CHAPTER 5 PARALLEL
Leora sat on the dining table of her home facing the guy.
"What is your name?" She questioned.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Look if I have to stick around forever, I need to know your name." She reasoned. In reality she was tired of referring to him as 'that guy' in her head.
"You don't need my name."
Leora had opened her mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door.
He signalled her to open the door and she rolled her eyes. She had become a servant in her own house. If it wasn't that she was scared of the man harming whoever stood outside, she wouldn't have gave in.
The very morning she had met one of the wardboys of the hospital while grocery shopping. He looked very shaken and had bandages all over him. When he saw her, he shrieked in fear.
Later she came to know that the guy who had now taken shelter at her home had tortured him badly.
She opened the door a crack and looked outside.
"Hey Ora." A voice said.
She looked up at the handsome face of the man who stood in front of her.
Last time she had seen him, it was two years ago. He had gotten stronger. His brown hair was unkempt and there was a wide smile on his face.
"Asher." Leora said with a smile of her own.
Asher was the son of her fathers friend, Andrew. They usually came to see them once a year.
Leora never got the opportunity to be best friends with Asher but they were good friends.
Andrew was like an uncle. Often when he came, he taught her a defence move and asked her to practice it for the year. It was their thing.
Andrew was a soldier, her father had told her.
Her eyes teared up as she looked at him and wondered if they knew her father was missing.
"Hey everything, alright?" He asked.
Leora gulped down her emotions as reality hit her. There was a maniac inside her house who would not hesitate to kill someone from what she had witnessed. There was no way she would let Asher get in harm.
"Yes. Everything is fine. How are you here today?" She asked, checking behind her to see if he was there.
"Won't you invite me in?" Asher raised an eyebrow at her. There was something amiss. Leora was behaving oddly. From what he knew of her, she was a warm and friendly person.
"I can't right now." She said cautiously.
"Is there someone inside?" He asked. "Do you need help?"
I would have, if I hadn't made the pact. She thought.
The door was pulled open and she stumbled a few steps back.
"YOU!" Asher shouted and suddenly he had a huge sword in his hand.
"The Commander's Son." Neil sneered and pulled Leora in front of him like a shield.
Asher looked between the two. Leora who was struggling in her grip and Neil who looked like it was all a game.
Neil too stared at his most entertaining enemy. Apart from his family, Cassidy and Samuel, Asher was the only one who had seen his face.
Arianna feared Neil. But no one knew how Neil looked. This made it all the more fun for him.
But Asher was a different story. No matter how much he wished to kill the pathetic man, he just couldn't. He had to let him go.
"What are you doing here?" Neil questioned through clenched teeth.
"I can ask the same question Neil." Asher shot back.
"So, I was right, wasn't I?" Neil turned his attention to Leora. "You are one of them. That's why this scumbag is here."
Leora looked at Asher and followed the movement of his eyes. She understood what he was saying.
"She is indeed one of us. Our fathers are friends." Asher said, "Did you know she is trained by the Commander to defend herself?"
"Really?" Neil seemed surprised. "because so far I have only seen a weak and pathetic girl."
Leora used this opportunity to kick his shin and shoved her elbow into his stomach.
Neil grunted in pain and Leora rushed away from him towards Asher.
Now that Leora wasn't blocking his way to Neil, Asher rushed with his sword. He shoved it right at his stomach and Neil coughed out blood. But before he could pull the sword out, Neil kicked at his stomach. Asher fell away.
Leora stayed in a corner as she watched them fight. Asher was strong but he was no comparison to Neil.
She felt like a handicapped person who couldn't use her powers to help.
Neil was sitting on Asher's stomach now landing punch after punch on his face. His face was black and blue.
"Leave him." She pulled Neil by his arm. She had initially thought to hit his head or something. But the guy who could fight despite having a sword in his stomach had very less chances of getting affected by a vase.
Instead she had another plan.
"You promised not to hurt the people I love." She bargained. She didn't love Asher like she did her family but Neil, as she got to know his name was, didn't.
He stared at her angrily as if contemplating whether to punch her or not but then got up and pulled the sword out. He held her hand on his stomach over the wound.
Leora waited patiently.
"Did you see that?" Neil said once he was healed. Leora rushed to her friend who was breathing heavily on the floor.
"I can't be hurt." He laughed menacingly.
Asher stared where his wound was supposed to be and found there only to be a hole in his shirt and nothing else.
"How?" He questioned.
"Your friend or girlfriend," Neil said, "is my lifeline." He grinned.
