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

was that?” he asked in surprise as Devol helped him up and they both retreated a short distance. The bandit leader held a massive hammer—almost comically big in comparison to the large man—but he wielded it with intent to kill, which made it even more threatening.

“It looks like he can increase the size and length of it as he pleases,” the young swordsman informed him and held his blade up. “It’s been quite tricky to get close.”

“I can imagine. It’s only an exotic, though, so you should be able to guard against it easily with a majestic.”

“It won’t break the blade,” he agreed and pulled his sleeve up to reveal a bruised arm. “But I still feel the hit. It tossed me into a tree a minute ago.”

“Yeah, that would be a problem,” Jazai conceded and held his hands out. “I’ll see if I can get you an opening, although it would probably be easier if Asla was—”

The wildkin launched out of the forest, leapt onto the leader’s back, and sank her claws into his armor.

“You too?” Jett roared as he struggled to dislodge her. “Are all my men incompetent?” He was able to catch hold of her hair and yanked her off him. She struck with her claws and left scratch marks on his chest plate but little more. “You have to do more than whiff me, girlie!” He spat into the dust.

Asla landed and bounded away to join her two teammates. “Good timing,” the young diviner remarked.

“He has an Anima,” she told them. “Otherwise, that strike would have wounded him.”

“Devol needs an opening,” Jazai stated. “Let us get it for him.”

“All right.” She nodded, bared her teeth, and surged forward with him close behind.

Devol began to prime his majestic with Mana and the light flowed quickly into his blade. Asla lashed out and her claws scored the leader’s armor as he swung his weapon at her. The hammer had enlarged enough to strike almost her whole body in one blow, but she was able to contort herself enough that it narrowly missed her and whistled overhead. She landed, jumped onto the hammer, and vaulted off to strike the man’s helm.

The diviner moved close enough that he was only a few yards away and pointed at the brigand. “Chains!” he shouted. Immediately, links made of Mana slid around the arms and chest of their target and held him in place for a moment while Asla circled for another strike.

Jett responded with an angry shout and his Mana flared. He broke the chains, snatched the wildkin in mid-air, and hurled her into the dirt, then raised his hammer to flatten her.

As he prepared to swing his hammer, a bright light filled his vision and the young swordsman raced forward, prepared to sink his majestic into his chest. The leader shrank his hammer as he closed in, which allowed him to change the arc of his swing toward the young Magi. When his weapon met the sword, a blast of light and wave of force exploded from the clash.

The majestic grew brighter and Devol pushed his blade forward. A second vivid explosion catapulted Jett off his feet and he hurtled along the forest path, his hammer following. He was finally stopped over a hundred yards away when he careened into a group of trees. Dazed, he struggled for a moment to stand but before he could get to his feet, his hammer drove into his chest and thrust him deeper into the forest.

The trio looked on wide-eyed. Jazai and Asla turned to Devol. “Well…” the boy began and an amused grin snuck onto his face. “I don’t think that counts as Mana draining, do you?”

The only response his teammates had was to shake their heads.

Vaust was equally amused and excited. It had been a treat to watch the three handle their foes so deftly, and seeing Devol’s majestic in action was an impressive sight. He realized, however, any theory they currently had notwithstanding, that what it could do remained a mystery. Still, he would have to remember this moment as it would make a great story to tell the others once they finished their mission.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After their run-in with the bandits, they searched their unconscious bodies and helped themselves to anything that seemed useful. Even Jett was only knocked out cold, much to their surprise, and they conceded that for all his nasty behavior, the man was certainly a worthy opponent if a somewhat broken one at that moment. They all agreed to not take the weapons as they were cumbersome and would slow their journey.

With the procured supplies shared between them, the boys discussed taking the brigand leader’s exotic, which would certainly be of real benefit to the Templars—and prevent its use against unsuspecting travelers.

Before they could agree on it, a loud growl and a flash of orange light ended their debate and they turned as one. A furious Asla clawed the hammer viciously and destroyed it. They watched her in silence. While they had to admit that this may not have been the plan they would have gone with, it was a fair compromise.

The three continued until nightfall but were unable to find a cave or shelter nearby. The skies were clear, however, and no sign of impending rain meant they could easily build themselves a campfire and settle around it for the night. They found a river a short distance away, where they were able to refill their canteens and freshen up.

Dinner was made from rabbits Asla had hunted followed by bread and various jams they had brought with them from the castle. Thereafter, they simply stretched beside the campfire, stared at the stars, and took a moment to rest.

“You know, Devol,” Jazai began and turned on his side to look at the young swordsman. “You’ve been rather quiet since we started to make camp.”

He shifted under his blanket and nodded. “I guess I have, huh? Sorry, I’ve been thinking about the last fight.”

The diviner