Path of Lightning: Origins

Chapter 3: Roots

"The author says that if you don't want him to rip your eyes out and feed them to the dogs, you should call him author."

Romeo remained silent while Liz tried to hold her laughter.

"What brings you here?" The author asked, as he picked some book from the floor and put them back to their places.

Liz and Romeo exchanged a look, before he nodded.

"Do you know anything about this?" Liz hesitantly pulled up her sleeve, showing the marks her arm.

The author inspected it for a moment, before walking towards a door. He put his hand on it and a light appeared, and when it did he opened it revealing a large room with books floating around.

"I'll check my books. Follow me, and you Feng, clean this mess!" He ordered and walked inside. Romeo made the blonde walk inside before him just in case the man was angry with him.

Bob sat on his desk, and when he moved his hand, a large book landed on it. It opened and the pages were flipping too fast that it was impossible to read a word. Then in the matter of seconds, the book closed again and he looked conflicted.

"Did you just read the whole book in ten seconds?" Liz asked in surprise.

"My life is a lie." Romeo muttered in shock. Reading a book would take him days.

"The veins on your arms are a form of dark energy. I wouldn't call it Penergy... it's different. I would like to make more research. I will inform you once I find something." He said.

"Guess we got nothing." She sighed and felt disappointed.

"May I ask how old are you?" Bob asked.

"I'm fifteen. Why?"

"It's just that the color of those veins belongs to the first generations... never mind. We will discuss this when I get more clues."

"The Romeo feels really confused." Romeo ran a hand through his hair, trying to understand what he meant.

"The author thinks that it's because you are an idiot. Now please leave." Bob said, then looked at the blonde. "You wait for a moment." He said, and the blonde turned to him. The man looked conflicted, as if he wasn't sure if he should ask. "Can you help me with some books? I'd like to talk to you more."

The blonde stared in confusion then looked at her companion for confirmation. Romeo looked conflicted then shrugged.

"Sure." She said.

Liz wondered why she was the one to stay and help rearrange the books when it was Romeo who caused a mess with Feng. She didn't mind thought, she kept inspecting the books, reading a paragraph from each one she picks up.

"That book isn't for children." Bob said, stealing it from her hands. The blonde pouted and resumed her work. "Is there anything else that picked your interest? Beside those inappropriate books of course."

"If you don't like them, why do you have them?" She asked with a frown as she put back another one.

"It's not my fault that people love reading those." He muttered then looked at her. "I don't know much about Penergy, but it comes in different types is that it? There is elements, customized types..."

"Mine is summon." She answered, summoning her scythe to prove her point. "I'm not sure about the others. I don't have much knowledge about it either unfortunately."

"What a shame, it would have been useful to know if your marks had any effect on it." He commented, leaning against the wall. "May I ask something?" He looked at her for confirmation, and she nodded. "Are you a mercenary as well?"

"Yeah."

"You've killed people before." He stated, not needing an answer. Liz stopped her work and stared at him. He seemed... saddened and disappointed. "Why?"

She froze.

What did he mean by that? The answer was obvious, so why would he ask that?

"It's what I do to survive." She answered. The same answer Romeo and Jack would give her. The truth however was that it was nothing but an excuse so they wouldn't think about it.

It's hard thinking about how many lives you took so you could have dinner for one night.

"You sound just like him." Bob stated, and started to walk away. "You can leave if you want. There aren't many books left to take care of."

Liz stared as the man walked away. His question shouldn't have affected her that much. Killing was like her second nature.

But was it really what she wanted?

"You took your time." Romeo said as she walked outside. The blonde looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to wait for her.

She didn't say anything, she just walked beside him in silence. She thought back to his interactions with the man, and wondered if Bob meant him.

"So, what is it with you two?" She started, and Romeo smiled bitterly, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"We used to be friends." He said simply, as if those few words answered some sort of mystery. To Liz, it raised more questions.

"Why?" She asked, with a low voice.

"He wanted me to do the right thing. I wasn't brave enough to do it." He said with a sigh, and Liz didn't feel like asking any more questions.