“For a second there, I wasn’t sure you’d help us.” Percy said.
“What choice did I even have?” Rambert shrugged as he walked closer.
The only reason he was alive was because Percy had turned him into a clone. Of course, Percy had been pretty banged up after their battle, but Micky had made things easier for him by eating Grian’s soul.
“I’ve upheld my end of the bargain. Betrayed my House for you. Even rushed here to save you from the fucking Divine Root. It’s time to do your part.”
Percy nodded. Naturally, Rambert wouldn’t have helped the man who’d killed him out of kindness. His hastily stitched-up soul wouldn’t hold by itself. Percy had intentionally left the seals incomplete, as a fail-safe in case Rambert decided to betray him.
And that wasn’t even the biggest issue. Ironically, it was the Moirais’ Decree that did the most harm, by sucking out any life mana Rambert tried to use to heal his body. This was why he was still in this decrepit state despite his bloodline. Even after slaughtering every single resident of Bogside town, it wouldn’t have been enough to repair his second core. Not that Percy would have ever allowed him to commit such an atrocity – of course.
Currently, there was only one person in the entire province capable of fixing Rambert in time, and he couldn’t even hope to set up a meeting with Archibald unless Percy talked to his grandpa first.
“I promised you a chance, not a certainty. And things have gotten even more complicated since then. Before we dive into the details, I’ll need to confirm a few things with you.” Percy replied.
Walking by his side, Nesha helped him up. She looked a little better than before, the potion having lifted the bulk of her exhaustion. Still, Percy wouldn’t have involved her in this fight if he could’ve helped it. While she’d already proven herself, her mobility and defences were lacking. Had the fight lasted longer, or had Percy not already deciphered Jason’s abilities, things could have gone badly. This was why he’d hoped to take him down by himself. Sadly, things hadn’t gone to plan…
“To start, I’ll need your word that you’ll never tell a soul about my secrets. In fact, you shouldn’t even mention me or Nesha again.”
Rambert grimaced upon hearing his first demand. Percy didn’t press him either, waiting for him to come to terms. Of course, they both knew that Rambert hated him with a passion – it wasn’t like he’d hidden it – but he’d have to make some concessions if he wanted to walk out of this forest alive.
Even giving him this chance was merely out of principle. Now that Percy had gotten everything he needed from Rambert, it would be easier and safer to just dispose of him. Whether Rambert survived would all depend on his answers.
“Fine.” Rambert spat after a while. “I won’t pretend to like it, but I’ve seen enough that I don’t ever want to involve myself with you again. Besides, I’m sure the Divine Root will get to you soon enough…”
Percy listened to Rambert’s answer while paying close attention to Nesha with his Mana Sense. Only after failing to get a reaction did he allow himself to relax.
“Next, swear you’ll never lay a finger on any member of House Avalon.”
“Tsch. A bit much, isn’t it?!” Rambert snarled.
“Rambert, I’m not playing games with you. Do as I ask or our deal is off.” Percy stared at him coldly.
“Listen, pal… I’ve no intention of participating in this war a moment longer. Or even staying in this province for that matter. My family is bound to figure out I’ve robbed them clean, if they haven’t already. I want nothing more than to get healed and run halfway across Remior.”
“That’s not what I asked.” Percy didn’t relent.
But Rambert gritted his teeth.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Look. I’ve got no beef with your House. If I’m willing to put down my feud with you, then why would I give a shit about anyone else? But those are hundreds of people we’re talking about, all of whom hate me. I’m going to defend myself if anybody attacks me.”
Nesha’s core remained still once more, confirming Rambert’s sincerity. Of course, it wasn’t exactly the answer Percy was looking for, but it was fair.
“Good enough. Last question. How many innocent people have you fed to your bloodline?”
This time, Percy didn’t even need to wait for Nesha to know he’d struck a nerve. At least, he hadn’t missed the cold shiver jolting through the man’s soul.
“I’ve… had to do it a few times that I’m not proud of…” Rambert replied, looking away in what appeared to be genuine shame.
Still, Percy hadn’t missed Nesha’s core flaring up the moment the word ‘few’ popped up.
“Any children among them?”
Another lie. The poor guy had no idea he had a truth-seeker scrutinizing his every word. By now, Percy had already made his mind up, though he still wanted to know one more thing.
“You don’t know what Drain is like, ok? It’s nothing like your bloodline, giving you everything you could have ever hoped for. For me, it’s just a curse. It just erodes at my sanity and my self-control, until I give in.”
Percy nodded. He knew it wasn’t entirely their fault, though none of the members of House Tantalus he’d met had shown much regret in their actions.
“I can’t really say I understand, but that’s beside the point. I’m sure you’ll do it again, sooner or later. And your next victim will be on me. Sorry.”
“You bastard! WE HAD A DEAL!!!” Rambert yelled, his core lighting up in fury as he leapt towards Percy, his hand igniting.
Sadly for him, he didn’t even get to reach his target before his eyes glazed over. By the time the corpse landed on the ground, Percy’s wisp had returned to him, conveniently flooding his mind with an influx of memories. Of course, his clone had kept him relatively informed during the past month, though some details were easier to comprehend this way.
“Micky! Two Green cores for you!” Percy yelled.
Soon, the crow waddled over eagerly, having remained by Nesha’s side throughout the fight. He hadn’t been in a condition to intervene, though his involvement couldn’t be understated, regardless. After all, it was through him that Percy had managed to coordinate with Nesha.
In any case, the familiar started with Jason’s body, apparently finding it a great deal more appetizing. Percy ignored him, searching Rambert’s corpse instead. It didn’t take him long to find the five spatial amulets the dead mage had stolen from his family’s vault, stuffing them with elixirs.
“Wow! How many are there?” Nesha asked.
“According to our estimates, around 175 thousand doses. Their entire stash for the next three years.” Percy replied, checking the storage devices one after the other.
“That much?!” Nesha was taken aback.
“It’s a little more than the standard, but they’ve also lost a lot of people during the war. It must’ve massively cut their consumption down…”
Each of the amulets was no larger than his own, containing about one cubic metre of space. Naturally, that was plenty to accommodate tens of thousands of the pinky-sized vials, though Rambert had still been forced to pack them quite tightly to make all of them fit.
“Percy… with this much…” Nesha spoke again, apparently having done the math in her head.
“Indeed. They should last us for well over a decade. Enough for all of us to advance. And we can do that even faster, once we make it to the Thirsty Valley…”
Next, he scratched his head upon thinking of a problem.
“I’m almost out of rainbow grass. We’ll need to get more within the next couple of months.”
“It won’t be easy. Now that the Divine Root knows it’s part of the recipe, they’ll have their eyes out for any large movements.”
Percy sighed. It was true, though he didn’t regret telling Deimos about it. He still hoped they wouldn’t give Orin much trouble. Besides, they’d probably figured that part out already. At any rate, this meant they’d have to be more careful when procuring it. That, or Percy would have to find a different deattunement ingredient to replace it – neither of which was going to be easy.
“At least, Jason is dead. Hopefully, they don’t have any other karma users.”
Neither he nor Nesha said anything else. Instead, they took a seat by the base of a nearby tree, watching Micky as he disposed of the bodies. It was a rather disturbing scene, as always, but Percy was happy to see his familiar a lot more energetic than he’d been in weeks. As good as Regulation was, it couldn’t entirely replace a proper meal.
‘It’ll make our journey easier, at least…’ he smiled.
Next, he looked down in his hand, fiddling with a small box he’d also looted from Rambert. An unexpected treasure.
“What’s that?” Nesha asked, apparently only now noticing it.
Percy’s lips couldn’t help but part upon hearing the question, revealing a bright, toothy grin. Opening the latch on the box, he lifted its lid, as both of their eyes landed on the aquamarine-coloured object shimmering within.
It looked a little like a petal, though it was rather oblong. Furthermore, it had an oval hole in its middle, the rest of its surface looping around it. In fact, its glow seemed to travel in wave-like patterns around the petal, almost giving it the appearance of a river…
“Is that what I think it is?!” Nesha seemed to have put two and two together.
[END OF BOOK 2: PHANTOM OF THE HAUNTED BOG]