Chapter 7

It hurts, it hurts so goddamn bad! I could barely get enough air to stay conscious.

I heard Isayah nearby, “Hello humans, you’ve caused me quite the headache.” I struggled to lift my head to see what was going on. Isayah's back was facing me and I saw Astrid in the boat, and Devin had jumped back on the bank, standing with his sword out and pointing at Isayah, though I could see the blade trembling.

“W… wait, please… wait.” I gasped the words out. I saw Isayah’s shoulders fall when I spoke.

Isayah said without turning, “Why? Why can’t you have just been knocked out.” He spun around, “Why do you do this shit to me? I’m trying my best to protect you, but why do you have to make everything so difficult? These are humans for god sake!”

I could see tears forming in his eyes as he spoke, which made my own tears start to fall. “I… I know! You tell me every day how I should hate them and want to kill them, but I don’t want to! You keep saying that they are evil and treacherous! How they killed my mother and father, and all the other elves. But I wasn’t there! I don’t know any of them!”

My tears were now fully running down my cheeks, I wasn’t even upset that he wanted to kill Astrid and Devin, just frustrated. Isayah always stresses how I should despise all mortals because they killed my family, but they didn’t. These two are barely older than me and they are the first people who have ever shown me such kindness, they accepted me as a friend. A friend, that’s what they were. That’s why I don’t want them to die.

“Isayah!” I steadied myself against a tree and was able to pull myself to my feet. “They are my first friends, you cannot kill them.” I brushed the tears off my face and I looked him straight in the eyes. Inside my cloak, my free hand was busy with preparing insurance.

He kept my gaze for a long time, “You don’t know them. You met them yesterday.”

“Still, you can’t kill them.” I stared him down, watchful of his movements. This was just another sparring match, and I’ll just ignore the fact that I've never won against him even once.

“Do you seriously intend to fight me?” Isayah had both of his swords out and I could see a faint stain of red on them.

I swallowed, “If… If that’s what it takes.”

“Very well,” He raised both his swords and took his usual fighting stance. “If you can beat me, I’ll let your friends go. If you can’t, I’ll kill them, that is the way the world works. After all, surely you don’t expect to be able to protect the things you care about without the strength to do it.”

I finally felt balanced enough to let go of the tree. Legs slightly wobbling, frozen to the bone, I jumped at him.

~~~~

Isayah looked down at his ward of 13 years and what looked back at him surprised him. Throughout Elias’s childhood, he was always an amenable kid. He of course had his troublesome phases, but he had always backed down when he was told no. Isayah had raised Elias with the thought that he ultimately knew what was best for him because, in reality, he was basically a newborn in the eyes of an elf.

But the fire in Elias’s eyes made even an elf like himself waver. In the end, it was probably due to the fact that he saw his late king in Elias, but it made it difficult for Isayah to ignore him. But still, he couldn’t do as Elias wished. His thoughts were briefly brought back to when his clan was destroyed all because they too, thought to save a human child.

“Very well,” He brought his swords up and turned a hard gaze toward Elias. “If you can beat me, I’ll let your friends go. If you can’t, I’ll kill them, that is the way the world works. After all, surely you don’t expect to be able to protect the things you care about without the strength to do it.”

Elias charged Isayah with a war cry and Isayah deftly sidestepped at the last moment, leaving his foot out to trip the boy. Surprisingly enough, Elias also changed his trajectory with incredible reflexes and slammed into Isayah, even managing to get him off his feet by ramming his head into Isayah’s chest while simultaneously lifting up from just behind his knee.

Elias was definitely his father’s son. He had progressed with his training quickly and memorized all of the books and study material he was taught. In fact, his alchemical knowledge alone would have been on par with some of the old clan healers. But Isayah knew what the result would be, Elias was still a child, despite his monstrous talent.

He couldn’t use his swords on his ward so he let them fall from his hands. He then flipped his weight mid-air and threw Elias off balance, causing the both of them to fall to the ground, Isayah gaining the top. Isayah was well aware of his knack for poisons, so he tore Elias’s satchel off and sent it flying into the bushes, giving time for Elias to score a rather ineffective punch to Isayah’s jaw. Isayah pinned Elias with his weight before swinging his right leg around to lock over Elias's head while keeping ahold of Elias’s left hand. This technique wouldn’t really work on a larger opponent, but Elias was a fair bit shorter than he was and the stress on Elias’s shoulder made his arm pop clean out of its socket.

Elias screamed in pain, but Isayah wasn’t done yet, he could always heal the boy later. Isayah shifted sides but Elias twisted on the ground just as his grip loosened. Elias brought his leg up and kneed Isayah hard in the crotch. Isayah winced, Elias winced, and even Devin, who was watching from the riverside, winced.

“That was a cheap shot,” the pained words came from Isayah. Elias looked sorry but he used his advantage to pull a thin needle from the cloak he wore. Isayah spotted the attack and easily grabbed the hand flying at his shoulder but then felt a sharp sting in his side.

~~~~

I got him! I spotted blood on the tip of the needle that I’d dropped into my free hand. It felt like I stabbed a rock, so I thought for sure I had failed, but I guess the small amount of Blade Aura I could use was just enough. The poison I used could supposedly knock out a bear, so even if he strengthened his body, Isayah would pass out within a minute. However, that minute was one I had to keep him occupied for.

Isayah clutched his side and said through his teeth, “You dick! What did you…” I saw his eyes widen, “How do you have this!?” The poison I used wasn’t something I should have been able to make, let alone get the materials for. But like I said, if nothing else, I am confident in medicine. I failed two of the three times I tried to make it, using up most of the ingredients I had found in the old apothecary of the ruined fort further up the mountain.

The poison was called Oblivion and the book about alchemy I’d read only touched on the process for barely a paragraph, so making it was super confusing. The main reason Isayah is surprised is probably that the main ingredient, Oblivion Fruit, can only grow in a select few places in the world.

The amount I was able to make was just enough for one dose. I had saved it for if I ever ran into a monster I couldn’t beat, but it was already proving its efficacy. I quickly grabbed onto Isayah midsection, determined to not let him go, but his strength hadn’t failed him yet and he got serious. He gathered mana in his and released it just as he touched my shoulder. The force of the small explosion made my entire body jerk to the side and barrel roll through the air, smashing through several saplings and bushes on the way. I heard my ribs and arm crack before I felt it.

The pain was unbearable, my whole body felt like it was on fire. It was a pain I had never felt before, intense, undiluted agony. I fought to stay conscious and dragged myself to my feet, my bones screaming at me to stop and my arms hanging limp at my sides. I saw Isayah whip toward Devin and pull a knife from his baldric.

I gathered my strength and yelled at him “NO!” Isayah either didn’t hear me or didn’t intend to listen because he raised his hand and went to throw the knife at a terrified looking Devin.

Suddenly Isayah lurched forward, stumbling to keep his feet, and finally fell to one knee. “You won,” the words were followed by his strength leaving his arm and the knife falling into the snow. Isayah fell to the side and didn’t get up.

“... I won?” The reality of the situation hit me like a brick, I was somehow still standing. To be fair, I used an underhanded way of fighting, and I was fighting an opponent that would never kill me or even seriously injure me, so I had many advantages. But I won.

I looked at the figure of my brother, I couldn't feel very happy about it. I stumbled out of the crushed bushes and limped over to Isayah.

I glanced over to Devin and Astrid, “You guys should leave before he wakes up, I’ll be fine, I’m sure you guys heard everything anyway.”

Astrid looked somber, “Does he have elf blood too?”

Devin looked at my now exposed ears then turned back to Astrid. “Elf?” His jaw dropped and he pointed at me, “You’re an elf!?” Devin rushed over to me, I put my hands up in defense, but he grabbed my shoulders, “Do you know Aelen?”

“What?” I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. “I don’t understand, who’s Aelen?” I looked to Astrid for an answer but she was just shaking her head.

“Aelen is a half-elf like you!” Devin had a big grin, “Astrid and I used to hang out with him, but he left the city a few years ago cause the people there are a bunch of assholes to half-elves.”

City? I gave Astrid a suspicious glance but she just shrugged. “I don’t know any other elves than me and my brother,” I gestured to Isayah. But then something dawned on me, “Wait a minute, aren’t you guys mad at Isayah for killing those people back there?”

“Eh? No, those were just a bunch of dirtbags hired by Astrid's ass of a father to come to drag us back.” Astrid’s identity kept getting more and more suspect. I had read stories about mortals and their class systems, and I’m betting that Astrid’s family is pretty important.

Isayah groaned softly and we all collectively jumped. He had just stirred on the ground but was still unconscious, “You guys should seriously get out of here.”

Devin nodded and took a final glance at Isayah, “You’re probably right.” He trotted back to Astrid and gave the canoe a push into the water before jumping in himself. “Hey, if you guys ever find yourself in Drowich, come find us, your brother too. Though it’d be pretty cool if he didn’t try to kill us again.”

“What happened to Delphi?” I pointed that question at Astrid.

The boat was already floating down the river when she hollered back at me, “What about it, the village does exist, and we were hunting for them, but it was just part of a job.” She smiled shamelessly, “Besides, I wasn’t sure if I could trust you yet.”

The two of them disappeared around the bend and it was once again quiet. I looked down at Isayah and sighed, “I know it’s my fault, but am I really going to have to carry you back?” Another thing that gave me a headache was the fact I was sure that Isayah was going to make good on his threat of making me chop wood all summer. Well, that and the ass-beating I was in for when he woke up. I shrugged and began to search for some decent sticks to build a stretcher out of.