Tales Of Syphona Fan Fiction ❯ Adbertos ❯ Chapter 6- Revelations ( Chapter 6 )

Anna stood in the room at the inn staring out the window at Lake Sinoa. She could still feel the blush on her cheeks and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

She was not exactly sure why she had reacted like she had. She knew part of it was having been overheard. There was little doubt that Father Gregori had answered any questions Kratos may have asked him, and that thought made her even more uncomfortable, but why?

The lake sparkled in the late sun, a slight coral color tainting the western sky. Anna sighed heavily and leaned her head against the cool glass, her brow furrowed and her lower lip clenched between her teeth as she thought.

Perhaps it was because he had so effortlessly gleaned information about her when she was still without answers of her own that upset her. She wasn’t thrilled with the idea that he knew of her childhood, but figured it wasn’t any worse than his knowledge of her imprisonment in the human ranch. Maybe he would even show a little pity and give her the information she so desperately desired.

Remaining motionless she continued staring out at the lake, watching the coral sky turn fiery as the sun made its careful descent into the rippling waters. The room glowed crimson in the dying light, like some forewarning about what was to come.

Anna listened carefully to the noises of the inn. People were traipsing up and down the stairs, likely maids turning down beds for the night and guests heading out for supper. A child’s cry of delight echoed up from somewhere below and Anna swore she could hear the clanking of coins, but perhaps it was just her imagination.

She clearly heard familiar, heavy footsteps echoing across the lobby below and up the stairs. She scowled at her reflection in the window, wondering if she should turn to face him or ignore him when he entered. The door opened before she could reach a decision so she settled for a glance over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the fading light of dusk.

He made no comment, simply closed the door behind him and walked across the room to where the table stood. Anna stared at the lake without seeing as she listened to the sounds behind her. The subtle shift of fabric as he moved, the clink of his scabbard as he removed the sword from his belt and the dull thud as it was placed on the table.

“Anna.”

Though he spoke softly the sudden sound caused her to jump and a faint blush quickly followed.

“What?” she asked, her tone calloused. This surprised her somewhat, as she had intended to relinquish her irritation.

“I understand your anger. I apologize if I have intruded into your personal affairs.”

She glared at him, the embarrassment she had felt at the church returning.

His gaze narrowed, although his tone remained soft and calm. “I think that if we are to be traveling together it may be in both our interests to come to some sort of understanding.”

She arched a brow, “And why do you assume that I wish to continue traveling with you?”

“You were asking about your exsphere,” he deflected her question. “I intend on giving you aid to see it safely removed, if that is at all possible.”

“And why would you do that?”

“On the condition that you relinquish the gem to me.”

“That sounds about right,” Anna snorted, turning away from him. “What is so special about this gem? This… Angelus Project?”

Kratos sighed wearily. “It would take much longer than a night to fully explain everything. I was counting on telling you over the course of our journey.”

“No!” Anna felt her foot childishly stamp the ground, her hands balling up into fists. “If you can’t tell me everything you at least must give me the highlights. I am not going anywhere until you answer some of my questions. It’s only fair.”

“What do you know of ‘fair’?” Kratos bristled, unable to contain his irritation.

“I know that you know more than I do,” Anna retorted. “I know that Father Gregori told you what you didn’t manage to overhear at the church. I know that the scales are tipped in your favor.”

“All the priest told me was that your mother was taken when you were a child and that he was a father to you,” Kratos returned in a growl. “I know that you were taken by the Desians fighting to defend this town. From that I gather that the people of Luin are important to you; and if that assumption is correct then it would be in your best interest to continue to follow me.”

Anna gaped at him, her eyes gleaming with anger. “What do you know?”

“Am I wrong?”

“No… but,” she paused, tears burning her eyes. She shook her head roughly, attempting to dislodge the accuracy of his assumption. “I don’t know these people.”

Kratos grunted in dissent. “You seem to care quite a lot for people who you claim you do not know.”

“It shouldn’t matter if I know them or not,” Anna snapped. “All life is valuable.”

“Regardless, it is dangerous for you to stay much longer in this town,” Kratos told her. “The Desians will begin searching for you. I’m surprised they haven’t arrived yet.”

“Why is this thing so important?” she asked angrily, gesturing towards the exsphere. “At least tell me that.”

“Fine, but first you have to tell me what you know about exspheres.”

“Nothing!” Anna cried, her patience worn dangerously thin. “I know the Desians prize them and that many people have been sacrificed for them. But I don’t know why.”

“The exspheres are a source of power for the Desians,” Kratos told her. “They are, in a sense, weapons. For some time now the Cardinal overseeing the ranch you were taken from-”

“Kvar,” Anna interrupted, her eyes narrowing in disgust.

“Yes, Kvar,” Kratos acknowledged. “Kvar has been studying ways to make these exspheres more powerful. He developed a theory and has been using hand-picked human subjects to test this theory on.”

“The Angelus Project.”

Kratos nodded, “Yes.”

“You said before that you worked for them,” Anna stared at him suspiciously. “Were you finding test subjects for Kvar?”

Kratos stared at her. “No, I was not. I have never assisted the Desians in taking human prisoners.”

“What did you do for them then?”

“…” Kratos shifted uncomfortably. “Surveillance.”

“Surveillance?” Anna questioned skeptically.

“I gave them aid in fortifying their ranches,” Kratos replied. “And gave advice as how to best plan and coordinate attacks.”

Anna narrowed her eyes at him in disgust. “You helped them attack towns and villages then? You might not have fought beside them but you may as well have. You told them how to do it!”

Kratos bowed his head. “I was only….” he broke off. He could not very well tell her he had been following orders as he had been about to. Besides being a poor excuse he was quite aware that it would blow his cover as a mercenary. “I did not fully comprehend what the Desians were up to at the time. I greatly regret my decision to give them aid and now strive to hinder them as much as possible.”

“Which is why you rescued me,” Anna breathed, lost in thought. She looked up after a moment. “Have you rescued others?”

Kratos shook his head. “I am shamed to say I never thought to do so before.”

“Why me?”

“I stumbled across you in the woods outside of the ranch. I was there because I was desperately trying to find a way to atone for what I had done,” he told her, not entirely lying. “When I found out you were the Angelus Project….”

“How did you know about the Angelus Project?”

He stared at her a moment, his mind fumbling for a plausible reason. He was somewhat disturbed at how quickly she began questioning him, and how willing he was to provide her with an answer, albeit a somewhat fabricated one. “I had been gathering intelligence as I was trying to find some way to cause trouble for the ranch. I overheard about the project but never imagined that I would be able to do anything about it.”

“So the only reason you came after me was for this gem stuck in my hand,” Anna mused, studying the man across the room. “If you want this thing so badly why don’t you just take it?”

“Removing the exsphere would be hazardous,” Kratos answered simply. “It could very well kill you.”

“And you care because?”

Kratos narrowed his eyes at her. “I am not a Desian. While I desire the exsphere I will not endanger your life to acquire it. I would rather search for a way to safely remove it.”

“Which would require me continuing to travel with you.”

“Yes.”

Anna sighed, moving towards the table and sitting down. “Why could I not stay here? I promise not to leave Luin. If you find a way to remove this… thing from my hand I would gladly give it to you in payment.”

“Too dangerous,” Kratos shook his head. “Kvar wants that exsphere and will not stop searching for you.”

“I’ll stay hidden,” Anna shrugged. “He will eventually tire and find another….” She trailed off, frowning. “Another victim.”

“No,” Kratos disagreed. “It would take much more effort to find another suitable candidate for the Angelus Project. It will be simpler to recover you. Not only that….”

“What?” Anna furrowed her brow at the unreadable expression on the mercenary’s face.

“He would have to start again from scratch. The records I was able to obtain said that there is a high mortality rate for this project. Even if I am unable to find a way to safely remove the exsphere from your hand there is still the chance that it could kill you.”

“It can kill me either way?” Anna asked, eyes wide with panic.

“The Desians use exspheres,” Kratos stated simply. “They are incredible weapons that strengthen the abilities of those who wear them.”

“They wear these things? What kind of idiot sacrifices his life for a weapon?”

“One that knows there is a safe way to wear one,” Kratos held her astonished gaze, slowly removing his gloves as he spoke. “The exsphere is useless unless it is attached to your skin. In order to do this safely a device called a Key Crest is used. The Key Crest prevents the exsphere from causing harm to the wearer.”

Anna’s expression had gone from disgusted to astonished and now slid to disbelief. Kratos held up his gloveless hand for her to see, the object there unmistakable.

“You have an exsphere?” she asked softly, staring at the gem. “But, what is this around it?”

“That is the Key Crest,” Kratos told her. “An item I intend to acquire for you as soon as possible.”

Anna looked up from her inspection of his hand, “Why would you do all this for me?”

“I told you, I want that stone if at all possible. You see that I utilize an exsphere and yours is supposed to be the most powerful one yet.”

“So, where do you get one of these Key Crests?” Anna asked, sitting back and meeting his eye once more.

“They are Dwarven technology.”

Anna’s eyes widened in shock. “Where do you plan on finding a dwarf? I haven’t heard of any existing anywhere!”

“That is why I intend on beginning our search as soon as possible,” Kratos told her, pulling his gloves back on and nodding towards the table. “Those packages contain a pair of sturdy boots and a garment more suitable for travel. I am sure that the innkeeper’s wife would like to keep her frock and your slippers would not survive the journey ahead of us.”

Anna stared blankly at the packages, reaching out to remove the wrappings from the items. “Thank you.”

“I would suggest you get a good night’s sleep,” Kratos told her, turning towards the window and taking up his usual post. “I plan to leave at first light.”

***

Anna had taken Kratos at his word and with her head whirling with new revelations had laid down, thinking it would be impossible to fall asleep. Seldom had she been so wrong.

No sooner than her head touched the pillow was she sound asleep. Her dreams were tumultuous and flighty, a series of vivid, unreal colors and disjointed scenes. Images of Kratos’ exphere and Key Crest, her mother’s face bathed in eerie green light, visions of those she had ministered to in her childhood and at the ranch… Maribelle.

The child’s small, innocent face haunted her most, seeming to follow her every twist and turn. Guilt over the young girl’s death tortured her and over and over she replayed those last horrible moments. Again and again she heard the child’s anguished screams.

“Anna!”

Her eyes snapped open as Kratos’ voice reached her. The room was dark, yet an odd light filtered in from outside. She sat up, disoriented, and looked questioningly at Kratos, who held out a pair of boots.

“Put these on,” he whispered tensely. “We have to leave - now.”

“What’s happened?” Anna asked, looking towards the window.

“The Desians.”

A cold sweat broke over her and she looked sharply at Kratos, the boots forgotten in her hands. He swiftly knelt next to her, taking the boots and shoving them on her feet.

“I saw them start entering the town not long ago,” Kratos told her quickly and softly. “I did not think they would make their move for awhile yet.”

“What is that light?” Anna asked, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Fire.”

Anna stared at him fearfully, her voice panicked “What are they burning?”

Kratos met her eye, pulling her to her feet. “The town. We have to get out of here.”

“We have to help them!” Anna cried, staring at him beseechingly. “Father Gregori! I won’t leave him to die because of me!”

Kratos stared at her for all of two seconds, not at all happy with the decision he had already made. “I will not risk your life for this town or anyone in it. That exsphere you wear is extremely valuable and I will not risk it falling back into the hands of the Desians.”

She stared at him, speechless.

“The people of this town are good and kind,” Kratos said quickly, bowing his head in admiration. “They would protect you. Father Gregori would protect you.”

“But….”

An insistent knock rattled the door to the room. Kratos drew his sword, pushing Anna behind him towards to far side of the bed.

“Sir? Miss?” a familiar voice inquired. “Please, it’s me, Joseph, the innkeeper.”

Kratos crossed the room in two strides bracing himself against the door as he cracked it open. The innkeeper stood on the other side, his wife fidgeting fearfully behind him.

“Sir, we are alone, this I swear to the Goddess!”

“We have come in hopes of helping you,” his goodwife added.

“Yes, we know that the intruders are after the young lady and yourself,” Joseph said. “You who wish no trouble and keep to yourselves.”

“Please,” the man’s wife begged. “Let us hide you!”

“We will allow no such thing,” Kratos told them, opening the door a little further. “The lady and I are leaving immediately. I would advise that you and your wife do likewise. Get as far from here as you can.”

“Sir, the Desians are already upon us,” the innkeeper said, shaking his head. “They will spot you immediately if you should leave the inn. They have begun to methodically search all the buildings in the town. Those burning are the ones they have searched….”

“We have a good place to hide,” the wife pressed, looking to Anna.

Kratos looked from the innkeeper to his wife, then behind him at Anna. If the Desians were indeed swarming outside - and he had no intentions of going near the window to verify that piece of information - then it would be best to lie low for a time.

But if they were also searching every minute inch of the town? Perhaps it would be best to hide, if he cared to wager Anna’s safety against his trust of the innkeeper. Having little choice he bowed his head in consent.

“Very well, show us this hiding place you speak of.”

“Good, good!” the wife exclaimed, hurrying off and down the stairs.

The innkeeper watched her go. “She will open the hidden door. Come quickly now, before the Desians reach this place.”

Kratos grabbed Anna’s hand, hurrying after the innkeeper and pulling Anna behind him. He kept his sword drawn, years of experience warning him of the danger he was flirting with. It could very well be Kvar himself that the innkeeper was leading them towards, at the very least Kratos expected a squad of Desians. It was with a bit of a shock that they entered an empty lobby downstairs, finding the innkeeper’s wife holding back the door of a small space concealed within the counter.

“Hurry!” she cried. “I hear them coming!”

Without a second thought Kratos crawled into the space, pulling Anna in behind him. It was a tight fit and Kratos found himself forced to sheath his sword for safety. Anna pressed against him, her short hair tickling his chin as she trembled.

“Be very quiet,” the innkeeper whispered, closing the door and concealing the small space once more.

Light filtered in between the slight cracks in the counter; Kratos pressed his face to the side, peering out through one of these. Within moments the door to the inn opened and four Desians entered. The one in the lead nodded to two of his comrades, pointing towards the stairs.

“You two check every room,” he ordered his subordinates. “Bring all guests down here.”

Saluting the two clamored off to do as they were bid. The innkeeper had come out from behind the counter by this point, Kratos could see him standing in front of their hiding place, blocking his view of the proceedings.

“What is the meaning of this?” the innkeeper demanded angrily. “I have sleeping guests upstairs and you mean to wake them at this hour? Are you mad?”

The Desian in charge barked back at him, “Silence inferior being! We have evidence that you are harboring two criminals in your inn. We shall find them and you will pay greatly for your treachery!”

“Absurd!”

“We’ve done no such thing!” his wife’s voice cried out. “You may look all you like, but I beg you to leave our guests alone. There is not a single criminal among them!”

“We shall see,” the commander’s confident smirk was evident in his voice.

From upstairs came the cries of alarm as the sleeping guests were roused from their slumber. Children cried while men’s voices shouted in indignation. It was not long before the first of the guests began filtering downstairs.

As they came to the bottom of the stairs they stopped, staring at the Desians blocking the exit. Men took up defensive positions in front of the women while the mothers gathered their children close to them. Kratos thought the entire scene would have looked more formidable if they all had not been wearing their night clothes.

The Desian leader came into view as he stalked over to where the guests huddled. He walked among them, studying the men and inspecting the women. After a few moments he returned to his comrades and was once more out of Kratos’ sight.

“Line up!” he barked, all traces of confidence gone from his voice. “You there, make them move! Line them up! Now!”

The other Desians scrambled to prod the angry and frightened guests into a rough line, pulling screaming children out of their wailing mother’s arms while the men were held back at spear point. Kratos felt Anna stiffen next to him, her breath catching.

“Where is our informer?” the commander demanded. “Bring him here. This is where he said we would find them and I want to know where they are!”

There was a scramble as the remaining Desians tried to follow orders. Two remained holding the guests are spear point while the third hurried outside. His footsteps retreated quickly only to approach again within moments, this time accompanied by another set. The innkeeper’s wife gasped softly as the new arrival entered and her husband turned to comfort her, muttering inaudibly.

“There you are!” the commander exclaimed happily. “So, tell me, where are they? Am I overlooking them perhaps? Do you see the traitors here?”

Footsteps crossed the lobby slowly, bringing the owner into view bit by agonizing bit. Kratos had a glimpse of a familiar looking white robe and a flash of blue before Anna gasped beside him.

“No!”

He turned to her, afraid her soft cry would be heard by their pursuers. Her eyes were wide and riveted on the small crack she stared out of. If he had been able to see her clearly he would have also known that her face was pale. He could hear her ragged breathing that threatened to turn to sobs at any moment.

Without any hesitation he pulled her away, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her against his chest. He feared she would expose them and desperately hoped that she would keep quiet.

“So, Father,” the Desian sneered. “Where are they?”

“Father Gregori, how could you!?” the innkeeper’s wife sobbed, her voice trembled with devastation and anger.

“Silence woman,” the priest replied sharply. “You are ignorant here. You have no idea what you are dealing with.”

“You are not here to exchange insults with that inferior rat!” the commander shouted. “Tell me where the traitors are! You said they would be here!”

The priest turned to the Desian, his face becoming visible to Kratos. The gentle and kind countenance had been replaced with one almost unrecognizable. His eyes were harsh and cynical, the smile replaced with a caustic sneer. “When I spoke to her at the chapel she said they were staying in this inn. As I do not see them before us I can only assume one of two scenarios has occurred. Either they have escaped without any of your men noticing; which I find highly unlikely. Or, more likely, they are still here, hidden.”

The Desian’s nostrils flared at this and he turned to the innkeeper. “Where are they? Where are you hiding them?”

“I told you, we are not harboring any criminals!” the innkeeper cried. “Those guests before you are the only ones we have given lodging to!”

“You lie!” the Desian thundered, advancing on the innkeeper. “I will give you one last chance, where are-?”

“What about that man and woman?” one of the guests spoke up. “The two that were staying in the room right off the stairs? They aren’t among us.”

Kratos tensed and Anna trembled at these words. The commander turned, eyes homing in on the speaker and asking his men. “Well? Were there any guests in that room?”

“It was empty sir!”

“That’s because no one is staying in there!” the innkeeper’s wife exclaimed. “This is nonsense! No one has stayed in that room for weeks!”

“But that’s not true,” another guest spoke up. “I saw the woman this afternoon. She was wearing a faded blue dress and had short brown hair.”

Anna shook her head, moaning softly. Kratos squeezed her arm, attempting to quiet her. His eyes narrowed as the guests continued to make recollections.

“Yes, and the man returned at sundown and entered the room,” another added. “I saw him as we were going out for supper.”

The Desian leader turned on the innkeeper and his wife. “Who was staying in that room and where are they now?”

The innkeeper stood in front of his wife, shielding her as he made his declaration. “There have been no guests in that room.”

“Why are you lying for them?” a woman cried out from among the guests.

“Yes, just tell them where those two are so that they can leave!”

“You’re only making them angrier!”

The commander quivered in rage, spittle flying from his mouth as he shouted. “You are lying to me still! For your treachery I condemn you and your household to death!”

In one fluid motion he drew his sword and thrust it towards the innkeeper faster than any human eye could see. With a gasp from the on looking guests and screams of anguish from his wife the innkeeper slid to the floor. Anna’s shout thankfully went unheard in the pandemonium.

“Burn this place.”

The guests screamed as they were herded back up the stairs. Kratos could hear them faintly as they were barricaded into the rooms, the hysterical weeping of the innkeeper’s wife and Anna’s choked sobs almost drowning them out. Father Gregori stood in view, shaking his head, a look of disgust on his face.

“What a waste,” he grumbled, turning and passing through the Desians blocking the exit.

The remaining Desians returned downstairs, scattering furniture and breaking everything from dishes to windows before quickly heading towards the exit. Kratos shifted, attempting to see if they had gone when the voice of the commander spoke once more.

“As for you, insufferable woman, join your conniving husband in the depths of hell!”

An arrow shot across the room, lodging itself between the woman’s eyes. Kratos clutched Anna as she cried out, staring towards the spot where the voice had come from. No one approached and it seemed that Anna’s cry had gone unheard, but he was not yet willing to reveal their hiding place.

He focused his external senses, straining his ears to catch any sound that would convince him it was safe to move. He could smell smoke and the faint scent of accelerant. The later became stronger as two Desians reentered carrying a large barrel between them. They sat it in the middle of the lobby and turned it over, spilling its contents before leaving again.

Kratos shifted, nudging Anna who quietly sobbed into his chest. “Be ready; when I give the word we will have to move quickly.”

She nodded, turning to face the concealed exit. “If we left now we could help those guests trapped upstairs,” she whispered. “Maybe then the sacrifice the innkeeper and his wife made would mean something.”

Kratos snorted softly. “Likely they would sooner hold us captive than be grateful for our rescue.”

“How can you say such a thing?”

“Have you forgotten how soon they were to reveal our absence from their numbers? They would have preferred the innkeeper to sacrifice you for their safety.”

“Perhaps,” Anna paused, biting her lip. “But that still doesn’t mean I can’t do the right thing.”

Kratos’ retort was cut off as a volley of arrows zipped in through the broken windows, oil soaked rags on their tips burning brightly. Most thudded into the walls and the counter, but a few found their mark in the pools of accelerant on the floor. The pools quickly turned to liquid fire; flames shooting high, reaching for the ceiling and walls.

“We’re leaving now,” Kratos frowned, glancing at the tip of an arrow that had penetrated the counter.

Anna kicked out at the trapdoor, sending it flying across the space behind the counter. She quickly crawled out, Kratos somehow managing to get out and to his feet before her. He pulled her up and released her hand, nodding towards a door behind the counter that led into the kitchen before hurrying through it.

Anna stared after him before turning towards the staircase across the room.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered to the empty doorway. “I can’t leave them like this.”

The spreading fire greatly hindered Anna’s ability to cross the room. The flames quickly devoured everything in its path, becoming more chaotic by the second. It licked up the walls making good use of the draperies and began its assault on the ceiling. Covering her face to keep from inhaling the thick black smoke Anna slowly made her way to the base of the stairs. Upon reaching them she paused, an ominous crackling reaching her ears.

She looked around, squinting through the smoke, before looking up. A large beam overhead was burning brightly, splintering as the fire consumed it.

“Anna!”

Kratos crashed into her, knocking them both towards the stairs and landing on top of her. The beam crashed down behind them, sparks leaping hungrily and catching on the hem of her dress.

“Oh!”

She flapped at the flames, retreating up the stairs in her attempt to escape. Kratos quickly reached out, seizing her ankle and smothering the fire.

“You do realize that you have effectively trapped us now?” Kratos growled.

“I was not going to leave the guests to burn alive,” Anna retorted, getting to her feet and climbing the stairs. The smoke was even thicker here and Anna coughed as she pulled herself up the stairs.

“If we somehow manage to escape this burning pit of death we will still have to contend with those trapped here, thanks to your actions.”

“They may not try to stop us,” Anna coughed, her eyes burning and watering. “Perhaps they will be grateful for our rescue.”

They had reached the first floor and Kratos removed a chair that was blocking the door to one of the rooms. He pulled the door open and glanced inside, “There is no one here.”

“What?” Anna pushed past him and entered the room, searching for the occupants. “There is an open window back here, it looks like they managed to escape.”

“Which is precisely what we should be doing,” Kratos reminded her. “If the guests in this room managed to escape the others will have as well.”

Anna ignored him, returning to the smoke-filled hallway and hurrying along its length, pulling open doors as she went. Most of the rooms were empty, windows opened along the far walls where they had escaped. She came to the last room, pulling the door open to find a woman crouched over a small child.

“Are you hurt?” Anna asked, crouching next to her. The child was unconscious and the woman looked as if she were going to pass out. “Kratos!”

Footsteps echoed down the hallway as Anna pulled the child into her arms, turning to look as the mercenary entered the room. “Help her.”

With a look of disgust he knelt beside the woman, picking her up and turning towards the back of the room. “We’ll open one of the windows. We are not that high so it should be easy enough to jump or climb down.”

Anna reached the window first and pulled it open, looking outside quickly before pulling her head back into the room. “We’re behind the inn, the lake is to our right and there is a small path just below us.”

Kratos nodded, “I’ll go first, when I call up I want you to push this woman out the window, I’ll catch her. Then you will toss down the child before jumping yourself.”

Without another word he was gone from the windowsill, the groggy woman perched there in his place. She looked sleepily up at Anna, coughing roughly. The thick, irritating black smoke streamed out the window as it escaped from the building, drowning them.

“Now Anna!”

Biting her lip and closing her eyes Anna reached up and pushed the drowsy woman, tipping her from the window. The woman gasped, causing her to cough once more, before she tumbled to the ground below. Anna peered out to see that Kratos had caught her and was propping her against the sheer hillside behind him. He turned back, looking up at Anna and nodding for her to send out the child.

Holding the child carefully from the window she dropped him, watching as Kratos caught him and sat him next to his mother. Then he turned, nodding for her to jump next.

Obediently Anna climbed up on the windowsill, looking down and becoming dizzy. She clutched at the frame, closing her eyes.

“Anna! Jump!”

She shook her head, overwhelmed with vertigo.

“Damn it! Jump!”

“I can’t!”

“Let go of the window, it isn’t a far drop and I’ll catch you.”

Swallowing hard she eased her grip on the window frame, “Alright.”

Keeping her eyes tightly closed she leaned forward, choking as she felt the pull of gravity tugging her down. Instinctively she grasped for the window, but she was already falling. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out.

Almost immediately she felt Kratos’ arms catch her and he quickly set her on her feet. She opened her eyes, staring at him in shock before swaying and sitting down heavily on the path. She looked towards the two that they had rescued, a sense of relief filling her as she noticed the mother was alert and the child was recovering. For this she had jumped out a window, despite her fear of heights, and it was definitely worth it.

Smiling she looked up at Kratos, who frowned at her. “You are not going to be easy to travel with, are you?”

Anna laughed at this, a sense of giddiness filling her and making her lightheaded.

“We aren’t out of danger yet,” Kratos warned her, turning towards the mother and her child. “I would suggest you find somewhere to hide. Try to get out of the town if you can.”

The woman nodded, her face pale as she picked up her child and hurried away. Anna watched them go as she stood up. “What do we do now?”

“We leave,” Kratos told her bluntly. “All of the bridges leading into Luin will undoubtedly be heavily guarded. I hope you can swim.”

“Why?” Anna asked, her eyes mirroring the apprehension in her voice.

“Because the only exit left is through the lake.”