A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1) by D'Artagnan Rey (best romance ebooks txt) 📗

arms out, and pointed to either side. “Shield!” he yelled and two large circular shields made of Mana formed in the directions in which the young Magi pointed. They were barely in time to block the projectiles, which dropped harmlessly when he dispersed the magical barriers.

“Got some Magi in our midst, eh?” a rough voice commented. Devol drew his sword and held it in front of him as a group of men in dark-brown jerkins and pants walked out of the forest and surrounded them. Some were armed with bows or crossbows and others with swords or bludgeoning weapons on their hips or back.

Two more of these bandits stepped onto the road, followed by a much taller man with an unkempt beard and dark eyes. He was dressed in a black coat and pants with a red bandana tied around his arm and wore an iron helm with metal gloves and bracers. They must have been enchanted because they neither clanged nor shuffled as he walked.

He studied them with amusement. “You seem quite young. Sorry about the attack. We felt considerable Mana coming from ya. Can’t be too careful in these parts.”

“He’s the leader,” Jazai stated as he peeked at his tome. “His name is Jett and he has an exotic but I can’t read it clearly right now. The Mana of all these other bandits is getting in the way.”

“Should we be worried about them?” Asla asked and slid her pack off slowly.

The diviner shook his head. “Nah, not at all. A couple of them have more Mana than your average academy graduate, but they know nothing about Anima like the big guy does. He probably didn’t teach them so he could keep them in line.”

“What are ya scheming over there?” Jett asked with a grin that revealed large, yellowed teeth. “No need to be making any grand plans, children. Drop your supplies and those pretty items of yours and we’ll leave you be.” He placed a hand over his heart. “My promise.”

“I’ll take the ones on the right,” Jazai said and slid his gaze to the four bandits on his side.

“Then I’ll take the four on the left,” Asla replied and let her pack fall as she glared openly at the group. At least one winced and looked at the others.

“I’ll take him and his guards,” Devol stated, drew his sword, and prepared himself to attack.

“Focus on getting rid of his buddies first,” the other boy recommended. “Under normal circumstances, I’d say you could defeat the leader easily, but we don’t know what his exotic is capable of so keep your guard up.”

“Got it. Be quick and safe,” he stated as they all prepared to attack.

Jett began to reach into his coat. “Don’t go doing anything foolish now.”

“Go!” Devol shouted and the trio separated to attack the bandits.

Vaust scowled where he lay prone behind a tree stump. This certainly was not the plan but it would be a good warm-up and a chance to see how they worked in the field. He peered over his hiding place and watched the fight, paying particular attention to Devol and his light-bladed majestic. It was time to see what he could do with it.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jazai was the first to lure his group away from the road. He blinked quickly behind one of the four bandits and, in a display of ingenuity or simply a desire for expediency, he thunked him on the head with his magic-imbued tome. The man fell and when the other three focused their attention on the young diviner, he led them deeper into the woods.

The wildkin pounced on her targets much faster than any of them expected and caught them all unprepared. She drove one onto his back when she leapt into his chest and delivered a heavy kick before she landed on top of him. In the same motion, she slashed the legs of two other bandits before the fourth attempted to swing his mace to crush her head. Alsa rolled to the side and the mace almost pounded into the fallen bandit's chest before its wielder managed to stop it. She scurried into the woods with both the injured and uninjured brigands in pursuit.

Devol decided the best way to draw Jett’s bodyguards would be to feint an assault on their leader. He surged into a mock attack and as expected, the two men intercepted him. With his sword held ready in both hands, he slid along the path as both guards swung their weapons in aggressive arcs. He lifted his blade to catch theirs and the two struggled against him.

“What the hell?” one of them protested. “How is this kid so strong?”

His comrade directed a vicious kick at the young Magi, who strengthened his limb with Mana seconds before the bandit’s boot struck his knee. The impact made the man cry out in surprise and he almost buckled from the pain. “My foot!” he yelled. “My toes are broken.”

“Hey—don’t back off, idiot!” his comrade yelled. “He’s going to—”

The boy did not let him finish and instead, shoved him back and broke their stalemate as he thrust the pommel of his majestic into the guard’s chest. The force of the blow dented the light armor he wore under his jacket and he hacked painfully and spat a glob of something vile before he stumbled back and collapsed.

“You little bastard!” the man’s comrade roared, steadied himself, and attempted another wild swipe with his weapon. Devol intercepted the strike, blocked it with ease, and used his strengthened leg to deliver a powerful kick to his opponent’s jaw. The ruffian staggered and flailed to regain his balance before he landed heavily on his companion.

Surprisingly, the bandit leader laughed raucously as he shook his head and clapped. “Well I’ll be— You’re something else, kid!” he remarked, his tone impressed, and slid his hand into his coat. “I underestimated you and your little friends. I usually have a good eye for easy targets but guess I was way