Mantle of the Gods

The second year Hitter was standing in front of us.

“We did your challenge.” I struggled to get to my feet so I could face the black-haired, brown-eyed man. "Where’s Rix?”

“He took Rix?” Ether asked as she helped me up.

“Wrye Tritha, at your service.” He gave her a little bow.

I wanted to punch him, but I had to keep up appearances. Plus, I could barely walk, I was so tired. I had to remember that he thought I was a Tank, which meant no spells and keeping Ether out of the fight. So far it was only the one person, but that didn’t mean that the rest of his team might not be around.

“The ginger is around.” He pulled out his blade. "Let’s talk about remuneration.”

“Renum… What?” Aelin looked at us.

“Payment." Justia turned from the blonde to our enemy. "Why should we pay you, when you’re the one who took our party member?”

“Speaking of party members.” He pointed at each of us. "One, two, three, four…”

I thought I might have seen concern on his face for just a moment.

“You’re missing one. Casualty of the boss?”

“He didn’t want to fight the boss, so he quit.” I spoke up before any of the others could. It wasn’t too far from the truth. He hadn’t wanted to train as hard as we had to and he had said that he was going to quit the team.

“That’s too bad.” Wrye clicked his tongue. "The deal was to give you back the girl IF you ALL made it to the second floor before any teachers showed up.”

“That’s not fair!” Aelin balled her fists. "We passed your silly test! Now give us back Rix!”

“So much anger.” The black-haired man chuckled. "How is this team better than mine, I have no idea.”

“Maybe because we don’t kidnap people!” Aelin motioned at the other three of us.

“Someone found her spine…” He looked at Aelin. "I wonder, can you back up those harsh words, or do you think you’re safe because you’re by the gate?”

She paled as Justia stepped in front of her.

“That’s what I thought…” Wrye turned back to me. "So here’s the new deal. You’re going to give me the bag with all your crystals, then we’ll talk about the teammate you didn’t abandon.”

“We’re not giving you anything…” I pulled out the sword and held it with both hands. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to hold it up with just one hand and I had to strain for my hands not to shake.

“Again with the weapons…” He clicked his tongue. "A Tank against a Hitter with only swords is a no brainer at even levels.” The brown-eyed man pointed at the sword in my hands. "Why don’t you put that away before you get hurt again?”

I shook my head. "I’d rather lose our money knowing that I fought for it, then to just hand it over.” I looked at Justia, then back at him. "Besides, how do I know you won’t attack us as soon as we put our weapons down?”

Wrye shrugged. "Probably don’t even have anything worth keeping.” He looked up at the artificial sky, then back to us. "Fine, you want to know where your team member is?” He waved out at the caves. "She’s out there somewhere!” He turned back to us. "Let’s talk about a new deal.”

“No more deals!” I tightened the grip on the sword. I really needed to put it away, but I doubted my ability to lift my arms that high. "We did your thing. We hit level two in under a week AND we beat the first floor boss with only four team members.” I nodded at the rest of my team. "We proved we’re deserving of having the better teacher, so quit playing games and GIVE US RIX BACK!”

He smiled and looked at the gate. “Find her before the enforcers arrest you and she’s yours. If you don’t…” He paused for too long and the smirk on his face made it obvious he wasn’t using the extra time to think. "And the ginger will have an accident while we’re power leveling her through the second floor boss.”