Kismet’s Tale

      Mavin felt the sparks creeping. He whispered words of power and through those words of power, he was able to block, misdirect, and throw those sparks somewhere. If the spark that came before was static electricity, then the one that crept up on him was a lightning of sparks that threatened to seek him out. If he wasn’t holding on to a black iron, he was sure that it would have been far harder to fend off that seeking spell.

“Someone’s after me, not a mark of death, but a mark of seeking. Hostile or not, this one’s even stronger than that Minerva,” Mavin thought. He peeked out of the camper. He scanned the horizon line and felt that they were miles away from the sparks that crept up on him.

Mavin was unfamiliar with the non-offensive spells. All he had to rely on was the knowledge that his ‘memories’ had. He knew words of power that could counter, nullify, and seal sparks. Other than that, he had no other power words and continuous use of the power words meant that his boons were going to be erratic, though he was complete. There are ways to shut down the boons in his body, and though no one other than him knows it.

His boons being completed were nothing more than an impossibility that could not happen unless there was a way to redo time or find everything within the path choices of those ‘routes’ given the one in charge of the paths. Not that he could ever tell anyone about it. The vow of silence remains.

His gaze naturally went to the only one who had the ability here. Two steps, he was in front of Miss Wendy Otto who had felt the creep of the sparks. “Your hand,” Mavin demanded. “I won’t hurt you, but however is after us, is strong, friend or foe, I don’t intend to reveal anything until we are free from this sight.”

She behaved as if inwardly wrestling if she should give her hand. Nonetheless, she brought her hand over, and revealed the crown with a lightning streak on it on the back of her hand. Mavin studied the markings on the back of her hand with a confused and fearful expression.

A crown with a lightning streak on it, like lightning, the same feeling that one would get from the strength of that spark, Mavin thought. It was a mark that he had no recollection or any idea off. He had expected things were not going to be the same, and one of his fears was this. That he wouldn’t know what was going to happen next. Not that he’d know when the ones who hold the role have gone off their script and one of them was his eye in the sky, and the rest nowhere to be seen simply because Stefanie wasn’t a poor maid without any education.

Mavin spoke the words of power, weakening, but not cutting off the sparks of life that bound her to the one who spread those sparks. He only needed to get away from that one looking for her, not cut her off from that one.

“What did you do?”

She asked with curiosity that Mavin felt obliged to answer her. “I had weakened the sparks binding you, weakened, not cut off so the one chasing after us would not be alarmed.”

“Chasing…it must be.”

Mavin folded his arms, and lifted his chin. “Guessing that you won’t say who this might be?”

She remained muted. That was all the answer he could get. If she was an enemy, he had ways, but nonetheless, he wouldn’t do it to people he was supposed to protect to safety. Mavin let go of his curiosity, sensing that she was the type who would rather die than reveal who they are. In her point of view, this was just some elaborate trap to lure whoever this person was. Mavin couldn’t blame her for this. Even now, she behaved as if wondering if they could be trusted. Then again, despite being eager to get into a conversation with Gaul. There was no trace of her even trying to converse with Mavin. Then again, she saw what he could do or at least understood what he could do when she was rescued from that broadcasting station.

“You’ll be home, don’t worry. If this person chases us. We’ll try to persuade this person to keep calm, but if that isn’t possible, then we’ll have to force them to be reasonable.”

She nodded quietly. Her eyes remained on the flat of the booth’s table. She didn’t make eye contact and just kept her eyes away from Mavin’s steely gaze. The camper hit a rock, and shook it enough. Her eyes unconsciously went to Mavin. He no longer had that headgear, and maybe his apathetic expression caused her to steal a look so warily as if he would bite her the moment he caught her staring. Mavin shook his head, found it pointless, and sat on the side while keeping an eye on the roads, scanning, and watching for anything. Unlike the greener sides of the mainland, the region of Finia was a mixture of sand and foliage. Rocky plateaus and uneven hills were everywhere, and there was a mixture of cold and heat that made lukewarm air.

He had a dream once of traveling all over the world before he wanted to become the Marcher Lord of Lazon. Sometimes, Mavin wondered what came first to him, the desire to travel or to become a Marcher Lord? Not that it matters when in the end he chose a far different path.

Mavin adjusted his coat and then at his palms before clenching it hard. The spark creeping up on him was gone, and though the one doing it was still trying, what that person was following was nothing more than echoes of sparks he had redirected somewhere else to keep this person from following them until they were in a safe zone.

They entered a town called Zraz. It was a town built on top of a former rock plateau that was cut down into two to settle down. There was a water pump he could spot on the far side of the town. The camper stopped at a diner where some vans and campers were parked. The appearance of their camper caught attention, but Mavin walked out of the camper first, and his stance, posture, and stride made it clear for the others. And that they spotted Gaul carrying an assault rifle while blocking the view of the interior of the camper.

Mavin walked to the diner. Spotted floor, red counter, and half-asleep madame that was serving the patrons who came to take a break. On the menu there were sets for fries, meatballs, and sandwiches. He ordered sets of meals, and twisted on the rotating red stool where he caught the eyes of the patrons before they went back to their business.

As much as Mavin preferred to keep the camper going for days. They still needed to check on the tires and the engine of the camper, and pray to Jove that it was still durable for the journey. There were only a few days away from the city where they could find the airport, and after that they could send her home without worry.

Ten minutes after his order, he packed the meal inside the paper bag, and went out of the diner without making a noise. The campers that were taking their time on the parking space minded their business, and went to check on their vehicle instead of looking at them.

Mavin pulled the camper’s side door open, placed the meal on the booth’s table and told to eat first while he would eat in solitude later. Mavin stared apathetically at the direction where the spark that crept in. The chaser was still releasing a radar-like spell that kept on trying to find them. He already made sure that they wouldn’t be found, but even so the persistence of this chaser was unnerving.

This one is using another method to find us, and the sparks is only one of the methods, Mavin thought. He had no idea how this one was keeping on tracking them, and the very idea of this just a few hours away from them bothered him.

Should I be ready in case? Mavin thought to himself. He stared at his palms for a moment before narrowing his eyes sharply, no matter who this person was, he needed to take precautions. It would have been fine if he was alone, but Gaul was with him. Aunger had done a lot for him and if he couldn’t even be careful for his son’s safety, then he might as well give up on himself.

He could do all of this again, but when it comes to Aunger’s son and daughter. Mavin found out that he could not let them suffer the same fate as their father.