I gaped at him. “Um, hello? Bethany Wilks, blonde, gorgeous, loaded in a couple different ways.” And crazy enough to send a hitman after a girl Kesstel talked to a handful of times.

“Ah,” he said slowly, like he finally understood what I was talking about. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

I snorted. Yeah, just like she didn’t always show up right after I saw him every single time.

“She’s the daughter of my employer,” Kesstel finished. “I’m her bodyguard — for another two weeks.”

“... What?” I blinked at him. Okay, that would explain why they were always together, but there was another issue it brought up. “You’re an S. Why …?” Based on the money that he could rake in from the high leveled monsters he killed, there was no way he’d ever be short on money. Why would he need a regular job?

Kesstel took a slow step forward. He paused like he was waiting for something. The first times I talked with him, I found the apathetic glint in his blue eyes unnerving. Now when he looked at me with his full attention, it put me on edge. Not because I felt like I was in danger, but because … I don’t know. I stood still, watching him. After a second, Kesstel closed the space between us.

It wasn’t until he was right in front of me that I realized he was well within the fifteen foot perimeter that I literally just announced. And I stood there and watched him do it. I shifted, slightly annoyed — at him or me, that was debatable — but didn’t kick him away.

“I don’t come from Earth, remember?” Kesstel held out a snack-sized bag of roasted almonds. “Do you have any allergies?”

I blinked at the nuts in his hand. The sight of the food in his hand made my starving stomach cramp painfully. I tried to eat just a minute ago, but was interrupted. My hands twitched, dying to grab the food. Still I glanced at him. “No. You don’t have to keep giving me food, you know.”

The right side of his mouth kicked up in amusement. “I know.” When I didn’t take the bag, he slowly reached out and took my left hand.

I jumped at the feel of his skin on mine and pulled back, but didn’t break out of his gentle grip. Despite all the times that we’d interacted, he’d never touched me before. I waited but didn’t have a gut wrenching rejection to his touch like I did with most people. That only put me all the more on edge.

He glanced at me. “I’m not going to hurt you.” His words were just as off-handed as the laughter in his eyes. He turned my hand over and dropped the almond bag onto my palm. He let go and stepped back.

I frowned and glanced away, breathing in the smell of the roasted almonds. “I’m just not used to being touched by people.” There were only a few with good intentions that did. I tapped the butt of my kindjal on my thigh as I debated. After a second, I couldn’t take the smell anymore. I put my kindjal away and opened the bag.

“What does where you’re from have to do with being a bodyguard?” I popped an almond in my mouth.

Kesstel nodded. “Well, since I don’t come from Earth, I don’t have any of the necessary numbers to register as a Hunter. Social Security number and whatnot.” He tapped on the white Guide pearl embedded on his temple, the lump barely concealed by his hairline. “I was found pretty quickly when I came out of the Gate seven years ago. I wasn’t going to tell them where I was from and I didn't know anything about this world. The Hunter Council assumed I was one of the unregistered inhabitants from the wild Montana area that accidentally wandered into Eden, and that’s why I was so tight-lipped. While they were trying to figure out what to do with an S ranked Hunter that fell in their lap, Miss Wilks came into the room without knocking.”

Another bag of almonds appeared in Kesstel’s hand. He opened it and started to eat. “She’d just tested as a Hunter. She looked at me and announced that she wanted me as a bodyguard. By then I recognized that I needed to be registered as a Hunter if I wanted to blend in, so we struck a deal. If I worked as her bodyguard for seven years, they’d register me without the necessary paperwork and keep my information confidential.” He shrugged and shook his head, frowning. “They lucked out, if you ask me. I could have been some crazy killer and they would have never known until it was too late.”

I reached into my bag and blinked when I noticed it was empty. Did I really eat that fast? I’d been too distracted by Kesstel, I didn’t even notice. Frowning, I pressed out all the air and started to fold the bag until it was a little, one inch, square wad of plastic.

His lips twitched and he held out his hand. It took me a second to realize that he wanted my garbage. Should I really give it to him? I mean, considering our ranks, I was the grunt. Still, I reached out and placed the bag in his hand.

It disappeared, along with the bag that he was snacking from. Then he motioned with his hand and started to walk. “Come on.”

I caught up with him but stayed a half step behind. “Where are we going?”

He glanced down at me, a slight wrinkle in his brow. His stride slowed just enough for me to catch up, then we went on, side by side. “I don’t know why you’re here, but I bet you used to be with a party? You aren’t strong enough to be here alone yet.”

I nodded. “We, well…” I paused, thinking about everything that’d happened since this morning. Where did I even start? “Ah, it’s a long story. But I got separated. I was just planning to meet up with them at the transportation circle on the south side of Feng Jungle. And then you showed up.”

He lifted a brow but didn’t change the direction we were walking. It was a little odd walking through the jungle with him. The nervous tension that’d plagued me from the moment that I stepped into these woods was gone. I didn’t know if it was because of the nonchalant way he strolled, but it affected and relaxed me. I almost didn’t care where we were headed. I finally had the time to notice the smell of the fresh, earthy air and think of how pretty the rainbow crystals actually were. And I couldn’t feel a monster’s presence at all. I guess that was a benefit of being with the biggest, baddest ‘monster’ in the area.

Kesstel reached out and lifted a low hanging vine so that I could walk under it without breaking his stride. “What did you do with the energy crystal that vanished a couple minutes ago?”

I bit my lips. “How do you know I had anything to do with it vanishing?” I asked, a little defensively. I wanted the blame to sit squarely on Blake’s shoulders. If word got out it was my doing, it would cause a lot of trouble for me. I frowned up at Kesstel. I didn’t think he would tattletale though.

“The same reason why I knew you were in the area.”

Because we were the only ones that could affect Gate Vale? I frowned, wondering how much I could actually tell him. Still, he just told me a lot about himself. It might sound a little far fetched, but instinctively I felt like Kesstel wasn’t a liar. He seemed more like the kind of guy that would simply ignore you or flat out say ‘no’ than make up a lie.

“Okay, fine. Yes, it was me. I destroyed the crystal,” I admitted. Carefully, I negotiated a bush and shifted my shoulder so that I didn’t bump into his arm.

He looked down at me, surprised. “Destroyed it? That should be impossible. How?”

I opened my hand and my kindjal appeared. “I just stabbed it.” I blinked up at him. “Can’t you destroy crystals?”

He shook his head. “I just kill the monster and leave the crystal … unless I’m hunting with Miss Wilks and she takes the crystal. I’ve told her to leave it there but,” he shrugged. “It’s her world, if she wants to destroy it, that’s her choice.”

I scowled but he went on before I could comment.

“Can I hold it?” Kesstel leaned over and looked at my blade. I had a feeling that he was seeing more than I did when he examined the crystal.

I paused. Was that allowed? “Um, sure?” I offered it to him.

As soon as his fingers touched it, it disappeared. I knew without checking that it went back into my Items Bag — even though I didn’t put it there.

“Ah,” I blinked in surprise. “I didn’t ... I mean…” He just saved my life and now I was unintentionally playing tricks on him?

He looked just as surprised but got over it in a flash. He didn't even seem offended. “It’s fine. It’s not a normal blade, is it? That might be the only blade I’ve ever seen that can break an energy crystal. ”

Kesstel held out his hand and a gorgeous bastard sword appeared in his palm. He gripped it and twisted the blade in a stream of light, showing off a fascinating pattern-weld of silvery steel blended with bluish steel that sparked in the light. “Crystals can be cut, crushed, smelted and absorbed. But no matter their new shape, their essence stays the same and they never lose their power. That’s why any sword made with a crystal like this one, or made with a monster’s byproducts like other swords, can’t destroy a crystal. I thought nothing could until today.”

I frowned, remembering how Emma had hit the Serpent monster several times right where its energy crystal was, and how it didn’t seem to affect it at all. That must be why the monster didn’t die. So, if I had stabbed it, it would have died because my kindjal holds a power unlike any other blade?

I remembered the way the energy from the giant crystal was drawn back into the kindjal and absorbed. And how my gear grew stronger because of it. Had my sword been slowly absorbing the crystals I’d been destroying this whole time?

Kesstel causally flicked his wrist and broke a rainbow crystal in his way into dust, sending a shimmer of colorful glitter into air.

I looked at the pretty effect, such a sharp contrast from this morning.

“You said,” I piped up then paused and glanced at him. He looked down at me, waiting, so I went on. “You said that you only have another week of being Bethany Wilks’s bodyguard. What is she going to do when you’re gone? Are you going to keep being her bodyguard?” Did he like it? I bet he got a lot of perks from hanging out with a Councilman’s daughter.

Still, if he was just her bodyguard, then why did she send a hitman after me? And, what if Trace was one of her other bodyguards? I frowned. No, Trace hadn’t been a high enough level to be a bodyguard for someone like her.

Kesstel rolled his eyes. “She’ll be just fine without me. There are nine other bodyguards around her at any given time of the day. None of them are an S, but there’s no reason for me to be there.” He shook his head and put his sword away. “I thought I’d be like the other guards, an invisible babysitter, but no. She wanted me right next to her, like a pretty prize to flaunt around.”

I laughed before I could stop myself and peeked up at him. “You are very confident in your looks, aren’t you?” I teased.

“Of course I am,” he said like it was a fact. “I was bred to be handsome.”

I blinked at him. “... What?”

He paused and pressed his lips together. The emotion evaporated from his face, leaving behind a cold mask. We walked in silence for a while, long enough for me to understand that he hadn’t meant to say that.

Then Kesstel slowly spoke. “My world, Kathar, was very different from this place and much smaller. The closest I can describe it is that it was similar to your English Victorian Era. I am the heir of the Noblé Duchy, the strongest Duchy in my world.” He paused. “While my parents did fall in love, feelings were the last thing that were considered when they were engaged as children. What was important were assets — and that included looks. Everything to ensure that the heir would have the best benefits to successfully continue the Noblé line.” He looked at me, the severe lines on his face smoothing. “And it’s been proven that handsome people tend to gain the upper hand when negotiating.”

I couldn’t help but notice that he said ‘I am,’ not ‘I used to be’ the heir. I looked at the ground, frowning, and kicked aside a small pebble. Even though his world was gone, he still hadn’t let it go.

I met his gaze and found him watching me intently, a slight frown creased his lips. What did I do to draw his focus so often like this?

*****

Ever wonder what’s going on in Kesstel’s head?

From a dark cave set in the mountains that surround Gate Vale, a tall figure in full armour emerged. The sunlight glinting off the armour was a sharp contrast to the seemingly endless pit behind him. Black smoke that seeped across the bare rocky ground seemed to tremble, as if afraid of his very presence.

The figure paused and his full armour disappeared, replaced by a simple metal breast plate, a blue tunic and black pants. Kesstel turned his head and scowled down the tunnel behind him. Such a disappointing portal. He had half a mind to go back and collapse it still, just to vent his frustration on wasting his time.

A month ago, he would have. But now might not be the best time to start another world-wide Gate Surge.

He left the black smoke and walked the mountain side that sloped to the silvery jungle in front of him. Feng Jungle — or as he heard it when someone speaks the name, Phoenix Jungle. A place of transformation. Someone was feeling poetic when they were giving out names.

Kesstel turned, disinterested. But a distortion rippled through the air and he turned back, his eyes focused on the northern part of the jungle. A bright pulse of light mushroomed high into the air, it whipped at trees and loose leaves shot everywhere. A moment later, a second pulse issued.

Kesstel’s eyes widened as he felt the air of Gate Vale tremble around him, as if in anger. It wasn’t as big a reaction as when a portal collapsed, but something big happened.

Suddenly, he became aware of a small presence where the pulse had come from — and was being sucked back into. He’s spent so much time learning how to pinpoint that presence, he knew who it was immediately. Kesstel sighed. He should have known if something happened in Gate Vale, it had to be related to her. That little enigma.

He vanished from where he stood, leaving nothing but a small wisp of dust in his wake.

Kesstel stopped running when he was surrounded by silvery trees and he looked around. She’d moved from her original spot, so where was she now? Somewhere close by, but where? It was like he could feel her and couldn’t feel her at the same time. Odd.

Suddenly her presence seemed to appear out of nowhere, roughly fifty feet south of him. Along with several monsters around her. Did she ever stop getting in trouble? He turned, his long stride eating up the distance.

Thick mist seeped through the trees, so familiar. So nostalgic. He paused as a memory threatened to surface, like a drill that dug at the thick wall he’d locked his past behind. No, he wouldn’t think about it. Not right now. There was no saying what he’d do if he did. He’d already decided to let it go for now, so he would.

Jyn Devrho stood in the middle of the mist, her short sword pointed at him and glaring.

In that moment, Kesstel couldn’t help but remember a stray white tabby kitten he found in his horse stall as an adolescent. It was so cute, how it puffed up and arched its back, hissing at him, threatening even though he could kill it with a tiny pinch. It had glared at him with wide, pointed eyes, full of mistrust and desperation. And it followed through on its threat when he reached out to touch it, leaving four deep cuts on the back of his hand. Unfortunately his brother’s hounddog got the kitten before Kesstel had the chance to fully tame it. But he still remembered the first sweet time it let him touch its soft head.

This time, Kesstel wouldn’t let this kitten disappear until he watched her turn into a tiger. It would be easy to simply take over and solve all her troubles — if she’d ever open up about them. But she'd never grow if he did. And he wanted to see just how strong she would grow.

One day she might turn her claws on him, but for right now, he didn’t regret not killing this young Warrior of Mist the moment he saw her.

*****