“Shall we go now?” Atikus asked again.
“Wait,” the woman smiled and patted the boy’s cheek. He’d always liked these warm, slightly callused palms. “Wait just a little longer. In the meantime, let me tell you a story. The Legend of the Wind.”
Chapter 246
Hadjar tried to distract himself from the remains lying opposite him in the dungeon. But he couldn’t. From time to time, he would turn to take a ‘final look’ at Nanny’s body. Only the steps coming down the corridor distracted Hadjar. At first, he thought it was one of the guards who’d decided to come stare at the captive Mad General, but soon enough, Hadjar recognized them. This often happened when a person knew another so well that they could recognize them by how they walked.
“What are you doing here, Nero?” Hadjar asked before his visitor had even inserted the key in the lock. His unexpected ‘guest’ slowed down slightly, but soon enough, Nero opened the door wide. He slipped inside the cell like an inconspicuous shadow, and closed the metal door behind him quietly.
When the first ray of moonlight fell on Nero, Hadjar couldn’t help but smile. Both his heavy sword and Moon Beam were sheathed across Nero’s back.
He also had a bag full of provisions, a bundle of simple clothes, a thin belt, and boots. Nero didn’t look like an experienced warrior, but more like a wandering merchant. Or just a very stupid thief who’d decided to steal whatever he could find instead of actually searching for valuables.
“You’re joking around, that means everything’s all right,” Nero nodded.
He pulled a small locket out of his pocket and walked over to Hadjar. Mumbling, he began to study the collar until Hadjar pushed him away.
“What’s wrong?” Nero asked.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Why are you distracting me? I’ll take this thing off your neck and then we’ll go to the Sea of Sand and...”
Hadjar gazed at his friend... his brother... with a look that expressed what he felt better than any words ever could. Nero recognized that look. The Mad General looked like this when he wanted to make it clear that it was useless to try and argue with him.
“Are you crazy, Hadj? Completely insane?” Nero whispered angrily. “They’ve already announced it to the whole Kingdom and built a platform on the central square! A bonfire is even being constructed! You’ll be burned alive tomorrow!”
“I would’ve thought you’d come sooner...”
“Are you listening to me, you mad idiot? You’re going to be executed. If you don’t understand the word, I’ll spell it out! E-x-e-c-u-t-e-d!”
Hadjar shrugged and winced slightly at the pain caused by the collar. It was a vile invention of the damned artifactors. Why couldn’t they have created something less painful? Or maybe they just felt a collective hatred toward practitioners?
“I won’t run, Nero. Not this time. Not now.”
Nero cried out silently. At least that’s how Hadjar understood his friend’s open mouth and pained expression. If Nero had hit the wall right then, the force of the blow would’ve shook the entire Palace and brought down the ceiling on the first floor.
“Why? You crazy idiot! Are you planning to die here? On the bonfire?”
“I can’t, my friend, I just can’t...”
“Damn it! Demons and gods! Why?!”
Instead of saying anything, Hadjar simply nodded to the bundle shrouded in the silver light of the moon. Nero, who’d been subjected to the same grindstone of war as Hadjar had, immediately realized what it was. He also noticed both the chains and the bloodied, rusted hooks.
The anger and frustration left Nero’s expression, leaving behind understanding and regret. Sighing, he sank down beside Hadjar and handed him the pipe that had been gifted to him by the girl Hadjar hadn’t been able to love...
“Thank you,” Hadjar nodded and inhaled the fragrant smoke delightedly. He’d missed it even more than the feeling of power and energy coursing through his body.
“Did you know him?” Nero glanced toward the remains.
“Her,” corrected Hadjar. “She was my Nanny, back when I lived in this damned Palace.”
The words weren’t a surprise to Nero. It was clear that he’d already known the truth.
“Father told me everything,” Nero whispered. He simply couldn’t utter the phrase any louder.
“What did he tell you, exactly?” Hadjar asked with a slight half-smile.
Nero also lit his pipe and exhaled a ring of smoke. He still did it better than Hadjar. It probably required certain abilities, or a natural talent for it.
“That he killed your parents. The previous King and Queen. That he cut off your legs, broke your arms, made you a freak, and destroyed the core of your cultivation. That he kept you in a cell for a year, and that you somehow escaped...”
“I didn’t,” Hadjar kept smoking. “I just got lucky. I was bought by a traveling freak show. I traveled with them for five years. Then I was bought by the ‘Innocent Meadow’ brothel in Spring Town. Then it-”
“Burned down,” Nero nodded, a little surprised by this story. “I was there that day... Damn... That’s it. That’s why you didn’t like that Adjutant.”
“I had no doubt that you were a frequent customer of the best brothel,” Hadjar nudged his friend with his shoulder.
“Please don’t tell my wife.”
They laughed for a while.
“There was this girl there. She had multicolored eyes. Her name was Eina. She was… Colin Larvie raped and killed her in front of her dying mother.”
Nero grimaced.
“That is truly vile. Now I understand why you wanted to kill Colin so much. What about the dragon? You’ve never lived in a mountain village-”
“I lived in a village, but not a mountain one,” Hadjar interrupted. “After I escaped from the brothel, I ended up in an underground cave. There was a captive dragon inside it.”
“Wait,” Nero exclaimed. “A real, live, huge, fire-breathing-”
“That’s right,” Hadjar nodded. “But he didn’t breathe fire. Not all dragons possess that ability. It’s a misconception.”
“How do you know? Did you have time to talk to him about it?”
Hadjar
