Icarus Read online

  Seeing Jake’s plan, Elizabeth emerged from behind the ice wall and charged the man, leaping over and out of the way of his violent gusts of wind, which tore rough farrows in the ground. Between her, Sara, and the lingering threat of Dante, the man wouldn’t notice Jake until it was far too late. He’d be able to take him hostage, and maybe they could talk their way into being allowed to fight the Malice.

  At least that’s how it worked in Jake’s head.

  When he was pulling his sword to the man’s throat, something tore into it. The weapon jerked out of his hands and went soaring through the air. Dante, hoisting the last of the robbed men up by the collar and ready to deliver an unnecessary blow, looked up just in time to see the blade barreling toward him and ducked.

  “When I said you could throw it, I didn’t mean literally,” he yelled at Jake. Then he threw the last of the robbed men to the side, striding toward the hooded man slowly as Elizabeth closed in. The man shot his arm to the side, letting out a burst of air that knocked Elizabeth onto her back. He then turned, extended his arm toward the unarmed Jake and sent a large burst like a fist punching into the boy’s stomach. Pain filled his wound and he hunched over, wheezing. It was hard to defend against an attack he couldn’t see, and the smaller bursts left no trail in the grass to follow. On his knees, Jake looked up and wondered how Dante would overcome this adversary.

  He threw a hook, but the man ducked under it expertly. Dante tried to knee the crouching figure, but a burst of energy knocked into him and sent him stumbling backward. Dante regained himself and glared as the figure stood before him, making no attempt to fight and adopting a casual and cocky stance. Jake grunted and raised himself to his feet, but without his sword he wouldn’t be much help. He did have his Sol rifle though, and he wondered if enough Sol had been used in this battle, but Lloyd told him he might only get one use out of the thing and to make it count. He wasn’t sure if Dante even used any when he took all those men out.

  As Dante continued to punch at the man, his fists being knocked away by gusts of air, Elizabeth came to a stand and raised her sword before her. She was setting up to lunge into the fight, but Dante called out, punching just past the man’s head. “Stay out of this!”

  It caught her off guard, and during that momentary hesitation the hooded man blasted right into her, sending her rolling even further back. “That goes for you too!” he shouted at Sara, who was readying a counterattack between her hands. His glaring eyes found their way to Jake, and told him all he needed to know about what would happen should he try to interfere. He removed his hand from the weapon on his back and held it at his side.

  Whoever this hooded man was, he seemed to have about as much hand-to-hand combat experience as Dante. The orange-haired boy threw several punches at the man’s head, and he evaded each of them by jerking to either side. When Dante tried to uppercut his midsection, he let out another burst of air that knocked him back down. This time, however, he didn’t give the boy the chance to regain himself. Rather, he let his arm out and fired a heavy burst into his chest. Jake saw the imprint of air on Dante’s jacket as it folded, then his body jerked backward. He immediately caught himself, yelled, and charged at the man once more.

  This was going nowhere fast. Every exchange they had left the man uninjured, and now at the end of each Dante was receiving a powerful blow, so he could only last for so long. If they all worked together they could take the guy out no problem, but since Dante didn’t want to harm his fragile ego he forced all of his teammates to stay back. Jake was about ready to walk toward Elizabeth and Sara to form a new plan of attack, perhaps even one that involved incapacitating Dante, when he saw a change in him. His palms radiated a faint blue light, and with a start Jake realized that it was the first time in the whole exchange that he had actually bothered to use his Sol.

  The hooded man’s straight posture waned, and he jumped back as Dante launched his fist into the ground, sending earth raining down in a flash of blue light. Cast in a shroud of dust, Jake had no clue where the next attack would come from, and he ran for safety before he became collateral damage.

  Just as he was closing in on Sara and Elizabeth, he looked over his shoulder and saw three flashes of energy tear out of the cloud and launch at the hooded man in rapid succession. He raised one hand, and blocked each blow with fast dexterity, the individual orbs of light dissipating as they touched something just in front of his hand, likely a pocket of condensed air. The hooded man then pulled back that same hand, his robes and hood swaying and shiting as he gathered a truly insane amount of energy there. Likewise, the rushing wind cleared the dust Dante had created, revealing the boy gathering a ridiculous amount of energy into his clenched fist. His hair and jacket whipped about in the violent storm created by his adversary’s attack, but he seemed unfazed by it all, eyes locked on his opponent’s face.

  Jake was ready to ask Sara to create a wall to protect them, as he had no clue what kind of ridiculous shockwave the clash between these two would create, when a figure came quickly into view, although he couldn’t make it out as anything other than a blur. He called to Sara and she nodded and placed her arms toward the ground, and a large wall of ice sprung out to shield them. Just as it reached its apex, there was a large and violent crash, and the house debris to either side of them soared past in response to the giant shockwave. They waited as the wind rushed past like a raging river and then slowly died down. An unnatural calm descended, and Jake wasn’t sure whether or not they had managed to kill each other. Sara looked at him sympathetically, then melted the wall into water that pooled at their feet.

  Before them were three silhouettes, dark within the hazy fog. Two of them had their fists thrust out, and the third stood in the center, holding both hands up as if to block. With them distracted, Jake turned his head to the people and the Malice, only to find that all the monsters were destroyed, perhaps by that flickering figure Jake saw just moments before. Stunned, but aware that this third entity was likely that same one, Jake focused his eyes on the figure as the fog faded, prepared to find out whether this powerful person was going to be friend or a foe.

  Dante and the robed man were both staring, mouths agape, at this new person, who was hunched down with both arms raised. He had a boyish face and wore a lightweight uniform with a sash-like cape running up the side. The hooded man’s hood was blown back in the explosion, and his neat brown hair was in stark contrast to his grinding teeth, although his anger was not focused on Dante, but rather this newcomer. Dante brought his fist to his side, dusted it off on his pant leg, and returned it to his pocket, eyeing the new warrior suspiciously. Seeing that Dante was no longer a threat, the newcomer, who couldn’t have been more than a few years older than them, stood up and smiled, extending a hand for Dante to shake.

  “Lennon Mackershoft, current first seat, a pleasure!” he said. Dante looked at the hand for a moment, seeming to consider whether or not grasp it. He shrugged, then gripped it tightly. “Dante. Always a pleasure to meet someone who can hold their own.”

  Lennon nodded and brushed off the compliment, saying he wasn’t all that, but Jake didn’t even see him kill all those Malice, which was insane, and he managed to stop full powered attacks from two elite fighters. The strong boy’s eyes rested on Jake lightly, and he was immediately confused. Every strong person he’d ever met always had a dark presence in their eyes, like some concealed pain they were constantly suffering with. This guy, his eyes were as warm and inviting as his smile. “And you are?”

  “Jake, guard of the Republic and comrade of Dante. This is Sara, former princess of Niflheim, and Elizabeth.” Lennon nodded at each of them and turned his attention back to Dante. Jake feared some sort of retribution was coming and figured he should try his best to remedy the situation.

  “I apologize for my comrade’s behavior, he can be brash at times howev—” before Jake could continue, Lennon held a hand up, shaking his head. “Knowing Mister Floff, he likely started it.” His eyes rested on
the collapsed building across from Jake, “in fact, I’m sure of it. Your friend was no doubt acting in self-defense. That being said,” he turned to the formerly hooded man known as Floff and placed his hands on his hips. “There better be a good explanation as to why you attacked these people – after all, we have staged this festival to honor them.”

  “Don’t allow your position to get to your head, boy. These four attempted to destroy Her Will. The higher laws hold priority over everything. As my men will confirm, my initial attack was intended only to stop the boy, he then escalated the situation to its current level.”

  Lennon looked at the four travelers, his mouth agape. He must’ve not known that they violated this ‘higher law,’ and whatever it was it must have been a pretty big deal. He shook his head and looked back at the man. “They’re travelers – groundlings, I think – it’s possible they have no knowledge of the higher law.”

  Floff placed a hand on his chin and tensed his facial features, considering it. He turned his stern gaze to Jake. “You boy.” Jake sprung to attention, shouted “yes,” and waited for the man to continue. “Are you not familiar with the higher law?”

  Jake shook his head.

  “And of the Great Warrior?”

  “No.”

  Floff turned to Lennon, mumbling, “The lower lands are in an even worse state than I thought.” He paced a few steps, then stopped. “Very well, I’ll acknowledge that perhaps my actions were a little unnecessary, although yours were also out of hand,” he said, resting his eyes on Dante. “Considering my transgressions, I’ll forgive your transgressions – deal?”

  “Yeah, we’re even steven,” Dante said. He turned around and took in the field behind him, and his eyes widened, possibly due to the lack of Malice. He turned quickly to Lennon. “Did you do that?”

  Lennon nodded, earning a raised eyebrow from Floff. He turned to him and stammered, “Well, I saw that it was their goal to defeat them, so I figured it was only proper to help.”

  “I suppose since they were only lesser extensions, it isn’t a violation,” Floff sighed. His men groaned and writhed as they got up. “I’ll have to compliment you on your battle performance, I never thought I’d see a single man take out my entire squadron aside from Lennon here. For that, you have my respect.”

  Dante nodded in acknowledgement. “You ain’t too shabby yourself.”

  It seemed all was worked out, although there was still the lingering concern of how they were going to get permission to defeat the Dragon Malice. As long as they weren’t in jail or dead, Jake could live with the current situation. He turned to Elizabeth and Sara, who were staring at the exchange as if in fear, and it made sense. Dante was actually conducting good diplomatic relations for one – the world was completely topsy-turvy. He shrugged at the two girls, then walked up to the men, who were having a casual conversation about combat and weapons. Jake was eager to join in and help cool tensions, but he took notice of an elderly man striding toward them. Based on the rather regal looking purple sash that was placed over his clothing, he looked like he was fairly important.

  “Lennon!” he yelled, his voice booming. It gave Jake a fright, even though he was expecting something of that nature. The smile upon Lennon’s face immediately faltered, and he walked over to meet the elderly man with his head down.

  “You’ve skipped out on training, explain yourself.”

  “I-I just wanted to go to the festival.”

  “That is of no importance,” the man said and grabbed Lennon’s arm. He turned and prepared to walk away, but his eyes widened at the sight of the destroyed building. He took in his surroundings, his eyes resting on the soldiers who were holding their injured bellies, Floff, and Dante. He narrowed his eyes at the lot of them. “And what has occurred here?”

  “My Lord,” Floff said, sinking to one knee, “there was a misunderstanding, but I think much good has come of it. My council and I have both gained invaluable combat experience,” he shot up to a stand, placing a hand on Lennon’s shoulder, “Lennon as well.”

  The elderly grand priest looked at the ragtag group suspiciously. “Continue,” he said.

  “Well sir, we had a bit of a training session with this young man, and he is very powerful. I think it would be good to introduce him to the training halls.”

  “Training halls?” Dante asked, beaming. Jake was also interested.

  “I hardly think that’s necessary. I don’t see how we can benefit from the combat abilities of groundlings.”

  “What?” Dante spat out. Jake tried to grab him and hold him back, but when he took in the glare of hatred from the Grand Priest he knew anything else would be worthless. Standing in the grass, a towering figure that blocked out the sun, the priest leaned in toward Dante. “Our nation prides itself on the value of combat. Why, Lennon alone could level an entire nation of you groundlings. Your training with our casual troops would be worth it, possibly.”

  “Yeah, well I doubt that. I bet one of our normal soldiers could take out one of your captains in a duel!”

  “Bah, very well, embarrass yourselves. Lennon, please take them to the training halls.”

  “Certainly, I’ll match you at once, which one of you shall be fighting?”

  “I said ordinary soldier, didn’t I?” Dante said, grinning at Jake.

  What the hell have you just got me into, Jake thought.

  Chapter 5

  The training hall was a grand outdoor campus lined with stone buildings, finely crafted weapons, and warriors battling it out. Jake was amazed at the sheer scale of it all, but also confused. They were an isolationist nation who couldn’t realistically be invaded, yet they spent this much effort on training their military? It wasn’t normal, especially since everything he’d encountered until this morning led him to believe that this was a pacifist country.

  Still, the skill of this nation’s warriors was not to be ignored. Floff had fought on par with Dante, and the young man walking in front of him stopped them both with little effort, taking out a horde of Malice to boot. Whatever it was this country was preparing to fight, Jake certainly hoped he had nothing to do with it.

  The five entered an archway, wherein their way was cast in shadow. The whole place was damp and stony, the only light coming from the entrance behind them and the exit ahead. It was odd, as there didn’t seem much of a reason for such a foreboding structure. Still, the presentation of the place made Jake wonder what exactly would be on the other side.

  Once they crossed over, they were met by a field with walls on all sides and a large building to their left. In the center, two wind users battled, shooting large gusts at one another and canceling them out with their own. Upon seeing Lennon, one of the men’s mouth fell open, and he dropped to one knee while keeping his head down, although his eyes were slightly raised and narrowed. The other, seeing his combatant’s reaction, turned and stared at Lennon. His features also hardened, then he too swiftly took a knee. Lennon raised his hands and waved at them then brought one to the back of his head.

  “Really, I wish you guys wouldn’t do that every time,” Lennon said.

  Upon rising, Jake could’ve sworn he heard one mumble, “me neither,” and he looked at them with more scrutiny. This same person caught his eyes and glared at him. Jake didn’t appreciate his attitude.

  “What’s the purpose of this visit?” one of the two said.

  “To test the combat abilities of these groundlings,” a voice from behind them replied, and upon turning around they saw the Grand Priest himself striding toward them, his features sharp and his robe trailing out behind him like some magnificent red carpet. Jake took special note that the others did not kneel upon his appearance, which meant that Lennon must in some way outrank him despite the fact that it appeared they were brought here on his orders. The Grand Priest stopped before Dante. “I believe we have an arrangement,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Dante said, then placed an arm around Jake and pushed him forward. Jake stumbled before
the looming Grand Priest, who looked down at him judgmentally. “Er, yes. I just need a wooden practice blade and I’ll be happy to demonstrate,” Jake said.

  “Very well.” He pointed to the two boys who had just been sparring. “You, grab a blade. You will be his opponent.”

  The other boy nodded, a mischievous grin on his lips. It was the one who gave Jake a dirty look earlier. Perfect, he thought.

  “Are you sure about this?” Sara asked him.

  “Yeah, it’s just a sparring match.”

  “Yes, but it was his idea,” Elizabeth said, motioning her head at Dante. He looked at her and shrugged, seeming genuinely offended.

  “Please, it’s something I wanted to do anyway,” Jake finished, just as the other boy emerged from the hall with a practice blade. Jake accepted it and thanked him, although he didn’t respond, merely returning to the far end of the field, occasionally eyeing Lennon from over his shoulder. Jake wrote it off and swung the wooden blade to his side. It cut finely through the air, and was nice and light. It wasn’t as good as the ones he used in the Republic, as it was clearly old and had received some use, but since it was just a practice blade it didn’t really matter.

  The match all but begun, Jake’s comrades made their way to the end of the field in order to spectate. His opponent stood at the center, his arms folded and foot tapping, Lennon at his side. Jake strode toward them and stuck out his hand.

  “Let’s have a good clean fight.”

  For what it was worth, the boy did grasp Jake’s hand, although he did not return his sentiment. Seeing that things were in order, Lennon backed up and raised his arm. “The first clean hit will be the victor. Ready and—”

  At the word ‘go,’ Jake lunged forward, barring his sword. The boy opposite him stood firm with his hands in his pockets. Perhaps he was an accurate enough Sol user that he didn’t need to motion with his hands to activate his ability. Jake had heard of such people, although he’d never met one. Jake kept his eyes on the grass, prepared for the blades to lash out from a sudden gust of air at any moment, but none was forthcoming. It appeared the boy wasn’t going to prevent Jake’s approach in any way. It almost made Jake hesitate as he wound up for a swing, but he figured it didn’t matter. If his opponent had some trick up his sleeve, Jake just had to force him to use it.