The Soulbound Sorceress: A YA Urban Fantasy Adventure and Dark Covenant Universe Novel by M.W. Arita

Author:M.W. Arita [Arita, M.W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aeonian Entertainment
Published: 2021-04-29T05:00:00+00:00

27

Ryūsei sat by Alice's bedside, flipping through the latest issue of "Weekly Shōnen Jump."

"Aw, man," he muttered to himself. "'One Piece' is on break again? That blows."

He gazed at the girl he once hated. She rested so peacefully in her coma.

Is that what I'm gonna look like? he thought. When my time comes?

Next to him twitched the bulging muscles of the Samebito. The shark man poured a bottle of red liquid down her throat. It smelled of blood.

Ryūsei cocked an eyebrow. "Is that..."

"Yes. Turns out we had some donors. They wanted to repay her for helping Hyōsube."

"Does that stuff actually do anything?"

"It may buy her a few extra minutes. Maybe an hour."

"That's not long, huh? Hope the others can find that elixir and make it back soon."

The floor creaked as hurried footsteps approached. Claire's team filed into the room. Ryūsei shot out of his seat and dropped his magazine.

"Well, speak of the devil. How'd it go?"

Claire wore a despondent expression. She showed him the broken vial. His heart sank lower than the river depths they were in.

"No...tell me this is a prank, right? You guys got the stuff, didn't you?"

The assassin shook her head. "I failed her."

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier and more oppressive than anything the gods of calamity could have done.

"What happened?" he asked.

"A Remnant," Ace said. "Emperor Sutoku. The one we fought in Kyoto, he...he ambushed us. Stole the vial and drank from it, too.”

"Damn it!" He gritted his teeth and struck the side of a shelf. "I should've come with you. Maybe I could've done something."

Susie placed an arm around his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, big guy. You did the best you could. We all did."

"What do we do?" Meg wondered. "What can we do?"

"We give her comfort," Terri said. “Ease her pain in her final moments, and say our goodbyes. Then we'll finish the mission she started."

"I'll give you all some privacy," the shark man said. He lumbered across the room and left through the bubble wall.

Ace stroked Alice's hair and took her hand into his. "I've reaped your soul before, but I didn't wanna do it again. Not like this. I'm so sorry, I..." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I never got to say I've fallen for you, too. Outside of family, there's no one I've cared for the way I do for you."

Claire took her other hand. "Same for me. Alice, we love you." She glanced at the others who nodded. "You saved us. Showed us a better way to live. Hell, I wouldn't be here saying this if you hadn't saved me."

"You were a real pain," Terri said, standing behind them. "Stubborn to the end. But you know what? Deep down, I respected that. I respected you. Alice, I'm proud to call you my friend."

"Me, too," her brother agreed. "My only regret is that we didn't get to go out for steaks like we promised."

Ryūsei peered through his tear-stained glasses. "I was wrong about you, hāfu. That day you clocked me in the face at school, and when I learned about your mother.

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