Chapter Twenty-Five

Eden grunts as he’s tossed onto the cold, wet ground with his arms and legs tied together on his back. The bindings pull his legs up as he flails around like a fish out of water.

“It’s no use struggling, One Star,” says Cyrus. He tosses Eden’s Armaments on the table.

“We had a deal!” says Eden. “You get your revenge on Marek, and I get the Whale Stone!”

“First taste of betrayal?”

Cyrus slams a kick into Eden’s puffed-up up bleeding stomach, sending a shock of pain, scattering all over his body. Then a cloth is wrapped around his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

“Aye, Cyrus!” one of the scruffy thieves calls out. “We don’t need this One Star junk on the table!” the scruffy thief tosses Eden’s Armaments onto the floor.”

“Oi! I don want to see it either!” says a burly thief. He kicks the Armaments down to a rushing river below them.

Eden yelps as he hears the weapons splash into the water. His dream of becoming a Legion, becoming the True Hero, is gone in an instant.

“I told you, no one respects a One Star.”

Eden’s nostrils flare up as he glares at Cyrus. His wrists feel hot and wet, possibly bleeding too, as he pulls violently on the bindings. Then, as if he has been enough of an eyesore, Cyrus leaves him.

“Can’t believe you lost to a One Star, Cyrus.”

“Shut up.”

The thieves all burst out laughing at Cyrus.

Eden takes a look around the guild. The place is located underneath the church where he fought Cyrus. A cave that is dimly lit by torches. There are tables, chairs, and beds laid out in disorganized rows everywhere, as if no one cared. At the center is a pile of bags and chests full of gold and jewels just sitting there for the taking. The sound of rushing water can be heard from below this settlement; a perfect way to escape if Eden can get out of these bindings, that is.

“He’s not here!?” Cyrus’s voice echoes off the stalactites.

“Oh no, Cyrus, your daddy has not returned from your guys’ little expedition.”

Cyrus closes the gap with the scruffy thief. “Where is Marek!”

“That’s what we would like to know, too,” says another woman thief. “Where is Marek, Cyrus?”

“I don’t know. I thought he would be here.”

“Well, he’s not. And we need to find him.”

“He betrayed me and left me to be captured. He betrayed the guild!”

“Ya stones right!” says the burly thief. He claps on Cyrus’ shoulders as if he's proud of him.

The guild slowly grows in numbers, with all of them cheering and shouting out threats to Marek. Eden tilts his head. The group of thieves isn’t just gathering. They aren’t just expressing excitement either. They’re sneering. One by one, like a cloud of darkness, shrouding around Cyrus, the other thieves came together with bindings.

Eden tries to shout, but his voice is muffled. He hurriedly worms his way to warn Cyrus.

“Say, Cyrus, do you have any ideas as to where he might be?” asks the woman thief.

“Like I said, I don’t. But I’ll eventually find him. And when I do, I’ll make him pay.”

“That’s too slow. We have a better idea.”

A clamoring of cackles erupts, and like a pack of wolves, they pounce at Cyrus. Eden gasps as he can not see what is happening, only the silhouettes of their figures and cloaks all rummaging around like an angry smokescreen.

“What in goddesses are you all doing!?” Cyrus yells.

“We know how much Marek loves ya, ya little turd,” says the burly thief. “Why wait when da the old man can come save his kid?”

The thieves toss Cyrus down on the ground just a few feet away from Eden and have him tied down like he is. They all stare at him with the widest grins across their faces; their white teeth seemingly glow in the darkness, and laughter echoes from the shadows like they’re mocking Cyrus.

“I said, Marek betrayed me! Clean those ears, would ya? And listen to me!”

“Oh, we heard you the first time, Cyrus,” says the scruffy thief. “Our ears are as clear as water. You should know by now. We are everywhere.”

“But why?”

“The Whale Stone.”

“What? How’d you know abou-”

“I think you’re the one who needs to clean those ears!”

Cyrus cries out as the scruffy thief jams a finger into his ear. “I. Told. You. We. Are. Everywhere.”

Eden flails forward as fast as he can to reach Cyrus; his throat beginning to burn and lose volume from all the useless screaming. None of them paid him any mind. It’s as if he didn’t matter. Like a pebble on a road.

“Enough! Or you’ll kill him and we won’t be able to lure Marek out!” says the woman thief.

“Oh, shut up, love! Nobody here made you queen, and besides, I was just cleaning the boy’s ear.”

“Do not call me that or I’ll kill you.”

“Do it then, love.”

Blood spray from the scruffy thief’s throat; he shrieks with red bubbles foaming out of his mouth as he lurches toward the woman. She knocks him down with a kick and stomps on the corpse's head.

Eden watches as the other thieves hold her down, and a skirmish unleashes with all of them fighting over Cyrus like he’s a wish-making gem. A guild without its leader is now in disarray.

“STOP!” says the burly thief. “Think about the money we can get if we have the Whale Stone.”

The thieves cease their fighting among themselves and return their focus to Cyrus. They try to wrap a rag around him, but Cyrus bites back, angering them, so they begin to beat him and laugh.

All the other thieves are making a mockery of their own companion; he’s someone who also steals for the guild, and now is being treated like trash. Eden doesn’t like nor forgive Cyrus for betraying his trust, but seeing him helpless and backstabbed by his own guild makes his blood boil. Eden growls and worms forward, locking Cyrus in his sight.

The thieves start to kick Cyrus around like he’s a sad ball unable to fight back as he stays silent and scrunches his body up as if to protect himself. Eden growls and flails faster. He groans as the distance between him and Cyrus doesn’t seem to have gotten smaller. Eden pulls his limbs close to his back, feeling the rough threads of the ropes dig into his wet wrists, then he rolls toward the guild, knocking a few thieves off their feet and planting himself on top of Cyrus as a shield.

The thieves all shout incoherently, “Oh, the One Star wants in on the fun too!”

“Beat him up too!”

“No, get him out of here!”

“He’s ruining our fun.”

Boots rain down on Eden. Pain erupts like a bunch of explosions that have blown up in all parts of his back. Blood splurts out of his nose as a blow is struck on the back of his head. Then it ceases, but only for a moment.

Eden is in the air upside down, being carried by the burly thief. “Who wants to see the worm swim?”

The thieves all cackle and surround Eden; he sees all the nasty grins that look like smiling frowns around him. He flails, but the burly thief’s grip on him is too firm. The sound of rushing water grows louder, making Eden’s heart pound like it’s about to burst.

“You want off One Star?”

Eden is raised higher, seeing the fence and the river below him over his head. He stops flailing and stays completely still, as if to prevent falling, but he knows he is at the mercy of these criminals. And there’s nothing he can do.”

“Off you go!”

The river, rocks, and thieves all spin as Eden falls. Echoes of laughter become softer as the wind blasts his ears. His heart bursts in and out of his chest as Eden tries to struggle violently, hoping that his bindings would loosen up while simultaneously looking to see where he’ll land.

A loud splash. The cold wraps itself around Eden. Bubbles attack his nostrils. And the murmuring of water deafens him until darkness takes away all the pain.