tone was as if she really meant this. “I’m not as important as you. No one is. I think it does mean that she’s changing her mind, but I still wouldn’t trust her if we have the choice. She’s made her decision.”

I didn’t feel right accepting what Remi had said about me. “I’m not more important. I just have a wider range of mana, so I’ve been more useful in certain situations.”

“You shouldn’t be so modest. You know it’s not just your mana. There’s something about you. Everyone sees it. You should, too. You have to. If you don’t, you might end up sacrificing yourself for one of us. You mustn’t let that happen, Jon. You are more important.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s all right,” Remi continued. “You don’t have to say anything.”

I nodded. “Then instead let me tell you what happened in Granlo. I’ve been wanting to for some time now.”

“I’d like that.”

By the time we made it to the outskirts of the city, I’d finished divulging the events that had unfolded. Remi then made it clear that she did plan to visit Granlo and make sure there was no further abuse. She might even share a few words with her parents.

“But I might not be able to visit until all of this is over,” she told me. “I have a feeling that the hardest part has yet to begin.”

I knew what she meant. Every week seemed to be harder than the last, our challenges multiplying.

“I really hope Shelly Berger will be alright until then,” Remi said. “She was one of the few girls who was nice to me growing up. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”

“Do you think I should’ve left her and Gerald alone?”

Remi seemed to be in thought for a moment. “I believe whatever Gerald would do to her would be the same whether you’d visited or not. At least this way, there is a small chance that his fear of me might protect Shelly. And I certainly like the idea of him thinking about me with fear.” She looked at me. “You made the right choice.”

I was glad to hear it.

Soon we reached the northern edge of the city, and I was amazed at what I saw. I thought we were visiting a simple forge, but this was more like stepping into another world.

“Whoa,” I uttered.

“It is something, isn’t it?” Remi said.

On the other side of the short river, over a small bridge, was a massive structure I had never seen or heard of before. It seemed to be a furnace, given the heat I could feel even fifteen yards away, but there were so many parts involved that I couldn’t be sure. A massive wheel, moved by another nearby river, appeared to be part of a unique system of ropes and planks. I figured everything I saw was working together just to send concentrated air into the furnace, as I noticed the ends of massive blowers connected to the moving water wheel, while the other side of the blowers disappeared into the furnace.

A second bridge led to the top of the structure, this one coming from the hill that led into the woods. I could see the woodsmen Leon had spoken about, their camp at the edge of Curdith Forest not far from here. A couple of men were carting what looked to be charcoal over the bridge to the top of the enormous furnace.

“What is all this called?” I asked. There was so much more to it than