Читать книгу MODERN MAGICS - Tianyu (Tony) Zhu - Страница 6

Two days prior.

Sapphire Anaroth kept her head down as she walked along the bustling sidewalk of Novati, an Akarthian port city standing on the edge of an unnamed peninsula, remaining incognito. Made out of special felt material, the long sleeves of her jeans and jacket covered the black conjuring mists emanating from her body.

Sapphire crossed the road and took a left onto a lengthy street full of restaurants crammed into the bottom floor of the tall apartment buildings. The sky outside was lit with the faint residue of dark the Sorcerer arcane’s dark, blue light, the origin of which is the self-sustaining power that all major cities in the two nations run on. It was a stark contrast from the old and worn brick buildings down below the sky, where the poor stalked the streets and crime flourished even under the eyes of the so-called “law”.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Sapphire ran away from the Royal House.

Sapphire was at her wit’s end for quite awhile before deciding to run away. She couldn’t bear to live with her self-righteous family members anymore, who had all treated her like an inferior and outcast since the day she was brought in to live at the Royal House. Sapphire’s mother was deceased a long time ago, and her father had gone... missing, when she was but a toddler. She was brought up in the household of her uncle and aunt, growing up along with her petulant cousin. Neither fully accepting nor respecting Sapphire, the family saw her as a mistake and an annoyance to be dealt with.

The night Sapphire ran away, she descended down the colossal tower of the Royal House and snuck away with only a backpack full of supplies. Without stopping, Sapphire sprinted out into the open, chilly night sky and took a portal that led her into the bustling port of Novati, which was a three-day trip away from the Royal House. It was where she’s roamed ever since that night.

Filled with age, Novati was one of the most important locations in Akarthia, responsible for transporting shipments out to nearly half of all the other cities. Ironically, it was also one of the most forgotten ones. Novati was a city for the Lessers, essentially. The rich dumped the Lessers here and wanted to keep them segregated. While the Akarthian government overlooked the Lessers’ welfare, they were more so interested in the economic benefits the port offered. With how this city has been treated, it was essentially the perfect hiding spot for Sapphire, where anyone was barely recognized with how dense the population was. No one would ever suspect a Royal living amongst the Lessers.

In Novati, was also one of the few bridges and gateways between the two dichotomous nations of Akarthia and Anasthuus.

Sapphire knew little about Anathuus, let alone never being this far away from home. Interactions between the two nations were limited, and the constant struggle for territory kept most citizens on edge and extremely wary of each other. It has even led some to harbor discrimination against the opposing nation, with each claiming that their magic was far superior than the other.

Although Sapphire grew up in the Royal House with her pureblood relatives, where the Royal House Council resided, she knew little about its swarming political affairs. The Royal House Council was Akarthia and Anathuus’ conjoined governing body, consisting of pureblood mages. Sapphire’s family never allowed her near the Council, for she was not a pureblood.

An ache in Sapphire’s stomach shook her out of her thoughts and she stopped walking, realising how long it had been since she had her last meal in the early morning. She checked the time on her phone and saw that there was still a gap of time between now and the next time she had to move camp to avoid detection, so she looked for a restaurant nearby.

Rounding the street corner, Sapphire saw the familiar billboard that she had walked past many times hanging over the dirty glass door leading into the restaurant. She turned the doorknob and entered the quiet room. Aside from the cashier behind the counter, there were only three other people sitting at the oil-stained tables.

After quickly ordering, she made a quick assessment of them to make sure that none of them acted suspiciously - a safety precaution against her family, who has probably sent someone to hunt her down by now.

Sapphire could imagine that her family was probably in some trouble right now due to the leaked information a few days ago, where Sapphire had seen her own face on one of the big screens. It had a headline describing how a Royal child had run away from the Royal House, and how the head of the Anaroths was being questioned for it.

She stepped into the restaurant and looked at the people around her, taking note of them. Right beside her was a young teenager around Sapphire’s age, hungrily devouring his food. The clothes on his back were torn and stained in places, as if they hadn’t been washed in a very long time. He seemed to be one of those commonly seen people who dwelled in the inner parts of the city, where it reeked of poverty and hunger.

To her left were two workers in blue uniforms who sat at the tables, chatting away casually. Sapphire took one look at their uniforms and could already tell that they were not going to stay here for long. Their blue, denim uniform denoted their affiliation with Novati’s lucrative trade industry. These people were all the same - never straying too far from the shorelines, departing immediately after delivering their goods. They chose to be ignorant, tunnel-visioned, and clueless to the poverty that lurked within the inner parts of Novati. They’re the type of people who only want to make profit.

Nevertheless, it did not seem like any of them could be from the Anaroth family. With their faces exposed, Sapphire would be able to quickly recognize them. But then, a snoring sound made Sapphire’s head whirl to the other side.

There was one more person that she did not catch. He was sleeping in the corner, snoring as he laid down on the chairs, earning looks of contempt from everyone in the room. Sapphire quickly relaxed as he didn’t make any suspicions arise. His black clothes and jeans were tattered and reeked of oil and garbage. The cloth draping over his face barely covered his half-closed eyes that were staring off into space as he curled into a ball, leaned on the wall, and slept soundlessly. It almost seemed like he wanted to be unseen and unheard by others.

Sapphire’s nose twitched briefly, the smell emanating from him made her both want to gag and kick him out, but she resisted those feelings, knowing that she won’t be here for long.

“Four twenty-one.”

Sapphire’s head perked up as she heard her number being called. Grabbing the paper bag, Sapphire gave a quick thanks to the cashier. As she turned to sit down, something briefly shined into her eyes, catching her attention.

She froze. Was that what she thought it was? Sapphire turned around and frantically scanned the people before her, afraid that her family had found her. She was met with nothing except the confused stares of the two workers. The beggar and the kid were unaware of actions, either asleep or too involved in eating.

Sighing, Sapphire settled down and took a deep breath. You’re being paranoid, stop it. Yet, her intuition was warning me otherwise. No longer feeling at ease inside the restaurant, she exited the building and ate her food outside.

As Sapphire leaned against the concrete wall outside the restaurant and picked at her food, she was unable to escape from the thought that constantly plagued her mind, whispering. They’ve found me. They’ve found me.

A few minutes later, Sapphire gave up what little appetite she had left, went back into the restaurant, and dumped all the barely touched food in the trash, to which she was met with silent, judging glares from the customers and the cashier.

At the same time, the sleeping beggar wearing ragged clothes woke up. Groggily rubbing his eyes from under his hood, , he croaked out a yawn, stood up and walked out of the restaurant as he drew the attention of all the customers who were present. As soon as the door closed behind him they all visibly loosened and were relieved that he had finally left. Sapphire had to admit that she was tempted to join in.

As she turned her head away from the street to finish cleaning up her tray, something - the same object from earlier - briefly reflected sunlight into Sapphire’s eyes and caught her attention immediately.

Sapphire blinked. Didn’t that object seem very familiar? Then it clicked in her head and she froze in a shocking realisation.

Slowly, she turned her head towards the beggar who had just crossed the street and was now approaching the end of the next block. Her eyes drifted towards his chest. What she saw there confirmed her worst thoughts. A shining badge, on it was the etched mark of a stylized triskelion, but it wasn’t just any symbol.

It was Sapphire’s family’s signature coat of arms.

She couldn’t believe it, had she really been caught already?

No, she had to make sure.

Pushing through the door, she emerged outside, frantically breathing as the beggar slowly walked down the bustling street. As he turned the corner, he stopped. From under his messy hair and tattered hood, he glared at her. The intent was clear in his keen and hostile eyes, which confirmed her worst suspicions. her body tensed up. Did he really want to fight here? In the streets? She gulped as she stuffed her sweaty hands into fists, preparing for a fight.

To Sapphire’s surprise, he turned away from her a moment later. His footsteps were unheard in the sounds of bustling traffic as he disappeared from sight.

A moment of silence later, with nothing but the sound of the roaring city in Sapphire’s ears, she caught my hitched breath and ran.

She needed some method of escape and knew running simply wouldn’t do. Sapphire knew what this new stalker of her’s was doing - he was waiting for night time while he kept an eye on her. He would make his strike then, while it was less likely that anyone would see her. It was a simple tactic that everyone in the Anaroths knew.

Then something clicked inside Sapphire’s head: the Portal Central. That could do. Spread out through five sectors of the bustling city -- four in each direction and one at the center -- the Portal Central is a massive transportational station. Thousands travel through the portals to different parts of Akarthia at the speed of light.

Sapphire turned her pockets inside out and was greeted with the blank white cloth of her jeans. What money she had a few minutes ago was spent on food.

Time was of the essence. She could go back to the camp she recently set up, which was seven floors above ground in an abandoned construction site, and retrieve her supplies. But, what are the chances that the stalker wouldn’t ambush her? Especially when she’s all alone, where nobody can hear her?

“Ow!” Sapphire yelped as a few men in dirty uniforms pushed past her on the streets, all drunk and shouting in broad daylight. But then she saw something, it was a rectangular shape sticking out in one of their pockets.

Well, there’s only one way out of this situation anyway, She thought while rubbing her aching arm, as she snuck towards them.

Only one way.

Sapphire turned back around and swiftly stuck her hands into the pocket of the drunkard with the wallet. He was too sluggish to notice any slight movement. However, as she successfully pulled out his wallet, his nearby friend’s head turned slightly and stopped midway through their conversation as he saw her through his peripheral vision. As his sleepy eyes widened and his mouth began to open to yell, Sapphire began to bolt.

“Stop!” The shabby worker charged towards her with his entourage of friends clumsily trailing behind him as they, too, realised what she had just done.

“Sorry, no time to negotiate!” She yelled back as she slipped his wallet into the pocket of her jacket and hopped over a street stand.

Sapphire ran through multiple streets. She easily outmaneuvered the workers behind as she made twists and turns to slow them down, blocking them by knocking over tables, hopping over fences, and making shortcuts by climbing up various fire escapes. The workers, who were already sluggish from the alcohol, began to give up as they started panting and slowing down.

As soon as the Portal Central came into view, Sapphire sped up and left them in the dust.

“Hello, how may I help you?” The lady behind the desk asked in a monotonous voice, clearly bored of her job.

“One ticket to uhh…” Sapphire panted out and looked at the blue digital map beside her and rambled out the first number she saw, “512 please!” Then Sapphire handed her the newly stolen money.

A few seconds later, the concierge’s hand dispensed a little yellow slip. Not wasting any time, Sapphire snatched the ticket and ran down the hallway to the portal entrance with the matching number on her ticket. She inserted the ticket into a little slit that quickly devoured the paper. Click . The red light built into the door flashed green. She flung the door open and stepped into the portal room, lit with a violet ambience. In front of her was the swirling sheet of blinding purple light, held together by a ring of rusted metal sitting on the platform.

“Stop her!” Sapphire turned her head around and saw the workers from earlier, barred by the gate and the security standing in front of them.

With a mischievous grin on Sapphire’s luminous face, she waved at them one last time and stepped into the portal and disappeared.