CRYSTALLUM LOST DREAMS | Fantasy Novel |

Chapter 13 - Part 2

Both tried to act natural, but the condition of their clothes would not have fooled a blind man. Aran combed his greasy hair. "We can face them."

Cora widened his eyes. "What? They'll kill us!"

"Think about it, they can't use their weapons."

"Are you crazy, Aran?"

"And it's the only way to find out what they know." He pointed to two pieces of wood, the remains of a destroyed crate. "We'll set a trap for them, and then Camiel will take care of the rest."

Cora had both hands sliding down his face. "You said we have to come out of this alive! And now you want to try to knock them down?" He pushed him hard. "The girls, Aran! The girls!"

Aran seemed to snap out of it. He nodded, but his gaze was lost. "Marmorel, right," he finally whispered.

They returned to the palace square and took the same narrow alley they had walked through that morning.

Aran stopped in his tracks, and Cora dodged him by a hair. He was about to ask for an explanation when he saw it too: the third Kharzanian was waiting for them, sitting on a barrel with his hands together. "Hello," he said.

One look, and the boys ran towards the street they had come from.

However, their escape was blocked by the silhouettes of the men who thought they had lost them. One of them grabbed Cora by the shoulder. Aran stopped, ran towards the soldier, and pushed him. "Hey, leave him alone!" he shouted. But the other man blocked him too.

Cora tried to wriggle out of his grasp in vain. "Who are you? What do you want from us?"

The man sitting on the barrels approached them. He was pale and well-groomed, with a strange plum-colored jacket on which shone the Kharzanian emblem and military rank; brand new shoes.

"Uh-huh... what do we have here?" the soldier began. "You know," he said with satisfaction, "you made me suffer, really. I didn't think I was lucky enough to find you in Amanastre." He spoke slowly.

Cora shuddered. He felt his guts twist and the instinct to run pressing, but the grip of the person holding him seemed made of iron.

"Well, let's get to the introductions," the Kharzanian continued. "I am Captain Nelson Vega, Special Seorite Recovery Section... which one of you is Aran Allet?" he said, lighting a cigarette.

"You've got the wrong person," Aran yelled, but Vega replied with a wicked grin. An expression so artificial that it made one nauseous.

"Oh, no, I don't think so... and if I had to bet, at first glance, I'd say you're Ludvig Allet's son. You don't lack anything from your father, maybe a beard and a few white locks here and there. He, on the other hand, is the orphan." He clicked his lips. "Did I guess right?"

Aran wriggled and kicked, but his anger only hit the air.

"At the beginning of the search... and I mean after the unfortunate events that struck Lud, we thought you were around that region. But to our surprise, we even found out that you've been to Edel. Very clever," he added. He took a drag and blew out a couple of smoke rings.

"You destroyed our city," Cora barked.

"I don't have much time to waste... just tell me where the shipment is..." Nelson Vega squinted. "Are you placing it in Amanastre? Do you want it to depart for Hozma? Be honest, and I promise I'll treat you well."

"What did you do to my parents?" Aran wriggled so hard that he almost seemed to be able to free himself. The soldier holding him shook him and knocked him out with a punch to the back of the neck.