“Grab it! We’re leaving.” Liam’s words seeped in anger. Mesu felt a shiver down her spine, and she reconsidered her compliance with whoever this was. She froze as he showed this side of himself. She wondered if she should follow directions out of self-preservation.
“If I could take that, I would. I CAN’T! It’s locked behind magic like almost everything here. Give it to me, and you’re free. This was what I needed from you. Your destiny, if you want to believe that.” She took a couple of steps closer to where he stood next to it. It was very unassuming. There was no craftsmanship. It seemed to be a luminescent rock. For some reason, Liam was obsessed with this.
“What is…”
“JUST GIVE IT TO ME!”
Mesu stopped in her tracks. Liam’s face was a dark shade of red, a disturbing look took form. Lines along his face seemed to disappear. Mesu was thankful she hadn’t seen it in the full light. A suspicion started to rise within her that he wasn’t human. Could someone be partially human, she wondered. Pieces started to come apart as to what was going on. A reality that Mesu had known a few seconds ago was now in question.
The moment was shattered as a commotion came from the hallway. Mesu started to turn her head away to look out the door. Liam moved with a speed she didn’t know was possible. His hands were on one of her wrists before she could move away. Her body swayed with a force she had never felt. It threatened to make her black out, but she held as strong as she could. Mesu’s hand knocked the rock off the pedestal, and it clanged on the ground. No longer were Liam’s hands on her, but her whole body was suspended in the air for a second. She had little time to brace for impact as her full weight hit the hard stone ground.
“Well then, Mesu. I do thank you for all your help through this. I doubt our paths will cross again. If they do, I plan on taking your life.” The chattering and yelling was closer now. Mesu looked at the doorway as one of the stringy goblins flew across and disappeared behind the door frame. A light chanting started in the room, and Liam waved his hands. A rip in the wall formed and grew larger with each syllable. He looked back and smirked. Liam disappeared into the void, taking the hole and the stone with him.
Mesu stood up and looked around for something to defend herself with. Both the hidden room and the bedroom were bare of anything. Mesu felt at her waist and leg, but knew that nothing was there. The door was a good way to stay hidden and provide cover, she thought as she stood behind it. She clenched her fist and pulled it back. She knew that it would be enough to take down one of the goblins. If anything else, anything meaner lurked in these halls, she was in trouble. The melee continued down the hall, and all she could hear was the sounds of a fight. It was coming to the door she was at, and she cocked back her fist a little more.
A head appeared, a couple of feet higher than her own. She let go and used all her might to throw her one good shot at it. She felt the impact, and her body continued forward, throwing her out of her spot. Her hand was instantly on fire. The face was as solid as the stone wall. It also belonged to Russ. He smirked as a pink spot formed where she had hit. Mesu shook her head as she straightened up, nursing her hand.
“Keep saving me like this, and the rest of the group will talk. Are they all here?” Russ hadn’t changed as he nodded. “Good work, buddy.” Mesu took the short blade that Russ was holding out. It was not the one she was used to and sort of missed it. Russ disappeared into the hallway, and Mesu followed.