Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 4: 003 - The Red Lion and the Young Wolf

Read chapter 4 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

Elijah felt that his luck so far was pretty mixed, so he tallied it up: He had been able to hitch a ride, which saved him at least a whole day of travel, which was certainly good luck even though it had been accompanied by some …unpleasantness, but that was hardly worth mentioning. In addition, he faced minimal resistance at the checkpoints, although it had relieved him of what little he had by way of cash. Still, better to get the ordeal over with as quickly as possible. He was not ungrateful for his fortunes, as few as they might be, but he also bemoaned the situation he was in, as it seemed poised to negate them. He was referring, of course, to the group of unfriendly-looking accosters who somehow knew his name. It was a squad of about six individuals, all looking to be just slightly older than him, with the exception of the boy at the very head of the group. That one looked about his age, though he had a scowling manner and hair cut very close to the skin. What do they want with me? He observed the group cautiously to try to ascertain their purpose. They wore elegant and well-fitted black kaftans [1] embroidered with a regal red lion’s head. From their attire, he could tell that they were members or servants of some Highborn clan, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember which. As an osu, a member of the caste beneath all castes, the particulars of noble clans had nothing to do with him, and he was altogether incurious about such things. Should have probably done more research about this, he thought to himself, as his body tensed up, as though he were on the eve of action. This despite the fact that he couldn't decide what action to take. Fighting the freeborn outside of an arena or some other event organised by them had never even crossed his mind before. In older times, that was an automatic death sentence, but even now in this relatively softer age, challenging the power of a Highborn clan could have no good outcomes. “You are to come with us,” was the declaration from the apparent leader. Neither his choice of words nor his tone suggested that this command was open to negotiation. I doubt they'll tell me what they want if I ask nicely, either. Despite his indecision, one thing was pretty certain to him – he could not go with these people. The odds were against him already, but he would be absolutely finished if he let himself get taken somewhere private. In the open street, escape or assistance was at least a possibility, albeit a slim one. “What are you waiting for?” The question came from an aggressive girl who had been standing just behind the leader, whom she had now shoved aside to bear down on their young target. The younger boy grabbed a hold of her arm and arrested her momentum. “What are you doing?” he asked with some measure of surprise and irritation. The rest of the group looked down with embarrassed expressions, not intending to intervene in the matter. “I’m carrying out our mission,” was her sharp reply as she freed her arm easily from his grip. “And what do you think I’m doing?” “I think you’re letting some osu dog stand in the way of the Lion. If you can’t wield the authority you’ve been given, you should stand aside and—” Out of nowhere, the pair felt a strong killing intent[2] directed at them. Before she could react, she saw that, standing in front of her, hand stretched out to grab her neck, was the same osu that had been half a dozen or so metres away just a blink ago. Luckily, though, her black iron dagger had reacted instinctively and created separation between them, stopping him from closing his terrifying grip around her neck. Leaving the blade buried in his midriff, she jumped back into a formation with the remaining members of her team. The leader seemed shocked by the rapid escalation and remained rooted to the spot. “Get back, idiot!” The girl called at him from the head of the cross formation she had commanded the unit to take. She’d have gone herself to get to him, but the blinding sp