They had found three more Rass that evening before deciding that was enough for the night. Michael had started carrying the Rass by draping the giant front legs over his shoulders, like stacking multiple travel packs on top of each other. Walking back into camp had Ellis frown, since there was only a single tent set up.

  Ellis tried to instruct Michael on properly skinning and tying the rotting carcasses up in a tree since they didn’t have any salt, a fair bit away from where they would sleep for the night. Michael shushed him with a slap to the back of the head before he threw the bodies right next to the fire, laid down against them and closed his eyes. He stopped moving a moment later.

  Ameena was stoking the fire opposite from where Michael slept, sitting on her now empty pack as she stared into the flames. Ellis took a deep breath, and approached her.

  “Uh, my lady? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

  She dragged her gaze from the fire to stare at him. “Anywhere I can see you. I shall take first watch tonight.”

  “First watch, my lady?” Ellis asked, unsure of what that meant.

  She did not answer, just turned back to the fire.

  He laid down as close to the fire as he could get, while still trying to keep as much of a distance between himself and the murderers as possible. He cursed himself a fool for only taking weapons instead of adding traveling items like a blanket, a fresh change of clothes or anything else of importance before he set out. But this was his bed, and he had to lie in it.

  Michael kicked him awake the next morning, and then they were off. The day proved identical to his first with the monsters, him walking quite a ways in front, while they walked side by side. Ameena always scanned the treeline, and her eyes would return to Ellis’s back every ten minutes or so. Michael seemed lost in his own thoughts, his unbroken stare fixed on the road ahead while the Rass carcasses thumped against his back. They barely said a word to each other, let alone to Ellis.

  He didn’t mind, because he was trying to figure out how to get rid of the ring.

  He couldn’t throw it into the forest and leave it to rot in the elements. No, that sick bastard was still with him and Ellis did not know how he would react if he noticed his ‘gift’ had gone missing. So he would have to try and keep it off his finger to avoid being contaminated by its heresy.

  There was a resolve in his chest whenever he glanced at it. He was not a mana user. And he would never be one.

  That night, they had just discovered their second pair of Rass for the day when Michael asked Ellis how he was able to find them so quickly. Ellis was so excited to share his hunting knowledge he didn’t even think twice before he pointed out the obvious signs. He explained their strong odour, the scratch marks hidden in the trees, their use of the forest's canopy as camouflage and likely places they were to nest. The last two signs meant the Rass needed a thick amount of branches in a wide enough area for them to live.

  Michael then said he would do it himself, and jogged off faster than Ellis had a hope of catching up with, even if he sprinted. With a sigh, he walked back to camp. He didn’t show it to Ameena, as she set up her tent and he made the fire, how stupid he felt.

  Sharing his knowledge about the forest and his love of hunting was such a rare occurrence he had jumped at the chance, but the moment the words left his mouth he realized how much of a mistake it was to tell the man his secrets. It would lower his ‘usefulness’ in their eyes, almost cementing their abandonment of him once they reached the city.

  He sat down on his log and felt stupider for relying on that as his sole contribution. He needed to do more. Far more. Once they reached the city, they wouldn’t need to hunt for food, and the money he could bring them would not be nearly enough to keep him around, even if he could hunt Rass like Michael could.

  He thought through it the entire time Michael was gone, not finding an answer in the half hour it took for the man to return.

  He stomped into the makeshift camp and threw the day's bodies down with the ones from yesterday. “Just don’t have that hunters touch, I suppose.”

  The bastard actually pouted, before curling up against the bodies, his bed for the night.

  Worrying about the ring instead of how to get closer to them was a folly Ellis needed to correct. But he just could not shake off the feeling that the ring was wrong. His muscles were sturdier, his skin less prone to blistering and the small cuts he had gotten used to throughout his life did not appear as they usually would, even though he’d been on his feet all day. It was thanks to the +1 in constitution, but the cost it came with was too high of a price.

  “I noticed Michael gave you that ring yesterday. Do you not like it?”

  Ameena’s voice cut through Ellis’s thoughts like a blade, as she finished setting up her tent and joined him at the fire, a little distance away.

  “Uh.. no, I mean yes? It is a splendid gift! That’s what I’m trying to say. A +1 to one of my weakest stats? I am more than grateful!” Ellis said quickly.

  “Then why have you been staring at it since you sat down?”

  “Well, I uh… I was admiring the craftsmanship!” he lied. Stupid stupid stupid.

  A smile almost touched her lips. “Is that its only function? A +1 to a single stat? That gift is almost as shit as the ring’s craftsmanship. I wouldn’t like such a gift if I were you.”

  “Well… that’s not its only function… and what do you mean? My father’s bow has a +1 in dexterity, and it was one of the most valuable items from my village!” Ellis said, trying to reign his temper back in and failing.

  He didn’t know if it was the firelight, the fact she was a pretty girl, or his own exhaustion grinding away at his self control, but his voice had had too much of a bite in it. She turned and looked at him now, really looked at him, for the first time since they had met.

  “Then your father’s bow is shit. And your village was poor. It is a marvel you are of any use at all.”

  Ellis looked right back at her, the wood of the bow groaning in his white knuckled grip, and spoke past his teeth. “I will continue trying my best. Please be patient with me.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, they're stares locked on one another before she snorted, and turned back to the fire.

  “So, what else can that ring do?” she asked, seeming unbothered by Ellis’s temper. He hoped it was because he hid it well. He didn’t think so, but she didn’t seem to care either way.

  “Mitigates some damage if I,” Ellis paused. “Pour mana into it. Whatever that means.”

  “It means what it says. Magical items don’t lie.” She was the one to pause now. “I am surprised you took such a gift without one word of complaint. Do you not believe in the bad reputation mana has earned?”

  Ellis felt a shiver run down his spine. This was a test. It had to be. He sent up a quick prayer to Anwir, and hoped he sounded believable as he gave her a shaky smile.

  “Oh, well, I’ve heard of it of course, but you’ve been kind to me, my lady. So the reputation must have spread from a few brigands who happened to share… your… notion…?”

  Some amusement crept into the corners of her eyes. “Not notion. ‘Share that characteristic.’"

  “Characteristic, yes! I meant that one!” Ellis tried to hide his gagging with a grin.

  She didn’t answer, but she was almost smiling, so Ellis took it as a win. That was until she held her palm up towards Ellis, and her eyes started glowing.

  “I am glad to meet someone so open minded from such a strange place. As a reward… hold still,” she said.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  A small blue ball formed in her hand. Ellis stumbled back over his log to get away while trying to notch an arrow, but he wasn’t fast enough. The ball flew from her hand to his chest within a second, and it went from a ball to a cloud, circling up and down his front until it spread out over his whole body.

  “What is— what did you do to me!?” he shouted, throwing the bow down and trying to scrub the evil off.

  It was everywhere, but it had collected the most on his forearms and chest, where the Rass had shredded the skin. The wounds started to itch, like tiny insects had crawled into the scabs. Ellis kept scrubbing at his forearms, before the itch won out and he started scratching at it so hard he drew new blood from the old wounds. The pain of his scratches were excruciating, but he did not stop trying to get the blue stuff off him.

  “Stop scratching you fool!” she shouted.

  She had stood up from her log and walked over to Ellis’s side as he writhed in the dirt. When he started attacking his arms, she kicked him, hard, in the stomach, knocking all his wind out and causing his eyes to bulge.

  He curled up in a ball, gulping for air that refused to go in his lungs as she bent down over him. “That spell will knit your flesh together quickly. It might tire you out, but the only thing it will do is heal you, boy. Stop struggling and let the magic work.”

  Ellis couldn’t keep struggling even if he wanted to. He was trying to relearn how to breathe. She smacked him hard on the back before she stood, and the breath rushed back into his mouth, filling his lungs to the bursting.

  He coughed as he sat up. With a glare, he spluttered, “why would you do that!?”

  She walked back to her log and sat down, before raising an eyebrow at him. “You were injured. I assisted. Isn’t that what a ‘kind’ person would do?”

  “Don’t cast mana at me! It’s evi—!” Ellis started, before clamping his lips shut as he realized what his big mouth was about to do.

  Her eyes narrowed into knives, her voice lowered to barely above a whisper. “What was that, Ellis?”

  Ellis should have gotten onto his knees and apologized. A small part of his mind had screamed at him to do so… But the exhaustion, the pain, the frustration from the itching still digging into his arms made the ringing in his ears so hard to bear.

  But through gritted teeth, he managed to say, “Nothing!”

  She did not notice his restraint. Or possibly did not care to notice. Her voice was like ice as it grew from a whisper to a shout. “That was not ‘nothing’. Evil? Mana is evil!? Mana is not evil, you stupid boy!”

  And the insult made the ringing win.

  “It is the most evil thing on the planet! The worst curse from the gods! It’s the entire reason we have to salt my fucking village! You should be happy I didn’t throw the ring away the first chance I got! I don’t want to end up like him!”

  She kept silent. Ellis threw his shaking hand at the pile of carcasses Michael had made into his bed. “Did you know he wanted to leave those behind!? He killed them for no reason! Like a child crushing lizards!”

  Despite his outburst and his need to argue, she kept her mouth shut, watching him with a cold sneer of contempt. In the silence that followed in the wake of Ellis’s tirade, did his brain finally start working again. The snarl died and his hands started to shake.

  Ellis cared about upsetting her, but not close to as much as upsetting Michael. He glanced at the man, wondering if he was just pretending to sleep.

  “And what makes you think you will ever be him? He is a bloodthirsty fool, but he might even be able to cleave through palace guards,” she growled, waving her hand at Michael’s sleeping figure. “And you, some random village boy from the backarse of nowhere, would end up like him? Pray tell, how would that happen from a little ring!? He’s not even a mana user, you stupid boy! Only I am!”

  Ellis wanted to retort, but kept his temper in check as he climbed out of the dirt and back to his feet, whispering, “my lady, I apologize… or well, can we move our conversation? What if he wakes up?”

  She rolled her eyes at Ellis’s sudden panic, getting up and strolling over to Michael before kicking him in the ribs, once, twice, then squatted down, locked eyes with Ellis and smacked the sleeping man through the face.

  “The man sleeps like he’s dead! I haven’t been able to wake him… ever! I once woke up and found a Rass gnawing on his foot! Worry more about the woman in front of you, boy!”

  Michael didn’t twitch at her assault, didn’t wake up and rip her in two like Ellis expected. Just laid there, unbothered with being slapped in the face. Ameena got up and stomped back where Ellis stood, her sharp eyes meeting his as she almost bared her teeth at him. He didn’t care, though.

  Ellis’s thoughts were on the bafflement and exhilaration he felt as he glanced between the two.

  Baffled, because if Michael had woken up Ellis had no doubt in his mind that he would have killed her, then probably Ellis for not stopping her. Exhilarated though… because while they were traveling companions, they weren’t close.

  Not. at. all.

  A real weakness, one he could use. He would need to be careful, use only the best lies that even Anwir would gawk at, a little bit of luck, but if he played his cards right… he could get them to turn on one another. She didn’t seem as powerful as Michael, but she had a far better chance at fighting him than Ellis did. And if they helped each other, who knows? She might get injured in the ensuing battle, and afterward an accidental arrow might fly through her eye once that thing was dead.

  She slapped Ellis through the face, snapping him back to the moment.

  “What are you thinking about!? How to kill me in my sleep!? How to report me to the guards when we get to the city!? I will show you what a mana user can do if you even think about it!” She yelled, her temper still out of control.

  He was getting somewhere with the argument. Her raised voice and metal stick at her hip were terrifying, but she was revealing things. Things Ellis could use as long as he didn’t die. So he grabbed the necklace around his neck and sent up a little prayer to both Anwir and Evosa. Let her think this is rage. Let her think what she fucking wants. He just had to live through it. He turned back and raised his voice to match hers, continuing the argument.

  “I can’t turn you into the guards because I want to kill them! I am still here after he gave me the ring yesterday!” Ellis shouted, jabbing a pointed finger in Michael’s direction. “Do you think I’d still be here if it bothered me that much!? I need your fucking help lady! Evil or not!”

  “I! Am not! Evil!” she roared right into his face.

  So killing my entire village was a ‘good’ thing?

  He took his hand off his necklace in a placating gesture, then took a half step back along with a deep breath, visibly cooling himself down. “...I know. You are escorting me to the city, you spoke on my behalf to the ‘bloodthirsty fool’...”

  Ellis had begun his spiel of placating her, but she didn’t seem to care. She was focused solely on his necklace, a triumphant grin growing on her face.

  “If mana is so evil, why are you wearing a magical necklace?”

  All thoughts of deception disappeared from Ellis’s mind. “Excuse me!? This was a gift from my… from… from a friend! She would have nothing to do with mana!”

  Ameena tore the necklace off his neck with a single yank. Ellis tried to snatch it back from her, but she punched him in the face for the effort, sending him reeling to the floor. The stars bouncing in his eyes left Ellis so stunned he didn’t move for a few seconds.

  By the time he had looked back up, Ameena’s eyes glowed in the dark, the firelight illuminating her waving the black stick towards the necklace. Her movements captivated him, Ellis unable to take his eyes off of her every flick of the wrist.

  He watched on with horror, waiting for the spell to tear him in half, or send the necklace through his head like an arrow. Instead, after a few moments she sighed and threw the necklace back at his feet.

  “I don’t know how in the whole world you got a magical artifact like that… but congratulations, I suppose.”

  Ellis snatched the necklace from the dirt, blowing the dust off it with as much care as he could muster before a status screen popped up in his face.

  Necklace of truth (bonded to: ELLIS MARSH)

  Passive: While holding 1 Mana, the wearer can discern the weight of a lieActivate : Allows the wearer to see the truth of the world, and all its people. (cost: 1 mana)

  Tears started to fall down Ellis’s face. “No… no. She would never, this is… this is all I have left of her. It can’t be…”

  Ameena squatted down, her face inches from his. She grabbed his jaw, squashing his cheeks so hard he thought they would bleed as she made their eyes lock. With her free hand she grabbed the black metal rod on her waist. He expected to die, to feel her fingers dig through his cheeks and into his brain, ending him.

  A little humming bird appeared between their eyes instead. Ameena held their gaze for a moment as the bird hovered between them, before letting go and walking back to her log. The bird flew around his head with a single flap of its wings, but he could not feel the hop of its feet or the brush of a wing whenever they touched an outstretched hair. It landed on the bridge of his nose, hopping up and down as it let loose a cry.

  He dared not touch it himself, frozen in hopes whatever this is would not kill him if he made a move… but he could not help but admit to its majesty. It was a mix of red and blue, both colours amplified to glow in the dark, melding together in patterns Ellis had never seen before. Then it winked out of existence, revealing Ameena, staring at him like a hawk.

  “So, boy. Mana has healed you. Mana has given you a pretty light show. Now tell me, is mana still evil?” she asked.

  She stared down her nose at him, like she had proven something.

  Ellis wanted to scream at her that a little light show did not absolve her of her crimes! He wanted to kill her for ruining the necklace, the only thing he had left of his Ada. But then she would never see justice. And even though it felt like he was holding her body in his arms all over again, he had to do this. He had to be everything she asked him not to be.

  The words felt like coals being raked across his tongue as he forced the lie out.

  “No… I suppose not.”