Chapter 16
The attack was executed with the intention of killing her. Aurora was sure that the arrow was also laced with some kind of poison to take her down. Her instincts told her that she had just dodged a fatal blow to her head.
“Tch. Sit down and let me shoot you” the annoying voice yelled. It startled Aurora enough that she jumped back in time to avoid the other arrow. It was lucky since she had not sensed anyone else in the vicinity.
Granted, Aurora was not using everything she had in her arsenal, but still. It was a major achievement. It also indicated that her mind and body were not up to par with her powers and she lacked a lot of control.
“Be careful and don’t kill her. We need her alive to know what she did to Rita” another voice stopped the next attack on Aurora. The archer pouted as she looked toward her partner with a disappointed look.
Aurora decided to use this distraction for a different reason. She quickly gathered the required magic for a flash spell. The pair in front of her had taken Aurora for a small fry so she was going to use that to her advantage.
Aurora locked eyes with the archer just as the flash spell went off And filled the area with light. It was so potent that no one who saw it would be able to see it clearly for a few minutes.
Anyone else but Aurora. Being a goddess had its peaks. Even if it made her eyes throb due to the intensity of light, her vision had not been affected in the slightest.
Aurora took this time to gather the fallen person on her shoulder and headed to where she could see Rita trying to sneak out and help her. Aurora’s hand clasped around Rita’s arm and dragged her along.
Aurora could stay back and fight her way through the guards but she was not sure if it would help her. She was not worried about herself but about her companions. Both of them were dead weight and reminded Aurora why she did not like to team up with other people.
“W-What happened? I can’t see anything. Did you use a flash bomb?” Rita asked as she was dragged along with Aurora. The poor girl sounded a little lost.
“Something like that. Keep your eyes closed so that they heal faster. Don’t force them open” Aurora advised. She had fallen victim to many flash bombs in her time but what she had used was different.
Unlike most flash bomb’s gas usage where you needed to clean them out with tears, magic ones needed time and darkness. Trying to open one’s eyes here would cause more pain to them.
But where did that leave them now? They had a few people on their trail now and Aurora was not a fool. The hunting hounds would have been deployed behind them already.
“Rita, change of plans. We can’t head to the Rocx valley right now. You know any other place we can hide?” Aurora asked. She would not have normally asked Rita for such a thing but she had a feeling the other could guide them.
After all, hadn’t Rita been running away from her guards when she first met Aurora? There had to be a reason for her to be able to get away from her cagers.
“There are a few places we can hide but I don’t know if we’ll be able to get there. Do you think there are guards after us right now?” Rita asked in a worried voice.
Aurora would have answered her if the body on her shoulder had not let out a pain-filled groan. She quickly stabilized it as it started to slip again.
“We’ll have to try anyway. I trust you to lead us to the location and then you can leave the rest to me” Aurora assured. She had a few tricks up her sleeve even without her goddess powers. (Not that she was going to use them. It was too risky for her with her lack of control)
“Alright. Then, there is a safe-house this way. It used to be Karina’s home and I don’t think she’ll mind us using it” Rita assured.
Aurora did not ask who Karina was. If Rita thought it to be safe then it was their best bet. And if not, well Aurora was ready to fight if she needed to.
And that’s how she found herself jumping through hoops and ducking behind towers. She tugged the other two behind as well, using her magic to block the searching devices she could feel being used.
“Take left. We’ll enter the worker portion of the town” Rita led the trio behind her. Aurora had not thought that the sheltered young girl even knew this place existed but even Rita was not that ignorant.
Unlike the underground, this place was filled to the brim. Houses overlapped each other as they tried to occupy more and more space. It was not a healthy living atmosphere but it was all these people had.
Aurora took left as she finally entered the surface equivalent of slums. There were eyes on them, pointing toward them and judging them for all they were worth.
Aurora tried not to feel self-conscious but it was difficult not to react. It was just luck that no one questioned them throughout the way. Rita stopped in front of a shabby-looking door before she knocked at it.
“Hold your breath or you’ll choke” Rita warned before the door barely opened and Aurora was greeted with a face full of a powdered substance. Luckily, Aurora had closed her mouth and her node at the last second.
She heard Rita try and cough, unable to hold her breath for long. Unlike Aurora, the other did need to breathe.
“Ah, sorry. I thought it was the tax collectors who decided to grace us again. What can I help you with?” The shivering body that exited the door was the oldest person Aurora had seen in her life.
The poor lady was all bones and skin and it looked as if a single gust of wind would blow her away. But her magic still shined strongly in Aurora’s eyes and it made her pause.
Now that she looked at the old woman again, she could see a transparent magical coating on top of the old woman. Maybe it was some kind of glamour.
“Don’t be sorry, help us out here. And don’t you dare refuse. You owe me a few favors” it was the second time Aurora had seen Rita act this rude and she expected the old lady to take offense.
Instead, she just pushed her door open.