Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

Chapter 10: Depravity in a Shell

Seiren swore, foul enough for Madeleine to gasp in her head, and scrambled to her feet. She was not going to have to deal with a pickpocket when she'd barely set foot in Danaway! The tiny figure skittered away, but she could still see him darting between people. She crashed after him, elbowing those in the way.

"Out of the way!" she yelled, shoving more people aside. They scattered like flies, muttering amongst themselves. A few called after her, but she didn't hear anything they said. The world passed by in a blur. All she could see, tunnel-vision-like, was the fleeing tiny figure. Oh, she was going to beat the hell out of that mite.

Her lungs burned and her heart raced. For a second time in a week, she regretted neglecting her exercises to such a degree. Tutting aloud, she threw down a violet rune and snapped her fingers. A red one flew behind her and she activated that, too. The ground turned into a line of frictionless goo, allowing her boots to slide along almost seamlessly. Wind whistled in her ears.

Next turn to the right.

Seiren leapt off her slide and hit the ground running, skidding on the ground as she made a rapid right turn. The cobbled ground provided such an uneven surface she almost tripped over. Her cloak flapped behind her, trailing like a flag. The guy was maybe ten metres ahead. Her runes had allowed her significant gain. She reached down and grabbed a handful of pebbles, throwing them at him.

They bounced off his head. A larger chunk bounced off his temple, knocking him off kilter. A raised step caught his foot and he went crashing down, sending rubbish and discarded items flying everywhere. Seiren leapt on top of him, slamming both her knees into his back. There was a cry, like a squeezed mouse.

"Eh?"

Seiren flinched – just in time. The glimmer of a blade flashed by her face, almost but not quite touching her skin. Out of instinct, she slammed a yellow rune onto the ground, which exploded into blinding light. The guy yelled out, again in that peculiarly high-pitched voice, and stumbled backwards, dazed. Two violet runes later and he sunk into the ground, modified to become a jelly-like consistency with the density of rock, all the way up to his neck.

"All right, you stinking lowly cretin. Give me back my money or it's your face that gets melted off next."

She knelt down and almost fell over when she heard a whimper.

What the...?

She tore off his hood.

"A kid?"

He looked no more than maybe twelve, thirteen years old, snivelling with dirt streaked over his face. His eyes were swollen with tears. The sobs echoed in the tiny, dirty alleyway piled high with rubbish and streaking with rats, stinking to high heaven.

"I'm not going to let you off 'cos you're a kid, though." She cracked her knuckles. "My name is Seiren Nithercott. I'm a probationary state mage. You do not want to cross me."

Seiren.

The sound of footsteps alerted her to the presence of others. She straightened up, hands poised over the runes on her inside pockets. The path was dim. Small shadows shuffled all around her, surrounding her.

I'm just going to blast another yellow and get my stuff and go. This is ridiculous.

They have knives, Seiren. And I count at least... ten of them. I don't know if you can outrun them. Some look pretty small and fast.

They're kids.

Oh yes, and you're the athlete.

She kept a watchful eye. They encircled her like predators around a prey, hungry eyes locking upon her. The air chilled, even though it was only midday. The pungent scent of rotting rubbish made her eyes water.