Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) by V.A. Lewis (autobiographies to read .TXT) 📕

bit guilty; stealing felt wrong to me even if the one being stolen from did deserve it. Perhaps that was a carryover of my principles from my past lift. But the fruit vendor did very much deserve it, and I was hungry, so I did it anyways.

I opened my mouth, and took a bite; the apple crunched as my teeth penetrated the red layer of skin and into the juicy insides of the fruit. The succulent pulp fell onto my tongue, and began to melt on the wet bed of saliva it was resting on. I felt a strong catharsis wash over me, as I savored the first piece of food I had in forever

I swallowed, then paused. I stared at the piece of fruit in my hands. I bit once more. Then twice. And began to ravenously tear into the apple.

I vaguely remembered something about how eating too much when severely malnutritioned could be deadly. But I didn’t care. I was hungry, so I just ate. Plus it was only two apples! There was no way that could kill me.

Famous last words, I thought, stopping myself after I finished the first apple. I pocketed the second apple and threw the core of the eaten fruit onto the ground. I dusted my hands off, then turned to leave the alleyway, but found myself bumping into something.

A man was standing in front of me, blocking the exit from me. The fruit vendor? No…

My thoughts were interrupted as the man reached out—

"Wait, I didn’t steal—" I hurriedly spoke out, but the man ignored me.

He grabbed the cloth covering my face, and pulled it off me. My long black hair fell down the side of my face, and I rapidly closed and opened my eyes as my vision was no longer partially obscured.

I could see better now, and I saw it was not the fruit vendor, but the man whom I bumped into earlier. But wait… I slowly raised a hand up, and patted at my face— at the brand upon my skin. I froze.

"I knew it." The man’s voice was sharp.

Wha— how? How did he— I could feel my heart rate picking up as the man looked over me.

The man tossed the piece of cloth aside and grinned. "I knew I recognized that black hair. You can hide the Mancis Brand, but you can’t hide everything."

I took a step back, and the man took a step forward. Have I met him before? He continued.

"You! Because of you, my best friend and I were stationed in night duty. And now he’s dead. I’ll— I’ll make you pay for that."

My mind was spinning. Who is he? He seems... familiar. But I don’t remember…

"You were with the Beastkin, weren’t you? Yes. I remember. You’ll be worth a lot when I sell you. Maybe… 50 gold? Yes, you’ll make me rich."

With Rin and Shang? Wait— Then it all clicked. He was one of the two guards in Bys. The ones at the gate who inspected us. Apparently his friend died? Was it the twisted pedophile who ogled me? Good—

What are you doing, idiot? Run now, think later! I broke out of my stupor, and legged it.

"Come back here—"

The man lunged after me, but I stepped to the side. I ran down the alleyway, the man hot on my heels. I made my way to a corner, and continued on as fast as I could.

But I was only a kid. This was a grown adult. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him catching up fast. I grabbed a wooden crate full of disposed items, and threw it on the ground behind me. He stumbled for a second, but managed to regain his footing and was on my tail again.

I turned another corner, and then another. He was right behind me again by now. I ran around the next corner, and came face to face with two paths: left or right.

Right is always right… right?

Wrong. I ran down the right alley, and was met with a dead end with some clothes hanging in the building overhead. I heard the footsteps coming closer and closer. I didn’t think, I just moved.

I raised my hand, a magic circle already forming in it, and pulled. My mage hand yanked at the poles up top, dropped the clothes down.

The man turned the corner, but was immediately blinded by the falling laundry. He fumbled for his head, as I scrambled under him to the other side.

I looked up and saw a light at the end of the alleyway. I can do it. My legs burned as I sprinted for the exit—

A hand grabbed me from behind, and threw me further back into the darkness. "I’ve got you now."

I fell to the ground. I tried to pick myself up, but the man was holding me down.

"Don’t struggle, you’re only making it harder for the both of us."

I tried to back away, but he only pulled me closer. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, and tears falling from my eyes. No—

I instinctively raised my hand, releasing a bolt of blue magic at the man. The man’s head jerked. He saw the flash of light, and just barely dodged out of the way. The man froze, and so did I.

"That was… magic?" the man said in disbelief. Then it changed to horror. "You— you’re a heretic!"

"No! I’m—"

The man let go of me. He stumbled as he began to back away.

"Heretic!" he shouted, voice full of terror. "Where are the guards? Where are the—"

The man spun around, and fled for the exit. I panicked. I raised my hand to shoot a second spell. But I hesitated. And so the man escaped—

A shadowed figure stood at the end of the alley, blocking the exit