A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1), D'Artagnan Rey [best romantic novels to read .TXT] 📗

“Will you fight too?” Devol asked and observed the man as he rummaged in his jacket.

“Well, I have to save face now,” Jett stated. and withdrew a small hammer. “This is about pride, not merely plunder.”

Jazai had told the young Magi that the leader had an exotic, and the boy’s gaze studied the hammer. The one-handed weapon with a head that was no more than six or seven inches wide and a few inches tall was a little disappointing and he wondered if it was truly his exotic or merely a ploy.

The brigand twirled the hammer for a moment. “Nice sword. What is that?” he studied the light-blade as a thief might a precious jewel he intended to steal. “Some sturdy glass, I suppose, although it’s nothing I’ve seen before. My boys have truesilver blades, so it wasn’t only you strengthening your sword with Mana that kept it intact. I wonder how much I can get for something like that. It’s a collector’s item, no doubt. I might keep it for myself.”

“My majestic sought me out,” Devol stated and pointed it at the bandit leader. “And I have only recently acquired it. I won’t give it up.”

“A majestic?” Jett chuckled. “Either way, that sounds like a pompous way to say, ‘you can pry it out of my cold, dead hands.’” He held his hammer up and a dull red glow now surrounded it. “I can oblige you there, boy.”

His eyes widened. He had his answer. The hammer was indeed his opponent’s exotic and it was much more than it appeared to be. He decided to not give the man any advantage he might gain with more time to prepare himself and surged into motion. Jett merely laughed wildly.

“Where’d he go? Did anyone see him?” one of the bandits shouted as they thrust through the forest in search of Jazai.

“Over here!” the diviner shouted. The group was bewildered but followed the voice hurriedly to a small clearing, where their quarry stood in the open, reading his book. “Let’s see… Both James and Kane have short fuses. Vick and Vince are brothers who attack together.”

“What the hell?” Vick demanded indignantly. “How does he know our names?”

“Must be a trick!” Kane reasoned and brandished his mace. “We beat the kid and worry about the rest later.”

“Did you know that Vince has been seeing your girl, Vick?” Jazai asked and caught both of the bandits' attention. “Lola in Sherbrook? Yeah, they’ve had a few flings. I guess brothers do share everything.”

“Is that true, Vince?” Vick demanded, turned immediately, and pointed his sword at his brother. “Well, is it?”

“He’s only trying to get in your head, man!” Vince said and tried to calm him as he held his sword up defensively. “Don’t let him get to you.”

“I’m not sure what I have to worry about with Kane and James,” the boy remarked when he flipped a page. “It says here you think you’re the worst fighters among your group. Both of you are worried that the boss will toss you out on your ass sooner or later, and that’s the best outcome.”

“Shut up!” they yelled almost in unison as they lunged toward him. He closed the book and waited for them to strike. He might not have been an up-close fighter like Devol or Asla, but even he could see how sloppy the two were and slid easily between them as they attempted to land their blows at the same time. His ploy worked and their weapons clashed noisily against each other.

Jazai placed his hands on the back of their heads. “Shock!” Electricity coursed through his palms and into the bandits, who yelled in pain before they fell at his feet. He shook his hands and felt them tingle. “Huh. I need to work on that one,” he muttered as he turned toward the forest. Vick and Vince now brawled openly with one another.

For a moment, he wondered if he should simply let them keep themselves occupied, but he decided to be on the safe side. He pointed at them with his index and little finger. “Missile.” Two orbs of blue Mana formed in front of his fingers and streaked unerringly into the heads of the bandit brothers to render them unconscious and end their little spat. The diviner grinned and departed.

“Holly!” a bandit shouted in an attempt to locate his comrades. “Xav! Did you find her?”

“I don’t hear anything.” His partner grimaced. “Only birds and insects. How far did they go?”

“Maybe she got them?” the first man reasoned and tightened his hold nervously on his mace.

“No way. That scrawny little—” His partner’s words ended in a sudden shout and a sound that suggested he’d thunked into a tree trunk.

He spun hastily. The other man lay in a crumpled heap and Asla stood over him. “Son of a—” He acted reflexively and pushed into a charge as he raised his mace. The wildkin turned, formed a claw with her hand, and lashed out even though he was several yards away.

His mace suddenly felt considerably lighter and he gaped at it in astonishment. The weapon had been cut into three pieces and most of it was now on the forest floor. Before he could even utter a word, she darted behind him, struck the back of his neck in one swift motion with the side of her hand, and felled him instantly.

She watched for a moment to see if he recovered but once she was sure he was as incapacitated as the other three bandits, she began to run toward the road. The wildkin wondered how Devol and Jazai had fared but she heard a loud impact, something that caused the forest to shake. She increased her pace even more. It sounded like it had come from the main road, which meant Devol was in trouble.

When Jazai blinked into view on the road, he was immediately shoved to the ground as something large streaked overhead. “What