38 For now

The patrols made it around the bend. They saw him on kneeling next to Anderina and for a moment there was confusion upon their faces. But recognition came easily, even when the collapsed woman was obscured in darkness, they noticed how her cloths were bloodied scraps. Somehow, that was enough evidence for swords to be drawn.

"Back off!" One of them bellowed, probably at Julian, "that woman is a criminal!"

'And I'm not?' Julian smirked in his mind. Well it was too late now he supposed as he stumbled up.

As they approached, he closed both fists. The nausea had yet to completely subside and swirled within like a restless serpent. Julian closed his eyes to gather focus easier, listening carefully for he guards approach. Their boots that thumped against the cobbled street. Their angered and aggressive shouting and even the rustling of fabric, armor clanging.

The power within his circuits were like a storm, alive and unpredictable, not his to own or control. But he forcefully reigned it in anyway. A ripping pain racked() through his body from head to toe and Julian mind dotted with spots, black and white. Before his consciousness could be fully ripped asunder his eyes flashed open.

A golden light.

Julian's fists burst open with a flash of power that surged forth. Lightning cackled and twisted together like two charging wyverns. Theirs jaws unhinged like rabid beasts. The guards startled. One dropped his sword and the other screamed with a high pitch voice as he swung his blade uselessly at the creature of magic. Crackling consumed him, the electricity surged and cooked his flesh from within his armor, burning skin to a crisp. A sharp burn smell mixed with blood rose() into the air. The other guard tried to scramble backward, fear gripping his so tightly that his jaws clattered and eyes watered.

He was not saved either. Another heart-wretching cry echoed through the streets as he too was consumed by Julian's magic.

Julian took in a sharp breath, swaying on his feet.

Though the two patrols were killed easily, more had been alerted. Voices were about them now, more feet stampeding across the streets and Julian judged that they were to be surrounded. But now he was wrought with dizziness as well, his vision already blurring.

There was still more magic thrumming in his veins, mana had been aplenty in the pill that he took. But harnessing it proved a serious issue. If he summoned the mana in the same way that he just had, there was a danger of tearing his remaining circuits, or worse unleash the mana into the rest of his body and cause his own death.

Julian chuckled at his own absurdity. The action caused his lungs to constrict and wet coughs to bubble up to his lips.

Anderina was still struggling to get her bearings and they were truly doomed now! Unless…

Unless the next guard that marched up to them wasn't a guard at all, but Leonel's ghastly face. His eyes wide, and mouth pulled taut.

Illysa was at his side, crying as she saw her fallen step mother and moved to help support the older woman's weight, despite her petite frame.

Leonel wasted no time and picked the Doctor up, and held him bridal style. Julian wanted to laugh, and make some sort of witty joke. But his voice was both hoarse and wet with blood. "Hey, aren't you making a habit of this? Keep it up and we might really end up getting married…"

"Stop spewing nonsense," Leonel's chiding voice was soft as he adjusted the Doctor in his arms and looked at the girl and Lady Anderina. "How are you two?"

The woman was slowly regaining some of her consciousness and strength. There was surprise upon her face at seeing the girl whom she had sacrificed everything for but Anderina understood that it wasn't time for questions.

It was Illysa that answered for them, "We'll manage."

With a terse nod, Leonel ran toward the nearest alley. There were guards, chasing them rom behind and ahead as well, blocking off their escape.

"Illysa!" Leonel called.

"I got it!" She replied in a heartbeat, eyes lighting up with gold. A power lashed out from her body, bright and glowing. It wasn't a specific, nor powerful spell. But merely expelling mana from her body created a blinding light that Leonel was prepared to use in their favor.

There were three guards charging at them from down the alley and Leonel didn't have enough hands for his sword. And thus he relied on Illysa's light. A momentary stun was all he needed. And while the guards flailed with sudden shock and dismay, Leonel dashed forward, hugging Julian close to his chest. He kicked them down, creating an opening for the two struggling ladies behind him.

It wasn't much but it was enough.

Leonel grit his teeth and wondered just how much distance they still had to trek to get out of there.

That was when he noticed a door that slightly open through a small yard. There was once a wooden fence that separated the yard from the alley but much of it had fallen from both vandalism and erosion. With his head, he gestured for Illysa and Anderina to follow.

Leonel ducked under one of the fallen planks and slipped into the tiny yard.

There was a rancid smell, rotting leftovers, mice scattering as he rushed toward the door that lay slightly ajar.

When the guards passed through the alley they saw nothing at all.

The four crowded around a wooden door. There was a powerful foul smell that permeated the dark room they were now in. It made Illysa gag and want to throw up. She desperately pressed a hand against her mouth and nose, eyes screwed shut. The fear of making noise was overpowering. Not to mention they were now hiding in some random person's residence. Who knew when someone might come around and call their location out to the guards. And even if Illysa had the energy to run she knew that her mother didn't.

Leone was quiet and waited for everything to quell. He had reason to believe that they were safe inside whatever place they had snuck into though, so he wasn't so worried that they might be discovered by a person that was dwelling inside.

The reason being was the rancid scent that wafted through the air was one familiar to him.

When the sound of agitated guards and thundering footsteps finally became distant, Julian let out a grumbling complaint, "What the heck died in here!?"

It was then that Leonel finally put him down. "Turn on the light," he said to Illysa who suddenly remembered that she still had the Blue Stone lantern hidden under her cloak.

"Is it safe?" Anderina's scratchy voice asked cautiously, voicing out illysa's concerns.

"Yeah." Leonel answered without hesitation. "It's safe in here. For now anyway."

A blue light lit up the space.

Leonel's heavy footsteps creaked across the wooden floor. Beyond the awful scent was wet mold. The room wasn't too large but the floor was cluttered with junk; shattered vases with mysterious stains that soaked the wooden flooring.

At the other end of the room, Illysa swore she something move.

Her hands flew to her mouth in horror as the dark hunched shape became visible to her.

The corpse's mouth creaked open a little as a rat crawled out and ran away at Leonel's approach. The creature scurried across the floor toward Illysa and she almost screamed, tears pricking her eyes.

Julian sighed, having seen many disgusting things() in his life already and was not so easily sickened. That didn't mean he found the scene pleasant, "Well at least a corpse can't hunt us down and kill us."

Leonel looked around the room; which appeared to be a small kitchen area and tried to think about what might have happened to the corpse now hunched and propped up against the wall.

But perhaps that was a story not his to know. He looked at the dead thing. A woman, judging from the clothes that hung atop rotting flesh. "Thanks for letting us stay." He knelt down in front of her and offered a quiet prayer.

Julian raise a brow at the sight, surprised that Leonel might actually have some sort of religious inclination despite his tolerance of mages.

Up a set of creaking wooden steps they found two bedrooms upstairs that had gone stale from dust. But without much of choice they would rest there for now.