Chapter 31

"What do you mean you don't know where he is? You're the one that sent him away!" Orsted yelled at the bound witch.

"Because I didn't have a destination in mind." She laughed, not caring about the chains or the pain he was about to inflict. "But at least I got rid of one nuisance. I doubt you'll last a month without your precious Jade at your side. Are you eating right? Looking quite gaunt now, Your Highness."

"Shut up!" He burned her skin with a torch, and she screamed out in pain.

"Oh, that one lasted long." She kept laughing.

"Your Highness, I don't think she's going to be any help," Erik said. "She has a high pain tolerance, and possibly no new information to give us."

"Oh, look, one of you has a brain. Torturing me isn't for information, since I don't know where he is; it's only for your disturbed pleasure." She licked her dry, bloodied lips.

"No." Orsted waved Erik away. "She knows something, even if it isn't where he is. There has to be something. How did she do the magic to teleport him away? It's not easy to use it on someone else and harder to send someone far."

"She's a powerful witch; that's all it takes. We'd be better off finding a way to sap her magic and use it as our own."

"That's a new one." Emerald tilted her head as she thought. "But I don't think you can do it. You don't have anyone that can harness a power like mine. Even if you could, that still doesn't help you find your precious Jade. Ah!" she yelped as he backhanded her face.

"If she's not going to help, gag her." Orsted grabbed a towel to wipe the blood off of his hands as he headed out of the dungeon with Erik close behind. "We need to refocus. Find a way to drain her magic and harness it ourselves."

"I'll tell Arnid to get on it right away." He bowed, hand over his heart.

"Get Freya to take over for Arnid in the search for Jade across worlds."

"Wouldn't Freya do better alongside Arnid here?"

Orsted rubbed his face, cringing as he tried to think it over. His thoughts muddled.

"Your Highness, I suggest you get some rest. We need you in top shape to make important decisions."

"Ahem." Orsted cleared his throat and shook his head as everything blurred.

"It won't do any good to have you pass out randomly from fatigue. And we don't want any reckless decisions."

"How? How am I supposed to rest when Jade isn't here? When I close my eyes, I relive the moment where he vanished while right in front of me. He was hit by their magic. Light consumed him and then he was gone. My brother. The one who has been beside me since we were little. Gone in a moment."

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you have to rest. Freya can use magic to help you sleep."

"But—"

"Please. I beg of you, get some rest."

"Fine." Orsted took a step and wobbled. Erik was instantly at his side, holding him up. "I guess you were right."

"Are you upset?" Jade asked as he walked hand-in-hand with Ariel to school in the morning.

"No." Yes, but even thinking that probably makes me a bad person.

"Then why are you avoiding looking at me?"

"I'm not." She glanced up at him and went back to staring at the sidewalk. "I am still paranoid about those girls, though; I can't see Janice giving up so easily."

"You think she'll try to bully you with me around? Highly unlikely."

"You've made it seem like we're together, and she still hit on you while I was right there."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "You're worried they'll flirt with me?"

"Isn't it insulting to me? And doesn't that show how much they don't care and will try to find other ways to mess with me?"

"Maybe, but it's not like they'd have a chance. I want nothing to do with those women." They stopped outside of school, and he pulled her hand up to kiss the back of it. "Please do you best to ignore them, as they are not even worth your time." His eyes landed on the necklace, and he smiled. "We're here together, so for once, be at ease at school. They won't have a chance to hurt you."

"Not physically, but words hurt, too."

"Well, I don't think it would do well to silence them with runes or violence."

"You're right about that." Goosebumps trailed along her body, and she turned to see Janice staring at them from the entrance, anger seething, as her eye twitched. "She's definitely mad." And not the only one staring at us. At Jade...

"The fellow from the other day is staring as well." He gently touched her chin to turn her gaze back to him. "A solid front helps to fend against them." He leaned in close and kissed her cheek. "Let's go."

Oh... How am I supposed to get used to this? Well, I might not have to.

Janice and the others backed away, letting them through.

Curious; why does Andy seem angry, too?

"See? We should be okay," Jade said as they headed to class.

"Let's hope the whole day... the whole week, ends up going well." Might be all we have left together.

After an uneventful morning, Ariel and Jade sat outside for lunch at an empty picnic table.

"I'm sorry about this." Someone tapped on Jade's shoulder.

He turned and reacted quickly to catch the fist headed for him. "What is the meaning of this?" Jade crushed his hand as he stood.

"Dammit, man! Let go!" Andy cried out.

"You tried to sucker punch me while I ate lunch and have the audacity to complain when I retaliate." Jade bent Andy's wrist back, dropping him to his knees. "Don't attack someone unless you're ready for the consequences."

"Ow! Man, stop! Please, stop. I didn't even want to do it," he cried out, and Jade released him. "How the hell are you so strong?" Andy coddled his wrist. "I'm the best on the wrestling team—"

"And? You've overestimated your abilities. It's ill advised to randomly start fights with people, even more so when you don't know of their capabilities."

"But—"

"I have more training in combat than you will probably ever amass."

Andy's eyes widened. "What are you, some MMA specialist or something?"

"MMA?" Jade turned to Ariel for clarification.

"Mixed martial arts," she whispered.

He thought for a moment and nodded. "I suppose so, but I also have training with weapons, too."

Ariel tugged on his sleeve. "Don't reveal too much."

"Seriously?" Andy scrambled back. "How is that possible?"

"His family are specialists," Ariel blurted out. "You seriously don't want to mess with him, even if your girlfriend's mob moss wants you to."

Andy laughed awkwardly as he got to his feet, still inching away. "You have a point there. I just want to please Cherry, and she—"

"Is nothing but Janice's minion. I thought I made myself clear the other day, but apparently not." Jade stalked closer to Andy and glared at him. "If she tries anything again, I'm not going to keep playing defensive. Got it?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"I don't want you, her, or any of your friends bothering me, Ariel, or anyone else because of some stupid vendetta created in her mind. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Andy swallowed hard.

What an unusual way to go about this. I thought she liked Jade. Maybe him embarrassing her the other day was enough to change her tune on him... but is that likely?

"Sorry for the interruption," Jade said as he sat back down.

Ariel shook her head. "Wasn't your fault."

"Can't say I was expecting someone to take a swing at me during lunch."

"The cost for being close to me, it seems."

"Not your fault," he mimicked her words. "And I can handle myself; he was no threat to me." Jade started to eat and paused, wondering if Andy would attack her when he's gone. "Since Conner has already helped you learn to defend yourself, but you've been unable to use it, maybe I should help teach you how to retreat."

"You mean run away?"

"Yes. There is safety in crowds, though some here seem apathetic. You only need to be able to react in a way that gets you to safety."

"You've seen how people stand around. I wouldn't be surprised if others helped them catch me so they didn't end up on the other end, so I don't know that running would be any better. If anything, I should just stay home away from school entirely."

"That wouldn't be good for you."

"It would be safer."