Brandon catches up to Ulysee. She is seen sitting at the local train station on a bench. The rain had completely stopped by this point.

  Approaching her, he gets an immediate response.

  “The train will get me home – you don’t need to follow me.”

  Ulysee hears herself out loud and retracts her statement.

  “I mean…thank you. For protecting me. I have a few elixirs at home that can defend me if need be. I mean…unless you…killed the guy that you were fighting.”

  Brandon shakes his head.

  “I didn’t. The guy left on his own choice. And I highly doubt that Elixirs will be enough to defeat him, as the two of us were equal in power.”

  Brandon pauses to think for a moment.

  “I’m not even sure if I saw his complete arsenal of magic.”

  “Do you know what he wanted?”

  “Your mana.”

  “My mana?”

  Brandon shakes his head.

  “It’s about the same reason on why I want your mana – to save our futures.”

  Now unsure, Ulysee scoots further down the bench, away from Brandon – even though he isn’t sitting.

  “So, I wouldn’t be able to trust you either then, would I?”

  Ulysee loses eye contact with him, bothering her fingers as she waits for a response. Brandon doesn’t give her one right away.

  “I mean, what makes you wanting my mana, any different from the guy that attacked us, wanting my mana?”

  “He plans to kill you,” Brandon gives off a quick response. “I won’t do such thing. To be honest, I’ll simply link our mana to activate a powerful ritual. This won’t harm me or you in the slightest.”

  “And the other guy’s plan?”

  “To forcefully extract the mana from your body – most likely killing you in the process. From what I saw though, when he directed his bow towards you while you were crawling away, he possibly can require your mana dead or alive. One can only assume you being dead will be a more pleasant feeling, versus him cyphering your mana while you are alive.”

  Brandon accomplishes what he was aiming for – Ulysee can’t hide the disturbing feeling on her face.

  Train pulls up shortly after, leaving Ulysee unsure what to do, as she now sits on the bench for a moment longer – her line of sight now in her lap.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Brandon reaches his hand out to her.

  “You should get going.”

  After only a slight moment’s hesitation, Ulysee takes Brandon up on his offer. She takes his hand, and he aids her onto the train. Brandon is on his way back out the train, when suddenly, he feels something tug at his coat. It’s Ulysee.

  “Aren’t you coming with?”

  Her head is turned away as if she is experiencing some sort of shame. Brandon doesn’t leave her waiting. He smirks and softly nods.

  ***

  Neither say anything during the train ride. They barely even look in each other’s direction. But this isn’t from tension. Brandon hadn’t been this close to a girl in some time, though he attempts not to show it.

  The ride wasn’t long. The train took them on a mostly linear route, bringing the two to a more urban community of houses and small buildings. An extended neighborhood of some sort. This region of town looked nothing like the previous region that they were previously in, with this side looking more of a settled area. Less lively than the metropolis area.

  Leaving the train station upon their stop, only a few directional words were said, all of these being from Ulysee of course. It wasn’t until they approached a two-story mini apartment complex that anything else was said.

  “I’m here,” Ulysee points out as they approach a door on the second floor.

  The apartment complex only had one building. About twenty-four rooms max occupied this unit. And just like the neighboring streets, lights were on throughout the entire area. This could’ve been due to the fact that it was now four in the morning – one could only assume that people were preparing to go to work.

  “You live so far away from the metropolis city,” Brandon notes. “Why do you travel so far simply for groceries?”

  “The upper east region has some of my favorite shopping centers, including the food markets. The local places don’t sell many varieties of things.”

  Ulysee unlocks her door but stops with a sharp pain that goes up her injured leg. She shakes it off with another statement.

  “Besides, I never had a problem with anyone trying to kill me before today.”

  She puts on a brave smile. Brandon can see right through her humor as he knows she is still in pain.

  The two enter her home. A studio apartment with a small hallway that houses the bathroom almost as soon as they walk in. Further down, her bed and a stove top area can be seen, as well as a multilayered shelf of food.

  “Um, make yourself comfortable.”

  Ulysee limps down the short hall. There are items and belongings scattered through her small place, but she seems to know where exactly everything is. She immediately goes for an already fixed Elixir.

  Downing a blue mix of liquid in a clear bottle, Ulysee sighs as a sparkle of magic swirls around her leg. She easily shows relief soon after, now walking around the place without any sort of damage.

  “Excuse the mess.”

  Ulysee makes her way to the shelf of food, while Brandon finds a spot in the corner, directly across from her bed, to sit in.

  “Damnit. I was gonna cook that food that I was carrying when you found me. I guess a quick cup of noodles will have to do.”

  Brandon watches as Ulysee goes back and forth around her place, finding different things to do.

  “Besides, it’s late anyway.”

  She continues to talk out loud to herself occasionally. Within moments she grabs a candy bar and flops on her bed – a stationed mattress on the floor. Brandon is surprised how occupied she seems to be, seeing as she was almost killed not too long ago. This was clearly all an act.

  “So, what do we have to do next?”

  Ulysee takes a bite out of her candy bar.

  “The real question is, are you willing to partake in the ritual?”

  This seems to peak Brandon’s interest. He had been waiting for this answer since he approached her hours ago.

  “Even if I wanted to say yes, you never quite explained the ritual,” She replied with her hand over her mouth as she chewed more on her candy bar.

  “On top of that, we still have to look out for the witch that is after us.”

  Brandon knew that Ulysee was right about the ladder half of her statement. The other archery witch was out there. His skills were on par with Brandon during their battle. He would surely be back for another battle.