Edrei sat on the roof of their house the night after his encounter with Baron Fahcrud. He, his cousins, and his uncle, had argued for hours over what to do. Orren and Reena opposed the idea, but after weighing all the options, Edrei convinced them that it was the only viable path.
The night sky stretched like a black canvas dotted with stars, soothing Edrei's heart as he gazed upward—a sharp contrast to the possible peril that might soon return to the alleys. They all knew that Baron Fahcrud would not let his humiliation fade with the night.
Edrei frowned. That sensation again.
Getting more accustomed to the tug, he rose to his feet and shifted his gaze towards its pull.
And there he saw shadows in the alleys moving.
He picked up the pipe he had brought with him and struck it against the roof a couple of times, signaling those beneath to prepare.
I'm still not afraid, he muttered to himself. I should be. We are too outnumbered—no, I—They wouldn't be able to help me at all—I'm too outnumbered. Based on the moving shadows, there had to be at least twenty of them.
The irony was that Edrei feared only one thing—that he wasn't afraid.
As his eyes tracked the shifting shadows in the alleys, another tug came.
What is this? It wants me to jump off the roof?
No. Not off. From root to roof.
Of course, Edrei had never tried such a thing, even now with this strange ability. Why would he, without reason? Yet the tug was something he already trusted. It had led him to save Reena from the three nobles, and his uncle from arrest.
He lowered his stance, backed a few steps, then ran on the roof and jumped across the next row of houses.
His foot landed on the edge of the roof.
It wasn't that he almost missed. It was intended.
The edges of the roofs were braced by beams. The sturdiest part. These alleys were lined with old and rusting roofs, and a misplaced step would have sent his foot crashing straight through.
Edrei ran swiftly along the edges of the roof. Balance perfect. Jumping from roof to roof as if he had done it a hundred times.
His eyes scanned the sentinels once more—they had scattered to different alleys. He leapt to the row of houses where the first group was, then dropped to the alley.
The leading sentinel was startled as Edrei landed in front of him.
Edrei lunged forward into their line, and the alley echoed with grunts, the pipe in his hand cracking against limbs.
Edrei skidded to a stop, turned, lowering the pipe in one hand while raising the other to count the sentinels limping in the alley.
"Eight. Almost half," he muttered.
Then the tug.
This time it was different. Like a breath being held.
He jumped aside as rapid thuds blasted the pavement where he had stood.
He looked up. The second group of sentinels. Some of them carried steam guns.
Edrei dashed toward them, eyes darting from finger to finger on the triggers.
With each finger pulling the trigger, Edrei swung. His pipe collided with rushing air, parrying the deadly wind.
He rushed into their line, and the alley exploded with the sound of metal striking bone.
He turned to check the group. One sentinel with a steam gun was still standing.
But the tug.
The tug was not urging him to attack.
He frowned and noticed that the sentinel's hand was trembling.
Edrei stomped hard on the ground, feinting an attack. The sentinel panicked, fired, shot his own leg, and fell on the ground.
Edrei shrugged his shoulders, then started walking back to their houses.
When he reached the door, he pulled his key from his pocket and unlocked it.
"Whaaahh!" frantic shouts rang the moment he swung the door open. Makeshift weapons of shovel, rake, and even a broomstick, flailed wildly in front of him. The broomstick nearly smacked Edrei, if he hadn't caught it with one hand just in time.
"Guys, it's me," Edrei said.
"Come, Edrei, get in quickly," Pin said, aiming his broomstick outside the door.
Edrei stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
Reena tilted her head. Her eyes widened. "No! Don't tell me—you finished them all?"
Edrei nodded. "But not all of them. The baron and his three sons weren't with them."
The three fell silent.
"I want to finish this tonight," Edrei said, glancing at each of them.
"What do you mean by that?" Orren asked.
"I'll go to the manor house," Edrei answered. "The baron will not stop until he takes me down."
None spoke, then Edrei opened the door.
"Edrei," Orren called out.
"Remember, you're not a murderer."
Edrei turned his head and smiled. "I haven't killed a single one, Uncle Orren. All the sentinels. Either they collapsed, or have broken limbs."
"Lock the door when I leave," Edrei said, then closed it behind him.
* * *
A half-empty goblet was in Baron Fahcrud's hand. He leaned back in his chair, both feet on the table, cheeks flushed from too much wine.
"By now that insolent, pathetic boy must have been put down," the baron said.
His three sons laughed, toasting goblets.
"But I told the sentinels not to kill him," the baron went on. "He must suffer. We will make fun of him when they bring his tortured body here."
Their loud laughter echoed in the dining hall until.
Boom!
The four nobles jolted.
The doors swung wide, and there, standing by the doorway, was Edrei.
Baron Fahcrud stood from his chair, eyes wide open. "How…"
"Apologies if I interrupted your dinner, Lord Fahcrud," Edrei said, bowing his head slightly. "It's just that I finished my training too quickly. Thanks for sending your sentinels."
He lifted his gaze. "So… I came here for our match."
The baron panicked, and then called out hysterically. "Jada! Jada! Come here, Jada!"
""Calling your mother, my lord?" Edrei mockingly said, smiling.
But the smile quickly shifted as he felt the tug.
That same tug he felt when he was shot by a steam gun.
But it was more intense.
He turned around and saw a girl, probably just a few years older than him, short hair, muscular body, and fierce-looking eyes.
Edrei remembered her. She was one of the sentinels who arrested his uncle.
"Kill him!" the baron frantically shouted, "Kill him, Jada!"
The girl pulled a short sword from her back, walking towards Edrei.
Just by looking at the girl, Edrei knew she was on a different level from all the sentinels he had beaten in the alleys. The way she walked confidently and the way she looked at Edrei with pure killing intent said it all.
When she was a few feet away from Edrei, she dashed forward with a slash.
Edrei quickly raised the pipe in his hand, holding it with both hands as the short sword clashed against the pipe.
He was pushed back a bit, his foot sliding, the blade biting into the pipe.
Edrei pushed the pipe hard, and Jada slid back a few feet, still maintaining her balance.
Then she dashed forward, slashing the sword at different angles, as Edrei parried each strike with the pipe.
The dining hall rang with the sound of metal on metal.
The two of them danced, Edrei backing away as Jada pushed forward.
A strong blow from the sword pressed on the pipe again, grinding with a shrieking sound.
Jada's eyes looked straight at Edrei's as she pushed the pipe with the sword. "Are you insulting me?"
Edrei frowned.
"I can clearly sense," she said. "You are holding back."
"Because I'm a woman?"
Edrei pushed her again.
"Hold back, and you'll die," she warned.
She pushed forward again, this time with faster strikes.
Then a move that Edrei didn't anticipate—a low-angle slash.
Edrei grunted, feeling the bite of the blade on his leg.
His other foot kicked Jada in the chest, sending her falling on the floor with a loud thud, skidding on the smooth floor.
She quickly gained composure, kneeling on one foot.
"I'm a trained killer," she said, standing.
"If you won't fight because I'm a woman, I might end up killing you."
"And then I'll kill your uncle."
In that instant, Edrei darted with speed, his pipe hitting the short sword.
The table had turned; Jada backed away as Edrei pushed forward.
Jada's expression shifted. She had thought that Edrei was holding back just a little. And now, with Edrei fighting seriously, she felt the intensity of each strike. Her hand numbed as she parried Edrei's strong blows.
Then a strong sideward strike from Edrei's pipe hurled the sword from Jada's hand.
"You chose this," Edrei said with ferocious eyes.
Then Edrei hit her with an uppercut to the jaw.
Her eyes closed—still standing for a moment—then she fell to the floor.
Silence filled the dining hall.
Then a slow clap echoed from the corner.
Edrei looked over and saw a man with long white hair tied neatly at the back, wearing a fitted leather tunic, leaning casually against the wall.
Was that man there all along? Edrei thought. I'm sure he wasn't there earlier. And even during the fight, my eyes passed that corner too many times. So when did he enter the hall?
The man started walking slowly towards him, and Edrei shifted into a fighting stance, raising his hand with a pipe.
"Kill him! Kill that kid!" the baron shouted from the table. "I'll give you whatever you wish!"
The man raised his hand and motioned for Drei to come. "Let's see what you're really capable of."
Edrei lunged with a kick; the man just angled his body aside.
A barrage of sound whipped the air as Edrei smashed his pipe. The man dodged each strike effortlessly, hands clasped behind his back, letting only his feet and body do the work.
The man leapt backward, distancing himself from Edrei, landed smoothly, then looked at him with fierce eyes.
Edrei froze.
The tug.
It felt like someone was choking him.
And the man disappeared in a blink of an eye. Appearing behind him, but he couldn't move a muscle.
Then his sight blacked out.