Knights Apocalyptica 2: A LitRPG Adventure, page 21
On the way back, Erec got to kill a few things. Mostly a lot of mangy beasts that rolled themselves in balls, bright-blue fur and a crooked snarled nose with ruined teeth. They died easy enough, too easy to get him going. But that was alright. With how things had shaken out, he was pleased that he’d used Fury to save, not just kill.
By the time they’d exited the city, there were only a couple of hours of sunlight left.
“Welcome back!” Yniol yelled to a chorus of cheers from the Pendragons. “Brought some friends, huh?! Let’s celebrate; I’ve got some cold ones!”
That statement was a bit untrue, from what Erec found. Their bottles were never cold, only put in the shade. But the Pendragons loved that expression. Their leader rushed out to talk things out with Boldwick, and the senior Knights kept an eye on the prisoners while they figured out what to do with them.
But the Initiates were free to call it a day—a reward for good work. Only after taking off their Armor in the secured building by the roadside they’d taken for such a purpose. It was a plain building, but defensible. So Erec found himself in a room alone with Garin and Colin; the two had also been permitted leave to relax for the night.
As always, taking off his Armor and feeling the fresh air hit him was a relief. Within him dwelled a sense of pride for their job and fear for the future. Enide. Her story about the vault made him realize how lucky he’d been during the trial. It could’ve ended a lot worse.
Garin slapped him on the back and whistled; without all of the Armor, the hit stung. “Safe and sound, eh? And we’ll be getting to see something cool.”
“Mhmm.” Erec shook himself out of it, giving his best friend a grin. “Benefits to going outside of the Church’s wishes, huh?”
“Sure are—I’ve been thinking…” His eyes trailed to Colin, who was taking off his Armor. “Been regressing lately, hasn’t he?”
“In his case, I think the further from his dad he got, the more he had to figure out who he was. When he’s around him, he puts himself back into the headspace of being a little kid again, which, for him, is truly awful.”
“Bet he was a brat.”
“Yeah,” Erec said, and then stopped. Oh no. He saw where the gears were turning in Garin’s head.
“Sour about not having a Divine Talent. He might be ready for something else to perk him up and distract him. That’d change things up, right?” Garin tilted his head and frowned. Munchy squeaked in anger as he crawled out of his Armor; the fat squirrel looked exhausted.
“No.”
“I’ll ask him.”
“Garin, he’s a son of a Duke. He can’t afford to make himself an enemy of the Church by risking his Blessing.”
“Think of it this way: You’re a Count. I’m a Baron’s son. You don’t care much for your rank, and I know I’d rather be by your side than stuck in charge of some dull bio-caverns. I’ve got a sister who’d gladly take the spot…” He shrugged. “Everyone thinks he wants to be a Duke and live up to his father, but maybe that’s exactly the opposite of what he wants deep down?”
With that, Garin enacted his plan, running over and tossing an arm over Colin’s shoulder, a smirk on his face. Little did Colin know that he intended to talk him into joining the two of them on a peyote drug trip that’d make the Church want to burn him alive.
Erec could only watch in horror until he couldn’t. Not wanting to be part of this corruption, he sped out of the room.
If I can make a choice like that, why can’t he?
“Erec.” Enide was sitting right by the exit, her eyes piercing through him. “Wanna have a chat?”
CHAPTER 34
NORTH STAR
The noble stag was pausing now
Upon the mountain’s southern brow,
Where broad extended, far beneath,
The varied realms of fair Menteith.
With anxious eye he wandered o’er
Mountain and meadow, moss and moor,
And pondered refuge from his toil…
- Walter Scott, “The Lady of the Lake” (1810, 2nd Era)
When Enide had asked for a chat, Erec didn’t have a clue what it’d entail. There was tension in the idea of being alone with her. He thought they might find somewhere quiet to talk and joke around. Not that she’d walk up to her father with him in tow, swipe his car keys and loudly declare she’d be taking his car for a ride.
Yniol, a proud car owner and father, had scarcely processed that before Enide told Erec to grab his axe, then meet her at the car. Erec briskly walked away from the two of them as they erupted into a swearing match.
Less than two minutes later, he’d hopped in the passenger seat, and Enide had kicked off the ride with a wild laugh, her gun and his axe strapped down as they sped away from Worth into the desert.
If Yniol was a reckless driver, there wasn’t a word to describe Enide’s style. She came straight from hell. Her foot didn’t let off the pedal, and one of her hands was out the side of the car the entire time. It waved up and down with the wind. Erec held on for dear life. The vehicle jerked around and threw them every which way.
But the smile on her face. That compelling joy radiating off her infected him. Erec let go of the brace, of his fear of crashing and dying. Instead, like her, he embraced the wind. They flew across the desert.
Within, Fury sparked a confusing sensation to go along with joy. It was a pure unadulterated euphoria that contrasted with the normal hate and anger it sprang from.
Erec yelled, climbing to his feet to better feel the wind as they rode. Further and further, the city retreated behind. With it, the Armor, those monsters, and the rest of the Knights and his identity with the Kingdom. Melting away into the sand and distance.
Eventually, Enide pulled the car over on the side of the road.
The sun sank on the horizon, and Enide climbed out of the car, digging in the trunk for an old ratty blanket. With a bit of swagger, she tossed it on the dirt, threw an old-world insulated cooler on top, and invited Erec to join her.
She’d planned for this, stuffing the cooler with jerky, veggies, and a couple of beers. It wasn’t the most impressive meal, but it hit the spot.
There was the typical small talk as they ate, then drank, letting the sun go down completely.
All the while, a sort of tension lingered between them. Erec’s hair stood on the back of his neck; he felt keenly aware of everything she did, so much so that his worries slid away.
Tomorrow, he’d deal with the vault. Might die or come close again. But tonight was his.
They stretched on the blanket, staring up above. His hand brushed against hers, and he slid it away, feeling a swelling in his gut. Only for her to reach back out and grab it, holding it in place, with his heart hammering, while she kept on talking.
“Little Dipper,” Enide said, pointing out a formation. “See how they connect? Picture the lines in your mind and it looks a bit like a spoon. My mother used to say it was also called Ursa Minor, whatever that means. One next to it is the Big Dipper…and that over there is the Dragon.”
Erec squinted as he looked far above, though she kept pointing to a specific part of the sky. It was hard to tell which stars she meant. That and it was hard to concentrate; his mind kept going back to the feeling of her hand and his. With a great deal of will, he focused. It looked like a spoon if you gave it a lot of leeway. But it was more like a box with a string attached to it, if he was even looking at the same thing. He didn’t even try to find the “dragon.”
Her hand felt so warm. She ran her thumb along the underside of his palm, tracing the lines.
“…But you don’t care much for the stars, do you?” She shook her head. “Blows my mind you’ve got a set of fancy Armor, praise the bitch-who-shall-not-be-named, but don’t even know your constellations.”
“Wasn’t, uh…all too important. I know how to navigate from them. Mostly that star right there.” He pointed at the end of the “little dipper,” the brightest star in the formation. “That one’s north; you can base your direction on it. During the day, you have the sun. In practical terms, though, you’d probably have a compass or navigation from your Armor. A lot of Wasteland Survival lectures are about redundancies in case the worst happens.”
“The Academy’s hard, then?”
“Very few people get in. Mostly higher-ranking nobility. If you borrow loaner armor, you stand a chance as a low-ranking noble or even a commoner…” He trailed off as she folded her fingers in his. Where was he even going with that?
When he slipped off into quiet, Enide laughed mockingly, letting go of his hand and sitting up.
“Issues focusing, huh?”
He blinked and looked at her. That wild black hair hung, and she wasn’t staring at the stars anymore. Without her hand, it was almost like waking up from a dream, only this was real. Her gun and his axe were in her father’s car, and anywhere out there might be a monster.
“You didn’t take me out here to talk about the stars,” Erec said, since it was true.
“No, not really.” She leaned back and frowned. “I’ve wondered quite a bit about you. The way you act so reserved at times. But you didn’t act like that all during soccer. A reserved person isn’t the type to get torn to shreds so haphazardly in fights or act so aggressive. What was stranger is that when they dragged you back, you had a smile on your face, even all torn up like that.”
There it was, digging in. Inevitably she’d want to know why. “My Divine Talent, it’s…well, called Fury. From the name, I think you can take a guess about what happens.”
“They say that your Talent is a reflection of your soul. Of who you are deep down. Are you furious at this world, Erec?”
“I… Maybe. We shouldn’t be forced to live within our walls; these monsters have no right to trespass.”
‘That isn’t it.” Enide smiled. “There are all sorts of monsters in life, and not all of them are the kind that wanna eat you. But I want to know you, including that side of you, the honest one deep down. I wanna see this Fury as it was meant to be. Not held back.”
“Why?” Erec squinted at her.
“I think people are at their most beautiful when they’re themselves. Along those lines… Your ‘Master Knight’ isn’t going to be too happy about this, but I heard what they were talking about. I know Rochester. No matter what you say, that’ll be his tipping point before forcing your hand. I’m sure we’ll be going with you to this vault.”
Erec frowned. Boldwick wasn’t one to roll over for other people’s demands, let alone with a group like the Pendragons. What possible benefit could the Pendragons offer that might make him reconsider?
Seeing his hesitation and seizing on the moment of weakness, Enide threw herself on top of him, her hands pressing down on either shoulder, her hair hanging freely around him, those piercing brown eyes locked on his own.
His heart raced miles in his chest, and a shock of pure adrenaline ran through as Fury ignited within once more. That flame burned within him, the feeling of her pressing down a similar fire sparking him and burning him alive. She smelled like the wind, a free and unconstrained force that wouldn’t let anything tie her down.
Gradually, her head lowered, preciously close. Those eyes held him in a trance.
“Show me who you are, Erec. And I’ll show you who I am.”
Her eyes closed, and with a feeling like he was going crazy, Erec followed suit. She shifted on top of him, her lips barely brushing his, then suddenly, that pressure weighing down on him was gone. Surprised, Erec opened his eyes, and Enide was nowhere to be seen. He looked around twice. But there was no sign of her.
On the third desperate moment of searching, there she was, on the hood of the car, reclined with an evil smile.
“Excited to raid a vault, slinger?” she asked.
Erec pressed a hand to his chest, gasping in relief. For a moment, he’d thought some horrible creature had found her and torn her away. That fear inside burned damn near as bright as Fury, which was still glowing in his chest. But with all of this… His head was a mess.
“What the hell was that?”
“Fun and games, Mr. Hero.” She shrugged. “How about you hop in my car, and we drive back? Pa’s bound to start getting really pissed right about now, even more than before, and I need to make sure to seal the deal and get a spot cracking a vault. Luckily, I’m pretty useful, so don’t think convincing my Pack will be hard.”
With that, she got off the car, walked to the driver’s seat, and turned the ignition. The headlights flooded their little picnic site.
“Oh, mind picking up everything and throwing it in the back? Appreciate it!”
Erec stared at her, hand still on his chest, the thoughts going through his head maddening. She was playing with him, maybe. Or maybe not. He knew this was the type of person she was, and this whole thing was a dare. A new game she’d invented. One designed to test his limits and see who broke first.
CHAPTER 35
KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR
Erec and Enide got back to the encampment in one piece. The entire ride back was quiet. It was rather hard to converse when the car barreled over the wasteland in the dark. That feeling of her lips barely brushing his kept playing over and over in his head.
When they returned, they barely had a second to breathe before Yniol started yelling at her. She signaled for Erec to run off, and he did. Didn’t feel right to listen to her get chewed out by her father, and he didn’t want to risk putting himself next on that list. He did his best to stay away from the light of the bonfires and sneak back to his bed.
“There you are,” Boldwick called from the building doorway. The Master Knight crossed his arms and frowned. “Got your axe. Think you forgot a couple of things, though. Care to tell me what’s missing? You know, from when you decided to sneak away from the camp?”
“Uh.” Erec rubbed the back of his head, and his gut sank.
“Here’s a hint.” Boldwick tapped the radio on his side. “And then there’s another thing you should always have on you during a wasteland trek. Keeps monsters from stabbing you and leaving you bleeding out. So, tell me what that lifesaving device is?”
“…Yeah, I’m sorry. I should’ve got my Armor, and something to communicate. I wasn’t thinking straight.” Technically, he had VAL. But it was… a little questionable whether or not the machine would reveal itself to the other Knights, should something go wrong. He wanted to believe it would. Though part of him was confident he could handle a lot of things without his Armor.
“You weren’t thinking with your head. Goddess help me. It’s the same story with every young man.” Boldwick rubbed his eyes. “Listen, I don’t expect you to be a paragon of reasoning, especially when it comes to trying to show off to girls. But have a bit of common fucking sense, alright? Next time you want to run off with a girl for some alone time, bring more than a damn axe.”
“…You know I was off with Enide?”
Boldwick rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t see you two making eyes at each other for the last couple of days, I’m sure just listening to your friend’s gossip would’ve outed you on that.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Annoyed but not angry. Out of all the things I’d have expected to come out of cooperating with an outside group, you falling for a wastelander wasn’t on the list. But, upon further consideration, my feelings on the subject have changed. It’s just the type of boneheaded thing that might be a blessing in disguise. The Pendragons don’t appear irritated. If anything, they seem to have taken it with a bit of humor. Young love is as endless as the road, or so they say.”
“I’m not falling for a wastelander. We’re certainly not in love,” Erec said, feeling as if he had to contest the idea. Whether it was to Boldwick or for himself, he didn’t know who the words were for.
“Next time. Armor. Communication. Tell someone else other than just Garin; try a Knight in charge, maybe?” He waved off Erec’s second round of attempts to deny the love affair.
Knowing he was getting nowhere was extremely aggravating, but Erec dropped the issue. Considering the mistake, he’d gotten off lightly. And it appeared that Boldwick hadn’t been too hung up on what he was doing, which meant that there had to be something bigger on his mind.
“We’ll be working with the Pendragons tomorrow. Split into two, backed up by their number. Be prepared, since there’s likely to be a lot of fighting. You’ll be with my group, and we’ll be checking three sites. I suggest you keep the drinking to a minimum and get plenty of rest because it’ll be a long day. When we find this vault, we’ll be going inside, as soon as possible.” Boldwick clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, go. I’d say enjoy yourself, but I suspect you already have.”
With that, the Master Knight walked off, leaving Erec to look at his feet.
He hardly had a minute alone until Garin ambushed him and dragged him off; in short order, he brought Erec to a small room previously serving as his bedroom while sick. Now it was empty. Aside from Colin, who was tinkering with a piece of chalk and glyphs on the ground.
“Ah, so he’s returned.” Colin looked over his shoulder before making another mark. Munchy sat next to the half-formed glyph, his whiskers twitching as he looked at Erec. “Deeper in with the wastelanders. Seeing the disgrace of a Count is a tragic thing.”
“Pfft.” Garin shook his head. “‘Disgrace of a Count,’ huh? So, how does ‘disgraced Duke’s heir’ ring to your ears?”
Colin’s face turned a bit red, and he drew another line on the ground, only the chalk snapped as he did so.
“So, how’d it go? You two a thing?” Garin asked with a lazy grin.
“By the Goddess, we talked. That’s all,” Erec lied, shaking his head. “What in the name of hell is Colin doing?”
“Hush. I’m trying to concentrate. I’ve been thinking since our time with the Stag. All those annoying adjustments we did to glyphs had a result I couldn’t have predicted. Though it was supremely irritating at the time, upon reflection, I found that it helped me keep calm with all of the chaos going around.” He picked up the broken piece of chalk and tossed it against the far wall. “As things are quite frustrating now, this is calming.”
