《Ascended Angels》


 Chapter 1: A First Robbery

    <h5>Dark blue lightning streaked across the clear summer sky above swaying trees buffeted by a gathering wind. Thunder boomed a few seconds later, shaking the tepid humid air. Rain was about to break. Two men, a gangly lad on the verge of adulthood and an old man that could be his grandpa, were lying prone in the grass behind a clump of huckleberry bushes. At the sound, the young man flinched instinctively and almost gasped. An old grizzled man with a week¡¯s worth of unshaven beard placed a steadying hand on him. ¡°Calm down, youngin¡¯, a little thunder shouldn¡¯t frighten you so,¡± he whispered. ¡°If you can kill a man, you can deal with the weather.¡±</h5>


    Then he pointed, ¡°There comes our prize.¡±


    The lad peeked and saw two wagons of goods pulled by oxen ambling along the road. A merchant and his wares protected by a hired guard of twenty or so swordsmen on foot. Their shiny armor looked formidable to the young man¡¯s eye but to the old man though, their leather armor was all show. A good sword slash would cleave through it like a knife through butter. Everyone knew that anything more than leather armor was sent to the soldiers at the borders leaving guards like these with leather ones.


    ¡°Dorie, when do we ¡­¡± the young man gestured implying the obvious.


    ¡°Wait for it, Jon,¡± the old man replied impatiently. ¡°Over a hundred robberies and none botched thanks to perfect timing. Wait until they¡¯re in range of our archers.¡±


    Jon glanced around to see everyone else¡¯s reactions. There were two dozen of them in total including Jon and none of them seemed as anxious as he was. They were all staring intently at the wagon and they have all pulled out their weapons in silence anticipation. A few anxious moments passed by. His heart felt like it was going to burst out with the suspense. His first robbery ever and with this, he would be finally accepted as part of Murphy¡¯s gang.


    He must have zoned out and missed the signal since the other bandits were dashing towards the road now. ¡°Shit!¡± he cried aloud as he dashed after them. The fight had already started with each guard fighting a bandit or two. One guard who was in the back and hasn¡¯t joined in the action yet saw Jon and dashed towards him. A perfect timing for both him and Jon.


    Jon raised his sword and prepared for the charge. Shortly before the guard¡¯s shield crashed into his face, Jon took a moment and wondered if this man had lost his parents in the war as well. Jon reeled back with blood pouring into his right eye. He blinked away as he swayed and retreated. He blocked a swing aimed for the right side of his head and grimaced as the shock sent tingles through his arm. A fist blow to the ribs knocked the air from his lungs and left a stinging along his side. He looked again at his opponent, this young man only slightly older than him but already with old eyes. A former soldier, he thought as he blocked another swing. Jon was surprised that he wasn¡¯t dead yet.


    The guard would be a dangerous opponent on the battlefield but the same advantage he would have there didn¡¯t apply when dealing with thugs that didn¡¯t mind playing dirty. Before the guard pulled back for another swing, Jon quickly grabbed a handful of powder from a pouch and threw it in the guard¡¯s face. The guard, surprised, hesitated and broke into a sneezing fit. He only managed one sneeze before Jon placed a well-aimed thrust through the man¡¯s heart.


    Another good man gone, Jon thought with resignation. He took a look around and saw that his gang of outlaws has overpowered the guards. Most of the guards were already dead and the wounded were quickly given a few thrusts to ensure their passage to the beyond. The guards fought hard and a dozen of the gang were also joining them in the beyond.


    The merchants within the carriage was just one family. The man was in his thirties and seemed fairly well-to-do and he had a wife and teenage daughter. They were on their knees now and begging for their lives. The gang surrounded them with Murphy standing in the center. Murphy stared at them with utter distaste. With a fearsome reputation already at the tender age of barely thirty, Murphy stood tall and proud in front of the three. He detested weakness and begging was clearly a sign of one. The family didn¡¯t know it but they had already sealed their fate. Jon turned away; he didn¡¯t want to see what would come next.


    ¡°Come here boy!¡± Murphy¡¯s yell surprised him.


    Boy was the name given to Jon. He wasn¡¯t officially part of the gang and so didn¡¯t have a name yet in Murphy¡¯s eyes. He supposed that he should feel lucky at not being called dog like a previous tag-along. Jon quickly hustled over to stand beside the big man.


    ¡°What do you think we should do with this lot of sniveling fools?¡± Murphy turned to him and asked.


    Jon felt that it was better if they lived since they were no threat but he knew better than to say that. He swallowed and said what he thought Murphy would like to hear, ¡°Put them to the sword like all beggars.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bit too harsh isn¡¯t it?¡± Murphy said. ¡°I think the two ladies ought to be spared. The gold and silver in this wasn¡¯t as expected. Selling these pretty ones to the southerners should fetch us enough.¡±


    ¡°I hear the southerners enjoy northern ladies but we¡¯ll get our chances to enjoy them first,¡± someone from the group yelled out.


    The two ladies blanched and looked ready to faint. Jon felt sorry for them. Being sold as slaves to the southern Kazani was often considered a fate worse than death. He wished there was something he could do but there was none. Looking around, he saw a flash of sympathy on Dorie¡¯s face. As small as that was, he felt better knowing that he wasn¡¯t the only one here who still respects life.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have all day jeering. There¡¯s work to do. Jon, as a formal initiation into our gang, kill this fine merchant,¡± Murphy said with a hard gleam in his eye.


    Jon steadied himself. He wasn¡¯t expecting this but everyone was looking at him expectantly. Killing an innocent¡¯s blood screamed against every fiber of his being. Still, what choice did he have? He needed to live. With a brief nod of his head, Jon snapped his sword and slashed. I don¡¯t even know his name, Jon thought as the man¡¯s head thudded onto the dirt.


    ¡°Congratulations, Jon, you¡¯re now one of us,¡± Murphy smiled and squeezed his shoulders firmly. Then he turned to the rest of his men, ¡°What are all of you waiting for? The show is over. Chain these women and start moving our loot!¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    <hr>


    Raucous laughter filled the common room of the cave which served as the gang¡¯s hideout. This was an old abandoned mine with a history that was more colorful in stories than actuality. There were dark tales of the miners¡¯ spirits that were said to still haunt the area and devour the souls of travelers. Pure horseshit as the robbers knew but the superstition was helpful and they propagated the myth to keep their hideout safe from curious eyes. Just in case, there was always at least one gang member standing guard a bit outside the cave entrance who can warn of any undesired folks which meant just about everyone. The occasional lost traveler was usually robbed and killed if he or she wandered too close to the cave entrance.


    Jon was done with the festivities of the night and sat alone by himself on his straw bed in a tiny room at the back of the cave that he called home. Most of the gang had their own rooms but he shared one with old man Dorie. They were both new recruits to the gang and had yet to earn full room and board.


    ¡°A lot on your mind, huh?¡±


    Dorie¡¯s voice surprised him. He had zoned out thinking about something that for some reason he could no longer recall. Dorie sat on a small wooden stool and looked up at Jon.


    ¡°Not really. I¡¯ll probably fall asleep once the noise dies down out there,¡± Jon said as he glanced up.


    ¡°Well, you can fool yourself but you can¡¯t fool me. You¡¯re not as dead as the others. You still carry that part of humanity in you. Killing that man and knowing the fate of those two women are hard things to wrestle with.¡±


    ¡°Not any harder than the world out there,¡± Jon said with a shrug.


    ¡°True, the world has changed a lot since my youngling days,¡± Dorie said. ¡°For one thing, there weren¡¯t those damn angels flying around like they own the place.¡±


    ¡°Well, they do own the place,¡± Jon pointed out.


    ¡°Man was given the role by God to rule over all others,¡± Dorie said as if reciting from the holy book, which of course is now banned.


    ¡°But do you really believe all others include angels?¡± Jon asked. ¡°The demons have taken over part of the world and the High Seraph says they¡¯re the only ones who can defeat them.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know what to think. When survival was at stake, it¡¯s hard to think about these things but somehow old Dorie always seem to be pondering on them. Maybe it¡¯s because Dorie was over thrice his age and knew the world when men ruled instead of demons or angels.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true! All others mean including angels. And on what the High Seraph says, it¡¯s all a pile of horseshit! You know that most of the angels in the world are created from humans. Oh, they give it a fancy name and call it Ascension but it¡¯s just some fancy magic. Humans with ungodly powers pretending to be God. Who is to say that they weren¡¯t the one who created demons as well?¡± Dorie¡¯s face twisted disdainfully.


    Jon listened to Dorie ramble on some more about the good times in the past before he told Dorie that he was tired and needed to sleep. Dorie left with a disgruntled grunt. Clearly, he expected Jon to be a more patient listener but tonight Jon was too occupied with his thoughts. He killed a man. Sure, he did it to survive but he still felt a strong pang of guilt. Sometimes he wondered how others could kill without feeling any sense of remorse. He could understand Dorie being bitter with the world since the angels killed his family but the others? They did it because they enjoyed it. It was disgusting and frightening.


    Jon looked through his share of spoils. As usual, they left him the scraps. There wasn¡¯t much except a few apples which thankfully wasn¡¯t rotten and a book. He picked up the book and casually flipped through the pages. There were lines of squiggly symbols but no pictures. He couldn¡¯t decipher anything from it. ¡°I really wish I could read,¡± he said to himself.


    None of the other guys including Murphy could read so it wasn¡¯t a surprise they didn¡¯t see any value in keeping a book but Jon didn¡¯t feel the same way. Everyone who was wealthy or powerful knew how to read. If he was ever going to get out of this hellhole that he called his life, he would have to read. This was why he has accumulated over half a dozen books neatly stacked under his bed. The first few he obtained were water-damaged or half-ripped and so it wasn¡¯t until the fourth book that he had been able to try to teach himself how to read. It has been arduous -- to start with, he wrote down every He was struck with the odd thought that he could have asked the merchant to teach him how to read but of course that was a pipe drive. If he had asked Murphy, at best he would have been laughed in the face.


    Jon sighed. At this pace, he would be as old and jaded as Dorie before he could decipher these squiggly lines in the books. They looked like worms to me. Being a worm was how he felt most of the time in the gang. He knew the other folks besides Dorie didn¡¯t like him and only tolerated him since Murphy thought having someone who has an innocent youthful look could help in pulling a heist later down the line. So far, Jon hasn¡¯t played that role yet but he heard that Murphy has a grand plan in the works to rob one of the country mansion¡¯s merchants. It was a gamble but lately the pickings of the caravans on the road have been slim. With the new paved concrete road just completed yonder out west, this dusty dirt road next to the caves have been languishing in trade. Unless the gang decided to pick up and move to another hideout or was willing to camp out in the woods for a week, the only alternative was to start hitting the rich folks in the area.


    He probably would have stayed in his silent reverie for a while if no one had interrupted him but his peace was shattered when a couple of his least favorite people walked in through his door (which was nothing but a thin sheet of cloth) without any warning except a raucous laughter once they were standing in front of him. There were three of them and they were just as ugly inside as outside. Unfortunately, they were also not completely stupid. The leader of the pack¡¯s name was Darius and though he was almost as scrawny as Jon, he seemed to hold a personal grudge against Jon for an inexplicable reason. Perhaps it was because Darius finally found someone physically smaller and weaker than he was.


    ¡°Well, what do we have here? A rat who hides in his hole instead of enjoying the cheese?¡± Darius sneered. His companions laughed.


    ¡°I already ate,¡± Jon said with a glare.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the grub. I¡¯m talking about the cheese,¡± he emphasized the word cheese and directed a slight nod to the bigger brute Elfin.


    Elfin left the room and promptly returned a second later with a girl about the same age as Jon gagged and bound. He dumped her on the floor. There was no need to do so for Jon could see that she had long fainted from being violated at least half a dozen times. Her shirt was half torn and he could see a breast hanging loose. She was a sorry sight.


    ¡°Now usually I don¡¯t offer half-eaten cheese but since you¡¯re now a man of the gang, I¡¯m feeling especially generous tonight,¡± Darius smirked and his companions burst into laughter again.


    ¡°Thank you but I¡¯m not interested. Now please leave my room,¡± Jon said. He was sweating inside but in front of these thugs, showing any weakness was tantamount to rolling on the floor belly up.


    Darius¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You sure about that, little Jon? It¡¯s not just me who want you to celebrate. The big boss said specifically to offer you a piece and see how you like she tastes.¡±


    Jon didn¡¯t say anything but his mind was in turmoil. If this was true, there was no way out. He would have to go ahead and do it.


    Taking his silence as a cue to continue, Darius smirked and said, ¡°Maybe you¡¯re still a virgin? Elfin here could show you what to do. You can watch.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. I appreciate the boss¡¯s offer and I accept. You three can leave now. I¡¯ll appreciate some privacy,¡± Jon said.


    ¡°Alrighty then. I¡¯ll check back in the morning. Make sure she¡¯s good in one piece. Someone as pretty as her can fetch a fair coin in the market.¡±

 Chapter 2: Escape into the Woods

    Once they had left, Jon quickly unbound the girl and removed the gag around her mouth. She was not the prettiest gal around but not the ugliest either. Her forehead was marred with a bruise. Probably the result of a feeble attempt to fight back those animals, Jon thought. Jon grabbed a washcloth from his chair and dabbed away the dried blood. He wondered how distraught she would be feeling now if she was conscious. There was no way he was going to add more to her anguish and fear.


    He poked his head outside and saw that there was no one there. So they¡¯re too busy getting drunk to watch him. He sat back on his chair and wondered aloud, ¡°What should I do?¡±


    ¡°You can let me go,¡± a clear voice said.


    Jon leaped back in surprise. He looked and saw the girl looking up at him. He noticed that her eyes were the uncommon color of violet. Clearly, she was awake.


    ¡°How long have you been awake?¡± Jon asked. Then he quickly added what he felt that he should have asked first: ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been awake for a few minutes. And yes, I¡¯m fine except for a few bruises,¡± the girl said with surprising calmness.


    ¡°What? They didn¡¯t do anything to you?¡± Jon gaped in surprise.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t rape me if that is what you¡¯re implying,¡± the girl looked at him with a mischievous grin. ¡°You could say they were the ones who were fucked instead.¡±


    There was a moment of awkward silence as Jon tried to understand the situation.


    ¡°I told them I was touched by the miasma,¡± she said after the pause grew too awkward.


    ¡°What?!¡± Jon shouted as he backed up. ¡°But they said they ¡­¡±


    ¡°They were lying. You were going to be the guinea pig to see if I was lying. If you touch me and you don¡¯t die by tomorrow morning, they¡¯re going to have their turn,¡± she said.


    ¡°Those lying bastards!¡± Jon gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Yes, and since clearly they don¡¯t seem to care much about you either how about we get out of here?¡± the girl calmly suggested.


    ¡°But I thought you have the miasma?¡± Jon hesitated on being so close to a girl who was infected.


    ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± she sighed. ¡°I lied.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why would they believe you just because you said you¡¯re infected?¡±


    She explained with an impatient wave of her hand as if she had said the same thing a million times before, ¡°The gods, or excuse me it¡¯s the Goddess now, must have either blessed or cursed me. I have a dark birthmark the size of a watermelon on my tummy. Anyone who isn¡¯t a healer or herbalist would confuse it with a symptom of the miasma.¡±


    Jon let that sink in and simply said ¡°wow¡±.


    After realizing that he was staring a bit too long, he turned away and awkwardly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know how we can escape. Even if we get out of the cave, they will just catch us by tomorrow morning or we¡¯ll be torn apart by wolves in the woods.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll rather risk that than be raped and become a slave,¡± her voice trembled with a mixture of anger and fear.


    Then, she chuckled, ¡°Well, you bandits did one good thing. They killed my master at least.¡±


    ¡°Huh? That wasn¡¯t your father?¡±


    The girl continued, ¡°No, he wasn¡¯t my father though he liked to pretend he was. My parents died in the war and I was on the streets for a while. This old lecher saw me several moons ago and decided to take me in. He tricked me into thinking I would be a servant but really I was treated like a slave.¡±


    Jon nodded in sympathy and asked, ¡°Where are you from?¡±


    The girl continued, ¡°Since it seems like we will be carrying a conversation for at least a little while until you make a decision or your friends make one for you, can you at least untie me?¡±


    He hesitated briefly before deciding to go ahead and untie her. There wasn¡¯t much she could do to harm herself or him in this room. While he was untying her, she answered him, ¡°Eiyre. As you probably know, your kingdom used to be a lot smaller before your wars of conquest or as your angels would put them the ¡®Liberation Campaign¡¯. We were simple townsfolk doing our daily affairs. The next thing we knew your angels and mages arrived at our town gates and demanded us to give them all children below the age of nine. We refused and were obviously overpowered. They didn¡¯t take any prisoners and just killed the adults who had resisted. My parents were among those killed.¡±


    He had finished untying her. Jon was stunned and didn¡¯t know what to say.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Are you naturally this speechless?¡± the girl asked curiously as she stood up and stretched. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s disgusting how thoroughly brainwashed everyone in this kingdom is.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any love for the angels but I never thought they would do anything like this,¡± Jon said hurriedly defending himself once he found his voice.


    ¡°Once again, an idiot as I suspected. My name is Adria by the way,¡± she said and bowed.


    ¡°My name is Jon so you don¡¯t have to call me idiot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still going to call you idiot. It suits you better.¡±


    ¡°Alright, call me whatever you want,¡± Jon said. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. Can you walk?¡±


    The girl nodded.


    Jon grabbed a cloak and tossed it to her. He quickly grabbed a few items including the book and enough food to last them a few days. He hoped she was a light eater since he knew he ate a lot for his age. Grabbing his own cloak and a torch on the wall, he cautioned her to walk fast but stay quiet.


    ---


    Sneaking out of the maze of corridors was easier than anticipated thanks to the excessive inebriation that has now led to loud snoring for all the bandits. None noticed the two youngsters walking at a brisk pace through the passages. After a few minutes, they were far enough away from everyone that they relaxed. The girl started speaking but Jon quickly put a finger up to her mouth and shushed her. Voices in the cave passages carried and he didn¡¯t want to take the risk. She closed her mouth. Neither spoke for a long time and the only sound they could hear were their own breathes and soft footsteps.


    When they were near a cave exit, Jon finally spoke up, ¡°We can talk freely now. What did you want to say earlier?¡±


    ¡°I was wondering how much further,¡± Adria replied and then smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to ask that anymore.¡±


    Jon smiled back at her. ¡°Well, we only have to get out of these woods in the next hour and hope no beast attacks us.¡±


    ¡°Let me borrow an extra knife. That can slightly even the odds,¡± Adria said.


    Jon was about to ask her if she knew how to use the thing but decided that would be another reason he would be called an idiot. He unsheathed the knife attached to his boots and handed it to her.


    ¡°How well do you know these woods?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Pretty well actually but that doesn¡¯t mean any of us were foolish enough to wander out here at night,¡± he said with a shudder.


    ¡°Wolves? Bears?¡± she inquired on the danger.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he glumly replied. Then as an afterthought he added, ¡°On the bright side, no angels or the infected.¡±


    ¡°Aside from me, right?¡± she laughed.


    Jon merely smiled. He wished he could have her level of nonchalance. If he was in her shoes right now, he would probably be crying instead of laughing. But maybe that¡¯s the way she deals with trauma or maybe she was just glad that she was free from her master.


    Snap! Jon blinked and saw Adria snap her fingers in front of him. He had apparently grown quiet and zoned out.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± she asked. She stopped walking and looked at him with concern. Her previous lightheartedness was gone now.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. I was just thinking about what you must be going through. Are you alright?¡± Jon said.


    ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s a mix here. I¡¯m glad that the bastard is dead but at the same time I can¡¯t help but think that everyone around me just ends up dying. Why am I the only one who continues to live?¡±


    ¡°A good question. Maybe we¡¯re just lucky? I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll consider living this kind of life lucky though.¡±


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t enjoy living with a gang of cutthroat outlaws?¡±


    She broke into a smile again. She does have a nice smile, Jon thought. He smiled as well. ¡°You¡¯re teasing me again but really I never felt that I fit in. I didn¡¯t have any other choice when I became an orphan. This was the first thing that came my way and I took it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re both survivors. That¡¯s what it is. We¡¯re trying to find our way in the world and live as best as we can.¡±


    At her last words, they both fell into silence. It wasn¡¯t awkward but it stretched too long for Jon¡¯s liking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start moving again,¡± Jon said, breaking the silence. ¡°We still have a ways to go.¡±


    They started moving again and a few minutes later found themselves at the entrance. Outside was pitch black and they couldn¡¯t see a thing. As they waited for their eyes to adjust to the darkness, Adria spoke up, ¡°I never thought I would get sentimental around someone who was just trying to kill me several hours ago.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to kill you,¡± Jon said defensively.


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke. I know. I doubt you would have had enough guts to murder an innocent girl,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re that innocent. You seem to know the way of the world pretty well,¡± Jon replied smiling.


    They bantered until they were both ready to leave. At an unspoken signal, they fell silent once more and Jon started leading the way. Adria gripped her knife tightly and followed him. He was familiar with these woods but at night, everything seemed completely foreign. The insects, birds, and other nocturnal creatures created a disjointed symphony adding an eeriness to the scene. They slowly walked, avoiding the tree roots and thorny bushes. At this pace, dawn would come before they left the woods, Jon thought. But they didn¡¯t have a choice. Running would mean constantly tripping over tree roots.


    In silence, they trekked through the woods. Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t encounter any large creatures except deer and rodents which ran away as quickly as Adria and Jon noticed them. Shortly before dawn, they reached the last few trees and could see the meadows ahead. The leaves of the canopy were turning slightly golden as the sun rose. A few minutes later, they were completely out of the woods and stood there looking at the rising sun.


    ¡°What now?¡± Jon wondered aloud.


    ¡°I have an idea. Let¡¯s head towards Tiere. That¡¯s where the master and his wife were headed in the first place,¡± Adria suggested.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening there?¡± Jon asked curiously.


    ¡°Wow, you must be truly out of touch with the world. I thought you might know since it¡¯s clear there are a lot more merchants on the road than usual.¡±


    ¡°No, I was mostly confined to kitchen duty this week and last week actually. Nobody in the gang told me anything.¡±


    ¡°The blessed angel of Tiere is holding a celebration of her five-year anniversary of ascension,¡± she emphasized the word ¡°blessed¡± with clear distaste.


    ¡°What does that have to do with us?¡±


    ¡°I heard they¡¯re hiring a lot of people to help set up for the event,¡± she said and then added. ¡°And they¡¯re going to pay well too.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have any bright ideas so that sounds like the best plan,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break though.¡±


    They sat on the grass and enjoyed the goat cheese and salted meat Jon had packed ¨C food courtesy of the recently deceased merchant. They talked excitedly about what they would see in Tiere. Neither of them had been to the largest city in the western provinces. They knew little about the ruling angel as well. Most of what they said was speculative. A short while later, satiated and excited, they set off.