Chapter 1: The Bond of Two (Cont. II)

Blackheart grinned devilishly and took another swig of his drink, “Watch and learn just how to do it right, Mador, I’m not through with her yet.” Blackheart turned around and faced out to the entire crowd, his eyes locking with the figure in the corner. “EXCUSE ME MISS! I BELIEVE YOU OWE ME FOR THE DRINK!! MISS?!” Blackheart shouted through the entire crowd, every face turning first to the shouter, and than to the person he addressed. The figure squirmed in the corner as everyone began to pay attention to him. “YES YOU, YOU, THE CLOAKED STRANGER IN THE CORNER!” Mador chuckled behind Blackheart as he yelled. Out of his side vision, Blackheart swore he saw the darkness outside move.

The figure raced out of the shadows and over to the bar counter, holding the cloak tight around them. The figure reached the bar and pulled Blackheart up against it. “What the hell are you doing?”

Blackheart coughed from the forceful greeting and smiled, “Well, obviously my first plan of action didn’t seem to work, so I tried something else. I think it worked.” He smiled cavalierly as he winked at Mador, who chuckled behind the figure’s back. “What, are you hiding from someone?” The figure’s grip relaxed and grew rigid. Blackheart stared with a stupid grin for a moment, and then groaned, “You are hiding from someone!? God, can I pick them or what. Go back to your table I won’t….”

The figure had begun to stare at Blackheart’s chest. Blackheart looked down to see his amulet glowing a deep blue. “You’re kidding me,” he muttered.

The figure continued to stare, “Why is that glowing?”

“Uhh….” Blackheart replied, looking over at the four who had seen the amulet’s magical feat and were now arguing very heatedly. “Listen, we should get out of here, like now,” Blackheart said, seizing the figure’s arm.

“NO! I can’t go out there…and I don’t even know you!” The figure pulled on her arm but could not get it loose.

“Hi, I’m Blackheart, gambler and highwayman. And you are?” Blackheart shot a look at the door, making sure that his path was clear to run.

“My name is Adelia, but…” the figure began but was interrupted.

Adelia hit the floor with a loud crack as Blackheart wheeled away from a sword that had imbedded itself between them in the counter. Blackheart stopped his spin and kicked one of the charging bearded men in the gut, sending him flailing back onto a bar table. As the third tried to pry his sword from the counter, the other two charged towards Blackheart with small and very blunt-looking swords. Blackheart, seeing the two charging, leapt onto the countertop and kicked the third, who had almost wrenched his much more deadly blade from the counter, in the head. The bearded man grunted and hit the ground with a hollow thud as Blackheart stomped down on the bladed end of the loosed sword, sending it up into the air. With a swish, Blackheart caught the sword, leaping over the two who, not quick learners, imbedded their swords in the counter top. Mador, seeing the chaos ruining his section of the bar, had draw out a large club which barely fit the name club and more fit the name tree. He swung it, sending the two men still stuck in the bar counter sailing to a dark and recently emptied corner booth where they crashed with a heavy thunder.

Blackheart picked Adelia up from the ground. “Sorry about that, should’ve brought my sword inside, but I left it outside with my Feralite*.” Adelia rose from the ground, her cloak falling away to reveal a blue skinned face with ice blue eyes. She had a small pony-tail in the back but no hair on the rest of her head, a backwards blue moon tattoo over her right eye. “You’re a Seph*? Oh shit, I can really pick em!” He looked down at his amulet which continued to glow. “I KNOW ALREADY!” He yelled at it.

“You have a Feralite?”

“Yes! Now let’s get out of here, ok?” Blackheart grabbed Adelia by the arm and turned to see his gambling opponent recovering from the kick to the gut.

The bearded man rose with a wild yell, drawing his blade and charging. Blackheart blocked the bearded man’s down-swing and elbowed him in the face. He tugged on Adelia who stood motionless, eyes closed. “Now is not the time to sleep! Are you coming or what?!” Blackheart turned and dodged the bearded man’s second assault, blocking the man’s swing, which shattered Blackheart’s sword. “Damn.” He looked once more at Adelia, who still stood with eyes close. “Fine, I can get along without you!” He dodged the bearded man’s swing, grabbing him by the beard and twirling behind him, yanking hard on the beard and snapping the man onto his back like a dog who doesn’t know the limit of its leash. Blackheart bolted for the door and for a moment he felt the world almost stop. It seemed so short that he barely even realized anything had happened, and he completely forgot the feeling as a voice called him back into reality.

“Wait!” Adelia raced up to him. “I’m coming with, but be careful out there!”

“I’m not trying to get killed, babe,” Blackheart said, bursting out the tavern door into the strange darkness. He pulled Adelia along, leaping onto his Feralite and shoeing it, the two racing off from the tavern. Blackheart did not look back, which was probably a good thing. If he had, he would have seen the shadows desperately clinging to Adelia’s cloak and shredding it’s ends as it lost its grip.

*Feralite’s are an animal that people ride.

*Seph is a race, it will be explained in detail later.