Chapter 264: A Shadow Guiding the Rich

When you usually escort someone, you have their full trust to save their life; it makes sense after all, and it’s something that really does matter.

But now, he felt as if he didn’t have even a drop of trust from any person in the family, maybe a little from the one carrying their stuff.

He didn’t blame them necessarily…

They were rich, and probably never fought for themselves, paying others to do so, yet the one they hired failed, someone with experience and a name, failed. And know, they had two kids without a will to protect them.

It was a huge difference.

Aether and Kade were leading the group to the mountains, Kade looking constantly on edge, but that was because of the lizard, not because of the mission whatsoever.

The father fastened up to stand next to Aether. His name was Cassian; he knew this because he not only introduced himself and his family before they left, but also because his wife had called him this.

“You are really not stopping to look at a map or anything, you know this place like the back of your hand, huh?” The man chuckled; he seemed slightly relieved, like the fact that he knew the way was at least something. And it was, even if an escort can’t protect you, the least they could do is know the way.

It was just that.

“It’s my second time in the moutains actually.” Aether chuckled back, but the man didn’t seem to find it funny at all. Or maybe he did, who knows, and if he did, he must have thought it was really funny, since he paled like a ghost.

“A-are you serious?”

Aether tilted his head.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Kade and I only recently got to this Stormfell.”

And with that, he sped up, leaving the man deep in thought, probably regretting his choice.

…

…

It did make him wonder what he was thinking.

Was it… death?

He wasn’t going to sugarcoat it. They could very easily all die on this mission. Really, they are just hoping that the worm won’t emerge from the ground, and if it does, when they try to go back into the city of bones, he could find a way to distract it for Kade to run, but this wasn’t the case if it appeared for the family. Even if Kade’s stamina and speed didn’t match him, he was good in both of those departments; there was no comparison to him and the family.

Not to mention, they not only had someone carry everything they had, but he was going to be really slow.

But also a nine-year-old!

Plus, he didn’t think the parents were that fast either.

It was a game of luck…

And really, he didn’t really think he was that lucky.

When it came to luck games, he had always found a way to manipulate them in his favour, but until now, he had no idea how, yet he was sure he was going to find a way; he was confident in his abilities.

Kade turned to Aether. “How long do you think until we stop, camp, and rest? They seem to be tired.”

’Already?’ Aether sighed, looking back at the family, who were clearly not in the best shape. The father was carrying his son on his shoulders, who had probably gotten tired a long time ago, and now he was definitely also tired, since the boy, whose name was Darian, was twelve, so in no way was he light.

He was too old to be on his father’s shoulders.

Cassian’s wife, Selmira, seemed to also be quite tired, breathing heavily, but she tried to mask it, to keep her pride and ego intact.

If she got tired before two Will-less kids, it would be completely embarrassing.

But what she didn’t know was that if this was to continue, she would get smoked. He personally didn’t feel tired. But he was used to walking long distances. And Kade also didn’t seem to be that affected, but it was probably because he had done a lot of hard labor during his years.

She was also holding her daughter, Elira, in her arms. The girl had every right to be tired, he remembered when he was her age; he also got tired really fast, to the point he had it really hard in the Withered, where you have to last a lot.

But he grew to adapt, and now he was here, but at her age, he couldn’t speak badly towards her.

But there was one who was hardly getting through, that being the little carry boy, Torv was his name. Cassian hadn’t introduced him when he introduced the family, so he had to ask the boy himself.

And he hardly got it, since he didn’t seem in the best mood, actually, he probably hated their guts. And he got it, after all he had been taking on this vacation or whatever to carry the luggage of the family, not to have fun, and now he was stranded here.

He had to wait for someone to help them, and when they finally did, it was a pair of readers.

It was to be expected that he was going to be the one who got tired first, carrying everything by himself was a tough task over a long distance for a boy his age, but at the same time, he was actually holding them back, since he and Kade had to keep a rhythm slower, so he could survive.

Aether bit his lip, looking at Kade.

“I guess we should take a break, watch out for any caves nearby, and tell me when you see one.”

The boy nodded, and they continued through the mountains, searching for a shelter.

’I guess things have been going well for now… but it probably won’t go so smoothly after we reach the field.’

The mountains were tough to navigate, with ups and downs, a hard terrain, and a cold temperature, even more at night, and the sun was setting. But at the same time, it was mostly safe for what they had seen so far.

Of course, that is if you didn’t count the lizards, but if they kept close to them, they weren’t going to attack, since they knew that he and Kade had their guard up, plus, he could also see them. He didn’t know if they knew that, but it was nice to think they did.

Though it made him wonder if he told them that there were tens of monsters around them, ready to attack at the moment their guard was up. It would be pretty funny to see how they panic.

But it was also a bad idea. It was something better left unsaid, with only him and maybe Kade knowing.

Since the boy probably knew that there were some around, even if he couldn’t see them, after that day when he fought them, he learned not to trust his vision when it came to these little monsters.

As they were walking, Aether stopped and pointed.

“There.” Kade and the others turned their head to notice a small cave. It was dark inside, like really dark, but that was how all the caves they had seen until now were… well, this was the second, but all were probably like this.

The father walked up to him.

“So, um… what’s with the cave? Is there something inside, or why did you point at it?”

A smug smile appeared on his face; he knew very well they weren’t going to like what he was going to say next.

“The cave is going to be our hotel for tonight. I noticed we were getting slower and tired, so it was best to take a break for today and leave it for the night. A cave is the best place to hide, and not just from monsters, but also from the cold wind.”

…

And he was right to say they were not happy to hear that. After all, they have probably lived their life in quality houses, with soft beds that almost consumed you, and now they were going to have to sleep on the floor, since they only had two sleeping bags, and they were going to give it to the childreen of course.

They weren’t monsters to make them sleep on the ground.

But sadly for the parents, they were going to have to learn to deal with it.

At first, Cassian tried to argue with him by saying that they weren’t tired, but their heavy breathing and sweaty faces were something he could never justify, plus, the Torv was almost passing out.

Then he tried saying that they might be close, but Aether quickly dismissed this claim.

And the one that came after.

There was nothing that was going to change his mind, and Cassian knew that, so he finally shut up.

And accepted it.

They were going to sleep on the floor of a cave…

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