Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (best adventure books to read .TXT) 📗

me a moment to process, until the tortured face of another man I had marked floated to the forefront of my mind. “Jack. I assume he told quite a story.”

She gave me an odd look. “In a manner of speaking. His autopsy revealed—”

“Autopsy?” I interrupted her. “Did you say his autopsy?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Of the corpses found in the barracks on the night of your escape, Jack was the only one worth investigating. He appeared to have died from a self-inflicted stab wound, but his body was covered in mysterious black scars.” She gestured gently towards my hand for emphasis.

The news of Jack’s suicide would have affected me more powerfully, had I not already felt so sick and numb. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“I want you to explain what happened.”

“I can’t. Now, more than ever, I can’t.” I paused for a moment, then let out a frustrated sigh. “Power comes at a cost, Val. Sometimes, the cost is worth it. Sometimes it isn’t.” I buried my scarred hand inside my cloak. “We accomplished our mission. That’s all that’s important.”

“That is not enough, Lux,” she replied, her voice tremulous. “I need to give an accurate account of what transpired in Attetsia.”

“No, you don’t,” I said forcefully, turning to look at her face to face. “If you tell the King every detail of our mission, he’ll never let us leave the city alive.”

Her eyebrows flicked upwards as the last of her composure left her. “I am not sure what you mean.” She turned away, too late to hide the fear I saw in her eyes.

“Don’t lie to me. If Virram knows what Lia and I are capable of, he’ll demand that we keep working for him. If we refuse, he’ll have us killed.” I paused until she met my eyes again. “More accurately, he’ll attempt to have us killed. You probably know him better than anybody; do you think I’m wrong?”

The silence between us was all I needed as an answer. “I cannot lie to him,” she whispered eventually, avoiding the question.

“Then tell the truth. I distracted the guards outside while you and Lia snuck into the statehouse. You defeated the General with her help, while I took care of an unarmed priestess. You set the terms with the Strategist, and you convinced the Company to leave Attetsia without violence.” I stared intensely into her wide, olive eyes, hoping to find agreement. “All we want to do is leave, Val. I don’t care about payment, or honors, or anything else. Just let us leave.”

“You could accept his offer,” she said hopefully. “With your skills, you and Lia would easily climb up the ranks of Kaldan’s military. You could even join the Trinity Guard. Together, the three of us would bring Kaldan into a new age of safety and prosperity.”

I shook my head sadly. “I can’t do that, Val; I can’t keep living that life. All of the danger, the stress, the death...I don’t want that to become my whole life again. I want to be good for something other than bloodshed. I want peace, and happiness, and…” I paused as my honesty took me by surprise, “...and a family.” My eyes closed as my mind wandered to the memory of Alda and Amaya standing together, smiling at me. “I will never lose my family again.”

When my eyes reopened, I was shocked to see a tear streak down Val’s cheek. “I will do what I can to help you,” she said, her voice threatening to break at every word, “but I cannot make you any guarantees. While I believe the King will do—”

Her voice cut out abruptly as I hugged her around her shoulders. “That’s all I’m asking. Thank you, Valandra.” I felt her body freeze at my touch, but she quickly relaxed into the embrace, gingerly wrapping one arm under mine to return the gesture. Despite our occasional disagreements, I couldn’t deny that I had come to care about her over the course of our mission, and I felt a moment of sadness when I realized I would most likely never see her again after our debriefing with the King.

I heard her let out a single, sharp breath as her shoulders shook, but when I pulled away, she had already regained most of her lost composure, and any sign of the tears on her face had been wiped away. “It is the least I can do for you, after everything you have done for me,” she stated.

“Well, once we’re free to leave, you can consider us even,” I said with a chuckle. A small smile spread across her face as she gave me a nod in agreement. With a clap of my hands, I hopped to my feet and peered around the edge of the wagon. “Great! Now, unless you had anything else you wanted to talk about, I should get back to Lia. I’m sure she’s curious about where we disappeared to.”

She held a hand out to stop me. “Lux, there was…” she paused, looking away, “nothing else.”

Her halting speech and downcast eyes informed me otherwise. “Are you sure? We won’t have much of a chance to talk after tonight.”

“Yes, I am sure. Thank you for speaking with me,” she replied. “You should return to Lia. I am going to patrol our perimeter.” Immediately, she stood and began to walk in the opposite direction of our camp.

“Alright. Be careful,” I called after her. I watched until she disappeared from sight in a thicket of trees, then shrugged and made my way back to camp. As much as I was distracted by the odd interaction she had left me with, I was satisfied with the outcome of our meeting. It was strange to feel even a small ray of hope after everything we had been through, but for the first time since leaving Yoria, I believed we had a chance of finishing our mission and moving on with our lives.

Marin was on her way out of camp when