Rain

Rain glanced over the unconscious blood knight. The knight had dark brown hair down to his neck, and wore the distinctive black armor the Empire’s master killers were known for. He’d regrown his legs during the fight, but not the armor covering them, and his magic had failed before he could regenerate his arm.

So this is what it takes to beat these fuckers, Rain thought to themself. Now to figure out how to keep doing it.

James touched a bit of metal powder to the knight’s bleeding elbow. With a flash of light from his alchemy, the wound closed.

Alice hoisted the knight over her shoulder. “We got what we came for. Let’s get out of here.”

Rain’s eyes fell on the knight’s severed arm, and they picked it up. “Are we taking these?”

Alice frowned at she thought it over. “If you think they’re worth studying, sure. James, cauterize them so they don’t get blood everywhere.”

“On it,” James said. His hands glowed again, and he pressed them to each of the discarded limbs.

With the knight and his limbs in tow, the trio made their exit. Rain summoned a deluge of water behind them, washing away their tracks. They returned to their wagon, hidden among the trees half a mile away, with their horse sleeping next to it. James woke the horse, and the party rode off, back the way they’d came.

James steered, a ball of light next to him lighting the way, while Alice and Rain stayed in the back of the wagon with the knight. Alice bound his legs, and tied his arms to his sides. Rain took a closer look at the captive, reactivating the detection spell they'd used to monitor his magic.

The knight’s power was spent, but Rain could see the imprints it had left. Dark magic had run through his veins, in the form of a liquid mixed into his blood. As for how it got there…

“We were right,” Rain said. “These guys are using a form of alchemy. They convert the life energy they take in to a physical form for storage, then use it as the fuel for their magic.”

Alice looked down at the knight, then back to Rain. “You said that would require a ritual beforehand, right? To give them the ability to convert it like that.”

“Exactly,” Rain said. They took a closer look at the signs of magic on the blood knight. The biggest impression was left on his heart, seemingly from an external source.

Rain spoke up again. “I think this is it. I don’t have a full read on the type of ritual, but it looks like it used some sort of artifact.”

Alice let out a whistle. “So if we take out the artifact, we could stop them from making more blood knights.”

“Maybe,” Rain said. “If it really is an artifact, if we can find it, if we can get to it without getting blasted to pieces, if they don’t have some sort of replacement. But… maybe.”

Maybe we really can do something about these monsters.

Rain grabbed a piece of parchment and began to take notes. Estimates for the amount of power the knight could hold, how much his spells would consume, likely energy intake per kill… There was a lot of room for error, and Rain wasn’t sure how different the abilities of other blood knights might be. Still, it was valuable information. Karla should pay well for it.

“I could get so much better data if we could monitor him casting spells,” Rain mused.

From the front of the wagon, James spoke up. “Maybe we could cut some sort of deal with him?”

“Right, give the superpowered psychopath his magic back,” Rain said. “I’m sure that’ll end well.”

“Just an idea,” James said. “If there was some way to do it safely. And a way for him to recharge without murdering someone, I guess.”

Alice tapped her fingers on the edge of the wagon. “Once we get him to Karla, we might be able to figure out something. But not while we’re on the road.”

As dawn broke, Alice and James switched positions. Rain waved their hand over the knight, casting an illusion spell on him. His face and hair changed, and his armor’s appearance turned into basic leather. Hopefully easier to explain, if they got any questions.

James began examining the knight. His eyes glowed gold as he used his own perception spell. From the way he’d explained it to Rain, it was more geared towards understanding living things than detecting magic.

James held the knight’s severed left leg up to the regenerated one. “Looks like an exact replica, even the same signs of previous injuries he’s healed. Lot of fractures, must have had his bones broken a bunch of times.”

Rain raised an eyebrow. “How’d that happen? Thought these guys didn’t spend much time fighting people strong enough to hurt them.”

As Rain spoke, the knight began to stir. He shifted around, letting out a groan.

“Well then,” James said with a laugh. “Just who we needed to ask.”

---

The Knight

I began to open my eyes, then shut them again as the sun blazed in. More bright lights, just what I need.

Every part of me was sore. I tried to lift a hand to cover my face, but my arms wouldn’t move. Frustrated, I clenched my hands into a pair of fists. Which felt... off, somehow. Was my right hand not clenching?

I groaned as I pieced it together. I couldn’t clench my right hand, because I didn’t have one at the moment. Hadn’t regrown it yet, after losing it in that fight. Because I’d run out of magic, and…

Fucking hell. I’m still with them, aren’t I?

I reopened my eyes. I was on my back, in a wooden wagon, with a familiar face leaning over me. The healer, the one who’d knocked me out. Taking a closer look at him, I saw that he had short, black, curly hair, a wide face, and an oddly… warm expression. Trying to play nice, huh?

“Morning,” he said. “Sleep well?”

I lifted my right hand and flipped him off. Then I remembered that I still didn’t have a right hand, and used my left one instead.

He ignored me. “So, I’m James. That’s Rain next to you, they’re the one with the ice magic. Alice is in the front, she’s our boss. You got a name?”

“Go fuck yourself,” I said.

I turned my head to look for Rain. The mage had tan skin and dark, shoulder-length hair, and looked disgusted to hear me speak. Finally, someone as hostile as I’d expected.

I still couldn’t tell whether Rain was a man or a woman. I thought back to the phrasing James had used, which didn’t narrow it down. Maybe he’d been vague because he didn’t know either?

Rain met my eyes with a cold look, then turned to James. “I don’t think he’s gonna cooperate.”

“Not with that attitude,” James said. He looked back down at me. “So, I know we started off on a bad foot, but maybe we can reach some sort of…”

His voice trailed off. He frowned, glancing at his lap. A severed leg sat in it. One of MY legs.

“Wait, let me rephrase that,” he said. “A bad start?”

I glared at him. “Give that back.”

“What do you need it for?” Rain asked, laughing. “You already regrew your legs.”

I turned my glare to the mage. “I don’t want YOU to have it!”

Rain swatted my face with a hand. To my horror, the hand was also mine. “Finders, keepers.”

Fury spread across my face. “You’re all going to die for this, you know. I’ll make sure it’s very painful.”

From out of my view, Alice let out a laugh. “What are they going to do? Send more blood knights after us?”

I blinked in surprise. Is that a fucking joke to you? “The blood knights are the strongest men in the Empire. Don’t underestimate us just because you got lucky once.”

I sighed, dropping my shoulders back to the floor. “Or, you know what, go ahead and underestimate us. The sooner you all get yourselves killed, the sooner I can get out of here.”

James gave me an odd look. After a few moments, he held up the leg in his lap. “You’ve sure gotten your bones broken a lot. Do all the blood knights get beat up that often?”

I looked away, scowling as the memories returned. “That was… training. Most of it, at least.”

“Sounds like a weird form of training,” Rain said.

I glared at Rain again. “It’s effective training. It made us strong, taught us the most powerful magic around.”

Probably shouldn’t be talking to them this much. But I don’t have anything else to do.

Rain raised an eyebrow. “Looks like that worked out really well for you.”

I opened my mouth, preparing to make an excuse. But it doesn’t matter, does it? We’ve never cared about fair fights, just winning. Anyone who loses just has to accept that they weren’t good enough.

“And those are the people you want to go back to?” James asked. Was that concern in his voice?

I laughed in his face. “Of course. I chose this, I knew what I was getting into. I sought it out, beat the competition, bled for this, because it’s what I fucking wanted.”

James gave a shrug. “Fair enough. But what you want can change, you know. Ever consider mercenary work?”

“James, what the fuck?” Rain asked.

“Uh, seconded,” I said. “What are you trying to pull?”

“Oh, man, that’d be hilarious,” Alice called from the front. “Just start rehabilitating blood knights. Wonder how much Karla would pay us for that.”

“You’re insane,” I said. “Rain’s the only one of you who’s making any sense.”

“Great,” Rain grumbled. “Exactly who I want agreeing with me.”

I grinned at the mage. “So, you’re angry, you don’t take any shit from your enemies, you’re good at blasting people. That could make for good blood knight material.”

“Fuck you!” Rain shouted. A sphere of water appeared in the mage’s hands. I turned away, laughing, as Rain threw the water down onto my face.

I blinked water out of my eyes, and saw Rain’s arms cross as the mage fumed. James looked like he was trying not to laugh. Remembering the grin on my face, I forced it away. Do NOT start enjoying this.

We continued moving, and things stayed… weird. On the one hand, I was tied up, missing an arm, and still not sure what they planned to do with me. On the other hand – bit of a loaded analogy, right now – it was almost relaxing, somehow. Not having to keep up appearances.

Before long, my armor caught my attention. It looked like it had been replaced with a basic suit of brown leather, but it sure still felt like my usual steel set. Once my mind was on it, I noticed another oddity: my feet looked like they were covered by the new armor, but I could feel the wagon’s floor against them. Has to be an illusion, then.

I turned to Rain, the most likely culprit. “You disguised me?”

“We didn’t want to be seen hauling around a blood knight,” the mage explained. “If anyone sees you… act like an outlaw, I guess?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You want me to help you pretend you’re not imprisoning me?”

Rain shrugged. “If not, we could knock you out again. Or gag you.”

Fuck that. “Fine. I’ll play along with your stupid act.”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” James said, grinning.

I couldn’t tell how long we rode. Around the middle of the day, the ride became bumpier as we left what must have been a road and entered a forest. I could hear the flow of a river nearby, and smelled mud. We rode towards the river for a few minutes before stopping.

Alice stepped into the back of the wagon and stood over me, finally giving me a good look at her. She had brown skin, and looked even taller from this angle. Her hair was short and brown, but longer on her right side than her left. An unusual style, but not a bad one.

I looked away from her hair and met her eyes. Her expression was stern, but there was more to it than that. Contemplation, maybe?

“We’re stopping here for a bit,” she said. “We could untie you, if you’re willing to behave. Just don’t try anything, unless you want your legs cut off again.”

Rain looked incredulous. “Are you serious?”

Alice gave a shrug. “It’ll be fine. Probably. We beat him even with his powers, and I don’t feel like carrying him around again.”

“Well, it's your call,” Rain said. “But we’ve gotta keep an eye on him. And if anything goes wrong, I told you so.”

I looked up at Alice. “Well, I can’t pass up a chance to annoy Rain.”

Alice rested a hand on the axe strapped to her side, and gave me a hard look. “You’re going to behave, because that will be easiest for all of us. Got it?”

I nodded, my cheeks flushing. Couldn’t argue with that.

She reached down, untying my arms, then my legs. I stood up, stretching. Been sitting still for way too long.

The four of us stepped down from the wagon. As I reached the ground, I took a look around. I could see the river I’d heard earlier, broad willow trees along its bank. I walked to the edge of the water and looked down at my reflection.

With Rain’s illusion in effect, my hair was shorter than usual, and a lighter shade of brown. My face looked thinner, sharper. And I was still missing half an arm, which was at least as annoying.

As I scowled down at the water, Rain walked up next to me. “Don’t like it, huh?”

“Looks like shit,” I said.

Rain shrugged. “First thing I thought of. I could make a different disguise, if there’s something else you’d prefer.”

I narrowed my eyes at the mage. “Why the hell do you care? I know you don’t like me.”

Rain let out a sigh. “You’re an asshole who’s been helping to murder a whole lot of people, all to maintain the Emperor’s rule. So, yeah, I don’t like you. But forcing you to wear a face you don’t like wouldn’t change any of that. It’d just be obnoxious.”

That stung more than I’d expected. And what does it matter to you?

I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you wouldn’t make a good blood knight, after all.”

Rain snorted. “Thanks, I think.”

I sighed, turning back to the river. “Well, whatever. I still say it’s a dumb thing to worry about, and I don’t need your help.”

“Suit yourself,” Rain said.

The mage walked away. A ways behind me, the trio exchanged some words, but I couldn’t make anything out.

I stared into the water. Rain’s description of our work wasn’t anything new, I’d known that plenty of people saw us that way. Commander William and the others had taught us not to care, that it didn’t matter what they thought as long as we were strong enough to make them listen. But coming from Rain, it felt more… relevant, somehow.

It reminded me of the journal I’d found, years ago. Nadia, probably one of the rebels we’d killed that day. Did she have something in common with these weird-ass mercenaries?

Looking at my reflection, I imagined my real face. It was what I was used to, but I wouldn’t say I liked it. I thought about other guys I’d seen, and if there was anything about how they’d looked that I’d want to copy. If I were to take Rain up on that offer.

Couldn’t come up with anything. Maybe I just wasn’t the type to care how I looked.

I thought back to Nadia. I didn’t know what she looked like, but I’d always wondered if she could have been the woman I’d killed right before going to the inn. The one who’d refused to tell me where the hideout was. Not that I remembered that woman’s face, either.

An idea popped into my head… No. I dismissed it. Who am I kidding.

I walked away, back towards the wagon. I spotted Alice, leaning against a tree and eating a piece of bread. Looked like she’d been watching me. James sat at the tree’s base, to her left. As I approached the pair, Alice pulled some more bread out of a bag and held it out to me. Hadn’t realized how hungry I was.

I took the bread, and sat down to her right. After a few bites, I spoke up. “Where’d Rain go?”

“They’re contacting our employer,” Alice replied.

I thought back to her comments earlier in the day. “That Karla person you mentioned? What does she want with me, anyway?”

“Information, mostly,” Alice said. “Rain and James have been studying your magic. Once she’s learned as much as she can, I imagine she’ll ransom you back. Of course, if you were willing to help us out, I’m sure she’d make it worth your while.”

I glared up at her. “The blood knights are my brothers. I’m not going to betray them for some assholes who kidnapped me.”

Our leaders had made it clear that when we joined the blood knights, they became our new family. I'd been allowed to see my birth family one last time after passing Captain Xavier's test, before leaving town with him. They'd congratulated me, we'd said our goodbyes, and that was that. I knew the blood knights were sending them a stipend, as one of the benefits of my work for them, but this was my world now.

Alice shrugged. “Fair enough. Point is, I don’t expect her to kill you or anything. She’s not wasteful like that.”

I looked back out towards the river. Should I believe her? I was no stranger to the art of falsely offering safety for cooperation. But even if I didn’t, what would I do about it? I could make a break for it, or try to grab a weapon, but even with Rain away, there was no question of how that would end. And then the rest of this journey would be a lot worse.

I thought back to the life I was hoping to return to. A life among soldiers and other blood knights, always throwing my weight around to keep everyone in line and to prove myself against the competition. They’d always told us that was what it meant to be on top, to be like kings. But… I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something I’d been missing out on.

I sighed, putting my face in my hands. Or hand, rather. When I looked up, I saw the river again. River, water… Wait.

“So,” I said, “did Rain study water magic because of the name, or…”

Alice closed her eyes and took in a breath. She looked conflicted.

“That’s their business,” she replied. “I don’t know how much they want to share.”

I nodded, thinking about her word choice. Maybe the reason she and James weren’t referring to Rain as male or female was that Rain didn’t want them to. Was that a thing people did? One way or another, probably not something the blood knights would think well of. No wonder they’ve been more wary of me than the other two.

I wasn’t sure why someone would do that, but I also didn’t see a reason to care. Plus, it felt like I was approaching a sensitive topic, and I wasn’t interested in getting my teeth punched in. May as well roll with it.

“What about you, Sir Knight?” James asked. “How’d you choose what kind of alchemy to learn?”

I blinked. Alchemy? What? “Okay, first of all, don’t call me that. And blood magic is sorcery, not alchemy. We channel power from inside us, not outside.”

“That’s not the distinction,” James said. “Rain looked at your magic, they said it’s stored as a physical component within your body. Sorcery runs off spirit, not a physical source.”

I frowned. “They got it wrong, then. We never heard anything about it working like that.”

“Maybe your mentors didn’t want you to know?” Alice asked. “Could be that they’re afraid of you learning tricks they can’t control as well.”

I looked away. Could that be it? I didn’t have any reason to believe Rain over my superiors. We were supposed to be prepared to use any power available, but they also wanted us sticking to our orders. Maybe they had a good reason for it.

James spoke up again. “Well, whatever kind of magic it is, what drew you to lightning?”

“It wasn’t really a choice,” I said. “Once we were ready to start learning spells, they injected magic into us, then… pushed us, so we’d have to find a way to use it to survive. Then those of us who pulled that off would work to build on whatever powers we developed.”

Alice made a face. “That’s horrifying.”

I shrugged. “Call it what you want, but it’s the most efficient method. Fewer people take well to traditional magic tutoring, and for those, it takes like ten years to get good enough for combat. We do what it takes to win.”

“At least the others don’t die in the process,” Alice replied. “And we can replenish our magic without having to kill people. Don’t forget about that part.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on. You can make anything sound bad if you put it that way.”

“Uh, no,” James said. “I don’t think that’s-”

An explosion ripped through the air in front of us, with a BOOM that cut off James’ words. I shut my eyes to avoid getting them burned again, but still felt a wave of heat pass over me. When I opened them, over a dozen soldiers stood before us, a teleportation glyph burned into the ground below them. Commander William stood in the center.

The commander looked at me. His eyes glowed red with his identification spell, and he gave a grin of recognition. As Alice and James got to their feet, the commander threw a fireball, and the explosion sent them sprawling towards the trees behind us. Soldiers ran after them.

The commander’s eyes returned to normal. He walked up to me, drawing a sword in each hand. “So this is where you’ve been. Let’s get you fixed up.”

He drove a sword into my right elbow, the spot where Alice had cut away the rest of my arm. His magic flowed into me, burning away my disguise, and I felt my power return. He withdrew the sword, allowing ichor to flow out and begin to reconstruct my arm. As it did, he held the sword out towards my left hand, and I took it.

The commander turned his gaze to the battle behind me. A jet of flame erupted from his hand, crashing into Alice’s chest. She reeled, then recovered her stance and carved through the closest soldier. She looked tired. All three of them probably are.

Somewhere out of view, I heard the crackle of Rain’s ice magic. A moment later, my right hand finished regenerating. There we go. I passed my sword to it, and lightning hummed within me.

I turned towards James, surrounded by soldiers, and reached for my magic. Time to sweep away these troublemakers and go home.

…That’s what I want. Right?

James met my eyes. He looked nervous, but… there was something else in his expression. Hope?

The commander glanced back at me. “What are you waiting for? Do it! Did they cut your balls off, too?”

It’s happening again. I get something and he shows up before I can make sense out of it and takes it away and-

A bolt of lightning burst out of my hand, into his face.

The commander staggered back, then stared at me. Did I just fucking do that?

“You ungrateful shit!” the commander shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I have no idea. Ruining my life, probably. And yet it feels so fucking good.

A laugh shook its way out of me as I met his eyes. “I had a better idea. Go to hell.”

I ran towards the commander, slashing towards his face and colliding with his own sword. He unleashed a jet of flame into my stomach, burning me through my armor. I staggered backward and threw another lightning bolt, but a jolt of pain threw off my aim, and it crashed into a tree.

The commander waved a hand, and I jumped back as the ground erupted in flames. Fast enough to avoid the brunt of them, slow enough to still end up with a burned right foot.

How the hell do I keep up with him?

Rain’s voice, closer than I’d expected. “Do we get involved?”

“Of course!” Alice shouted.

A ball of flame formed in the commander’s hands, over a foot across, and he hurled it towards me. From the side, a sphere of water collided with it, and the two burst into steam. Looking towards the source of the water, I saw Rain, with James next to them. James had his spear out, a golden glow around it.

The commander glanced towards the pair. “So you’re with these freaks now, huh?”

I guess I am. Can’t go home now, and the idea of it feels… repetitive. Flat. Stifling.

A soldier lunged for Rain. James planted his spear in the soldier’s eye, a flash of light bursting out as he struck. The soldiers were starting to thin out – the mercenaries had taken down most of them. Several faced down Alice, who stood between them and the wagon.

I threw a ball of lightning towards the commander. He countered with a flame jet, and the two exploded in midair between us. As he readied another spell, one of Rain’s icicles smashed through his kneecap.

Break his bones. Make him fucking hurt.

The commander’s leg buckled, and he shouted in pain. His body began to shimmer, and I recognized it as the start of his teleportation spell. Before he could complete it, a ray of white light shone from James towards him, and the spell faded.

With a roar of anger, the commander stood back up. The icicle had already melted, and his leg was starting to heal. The ground began to swell under him, and as it did, cracks spread towards us. I ran towards him, feeling the air around me get hotter and hotter. Before he could finish whatever the hell he was doing, I reached him and drove my sword into his heart.

The commander’s eyes went wide, and I felt his lifeforce flow into me. Never drained another blood knight before. His energy felt so much stronger than anyone else I’d killed in battle, almost like my initiation ritual years ago.

When I finished, I ripped the sword out, and the commander’s body crumpled to the ground. I stared down at him, trying to figure out what to feel.

When I looked back up, I saw the last of the soldiers collapse into a bloody mess in front of Alice. She walked towards me, and the other two joined us by the commander’s body. James reached for a gash on Rain’s side, and with a flash of light, it began to heal.

Were they joking about the offer? They’re all exhausted, now. I could take out Rain first, and…

Alice glanced down, then back to me. “Well, there we go. Thanks for the help.”

I let out a long sigh. “I can’t believe I did that.”

Rain shook their head, chuckling. “I couldn’t believe it, either.”

Rain looked back at James. They sighed, fished a gold coin out of their bag, and tossed it to him. James caught it, grinning.

As he pocketed it, James looked towards the wagon. “We should get out of here, before anyone else shows up.”

Rain frowned, holding out a hand. “Wait. I need to check something.”

Rain’s eyes glowed green again. They moved their hands through the air over the commander, as if tracing invisible strings. Eventually, they looked back at me, their eyes returning to normal.

“They were tracking you,” Rain said. “That’s how that guy knew where to teleport.”

A chill went through me. “He what?”

“The spell wasn’t in effect when we captured you,” Rain said. “He must have activated it from a distance. It looks like he anchored the connection through something else, linked to your powers. And if someone else tried to track him the same way… I think it would point to you, now. They'd know you drained him.”

The fucking crystal. “He never told me he could do that.”

Alice let out a sigh. “We have to assume there are other blood knights who can do the same thing. James, can you do anything about it?”

James looked me over. “I know a ward that can block external magical links. But if you need those links for your magic to work, it would shut it down completely.”

I glared at him, lightning burning within me. “Lose my powers again? Do you understand what I went through to get them? To not be… weak?”

“It’s up to you,” Alice said. “As long as they can track you, we can’t keep you with us, but you did help us out. If you want to keep your powers and find your own way to deal with any more blood knights that come after you, we won’t stop you from leaving. Or you could let James ward you, then stick with us and we can try to help each other out.”

I groaned, putting my face in my hands. The years I’d spent with the blood knights told me to take my powers and go, that I should trust my own strength rather than anyone else. But I just learned how easily I could fail on my own. And I’m sick of trying to live that way.

Maybe I can find another way to be strong.

“I… okay.” I locked eyes with James. “Do it.”

I sat down on the ground. James kneeled behind me, and I recalled how he’d used that sleep spell on me last night. But everything was different, now. I felt him trace a symbol on my back, and my veins burned as his spell took hold. The magic flowed out of them, into my chest. I let out a gasp, and a cloud of black smoke billowed out of my mouth.

It was over. For the second time today, I was powerless, but now it ran even deeper. I could feel the ward blocking whatever had allowed me to take in the lifeforce of the people I killed, so now I couldn’t even recharge. At least this time, I still have all my limbs. I’ll have to get better at keeping them.

Alice nodded at me. “If we’re all ready, let’s get going.”

I stood up. As ready as I’ll ever be.