Free Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) by Julius St. Clair Page B

day, you know.”
    They all nodded reluctantly. All except Bastion, who kept a hard stare on the Allayan.
    “Not you though,” Mason said, pointing a finger in Bastion’s face. “You can stay home.”
    “I can go wherever I like,” he replied. Mason’s face never wavered.
    “Fine,” he said. “Every warrior needs a training dummy.”
    “That we do,” Bastion said. He felt horrible the moment he said it, but Mason just nodded and turned to leave. Bastion turned his gaze to the rest of the group. All of them had their heads down or in the skies, thinking about what had just happened, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for demolishing their fun. Even holding back, I failed , he thought bitterly. I still ruined things.
    Bastion hung his head low, in sync with the others, but then a glint of steel flashed from the corner of his eye. He looked up, and saw that the edge of Mason’s eidolon was heading straight for the back of Daisy’s turning head. He had no time to think, no time to assess whether it was a scare tactic or not.
    He released his eidolon, and met Mason’s head on. Bastion’s clear, ocean blue sword was fashioned like a Gladius, the blade of a gladiator. Their swords clashed, and Bastion’s was clearly the victor. Mason’s jaw dropped as he saw pieces of his soul shatter to the ground before him, falling like the glass of a broken mirror. In vain, he attempted to catch one, but it fell through his fingers. Instead the motion only propelled him forward even further, as his body, and his consciousness, suddenly gave out. He fell face first into the dirt, and he didn’t get back up.
    No one moved, not even Bastion. They were unsure if the boy before them was dead or not, and if he was—what that would mean. Bastion’s eidolon shimmered away as he fell to his knees by Mason’s side. He didn’t know what to do.
    With his eyes wet with fear, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed him from behind. Big, strong hands. They forced him down into the grass, and he didn’t fight them. He laid there, face to face with what he had done. Mason’s eyes were wide open, and soulless. Bastion’s throat closed up, and he closed his eyes. Whatever punishment came next, he would accept. He would face his consequences. He knew that he was a monster through and through, and he should have stayed where all monsters belonged: in the dark.
     

Chapter 6 – Search
    “Caution or exposure?” Arimus asked. James took a deep breath and examined the forest before them. Having walked through the wasteland, they had finally reached their destination. It was strange how the Quietus forest thrived in their masters’ absence. But then again, the trees didn’t seem very alive to begin with. Coated in a dark purple, and twisting into odd shapes of all sizes and widths, the trees created an area more akin to a network of nerves and synapses than a forest. The branches intertwined and only grew tighter and more clustered the closer one got to the canopy. Down below was the only place one could walk, but even then, it was cramped and dark. If there were eyes watching the two Sages, it would be difficult for Arimus and James to catch them.
    “Exposure,” he finally decided upon. He chuckled after he saw Arimus nod in reply. “Geez, how do you do it? Just make these life-changing decisions?”
    “Are you saying that you don’t? If I recall, you have a throne chair right next to Catherine.”
    “Eh. She does all the deliberation. I mainly just sit there. The only time I speak is when a member of the Order stops by.”
    “And even then,” Arimus chuckled. “It’s not too stressful. Not with me being on one of the seats on the inside.”
    “How did they feel about that anyways?”
    “They weren’t happy,” Arimus replied, putting his only arm on his hip. He remembered all too well how he had lost his other arm. A Quietus—gnawing it off.
    “It’s still nice having some eyes and ears in the place. Speaking of, we haven’t