Maylia and I had to stop jogging an hour later so I could recover some of my Presence. We took this opportunity to settle down on the side of the road and eat, then we tried to feed the people we carried on the stretcher. The man that suffered from lamia poisoning was reluctant at first, until he tasted the turkey meat. He had a difficult time swallowing, since he was still wracked with pain, so he ate slowly and managed to keep it down without throwing up.

The lamia didn't want anything, even after seeing the man successfully eat. The blue haired woman couldn't move her mouth and chew, so we gave her water, some gravy, and the smallest pieces of turkey we had so she could swallow them whole without chewing. It was like feeding a starving baby bird. Either she was really hungry, or the food was helping her in some way. After an hour of rest, I had a good portion of my Presence back and I was surprised, because usually it took me all night to recover completely.

Something is definitely different about my body now. I thought and used Detect Presence to examine myself. It was at times like this that I regretted tossing the backpack into the shuttle and losing all of the electronics and things I had carried in it during that last mission. The datapad was the biggest thing I missed and it would have shown me the last medical scan I had and I could have compared it to what I was seeing right now. I couldn't really detect anything different, though.

“Hunter, how are you feeling?” Maylia asked.

“Much better, thank you.” I said and stood up.

Maylia leaned in close and whispered. “Have you worked out how to include mana so your extra hands don't drain you so quickly?”

“Almost.” I whispered back. “I'm still having difficulty trying to make the mana solid enough to not weaken the hands. I'm not sure why, since it's supposed to only be another form of energy.”

“That could be difficult to overcome, since I've never heard of solid mana before. If anything is solid, it's an effect of the mana and not the mana itself.” Maylia said and stood there for a minute as she thought about it. “What if you used mana like you used Presence in that man's hand?”

I immediately activated my Stealth Technique and took her hand and shared my energy with her, then we disappeared from everyone's perception. I stepped close and gave her a deep and passionate kiss. When I stopped and stepped back, her face was red from a blush.

“It's okay. We're under stealth.” I whispered to reassure her that no one saw and then gave her another brief kiss and made her lips tingle with a minuscule bit of Presence. “Thank you.”

“Wh-why are you so grateful?” Maylia asked. “It's just an adaptation of the same technique.”

“That's twice you've shown me a different way of looking at things, and I appreciate it.” I said. “I've had my mind stuck in certain ways of thinking and I've only tried to change what I could do to fit the situation... instead of changing how I looked at it.” I smiled. “Having you here with a different way of looking at things is really helping me adapt and point out thing I've missed.”

“I think you are giving me too much credit.” Maylia said. “I'm sure anyone else could do the same thing for you.”

“I highly doubt that anyone else here could understand the things I've taught you as quickly, or be able to use their own knowledge to correct the person that's supposed to be teaching you.” I said with a smile and she smiled back. “Now that I know I don't have to make the mana itself completely solid, I'll just create the outside of the hand with Presence and fill it with mana, that way I can still manipulate the energy as if it was made completely of Presence.”

“It won't be as large of a drain on you or exhaust your energy so quickly, either.” Maylia said.

“The downside is people will see the hands.” I said. “The green glow will give them away.”

“Only for the hands you use mana in.” Maylia said. “The others will still be invisible.”

I nodded. “I'll only use them when necessary, like while carrying the stretcher.” I said and deactivated my stealth technique. “We should go. I don't know how long those stasis potions are going to last.”

Maylia went to the stretcher to make sure the three passengers were comfortable while I took a minute to create the forms of two Presence Hands and filled them with mana. As I did, the slightly glowing green hands looked like they grew out from the palms and filled in the fingers. The three passengers stared at the Mana Presence Hands and Maylia and I picked up the front of the stretcher. I moved the hands down and grabbed the other side of the stretcher, then picked it up and I barely felt any drain on my Presence.

I nodded to Maylia, so we walked, walked faster, then we jogged. It was definitely much easier now and I thought about running; but, we had no idea how far we needed to go to reach the next town, so we had to pace ourselves and kept jogging. We were definitely going to need another bath after all this exertion of carrying three fairly heavy people and I was looking forward to it.

*

“We have to hurry!” Jessica said when the spell ended. “They aren't going to make it to the next town and that poor girl is going to die if I don't get to her!”

“Which one do you mean?” Steven asked.

“The blood arrow.” Jessica said and pulled off the white robe and handed it to Josh. “Kara, can you tell the...”

“No.” Kara cut her off and gave her robe to Josh as well.

“Kara, I'm sure that...”

“We all saw where we needed to be.” Kara said. “The driver and the kid are staying here for the night and won't even know we're gone until tomorrow.”

“How are we getting there before nightfall if we're not taking the carriage?” Steven asked and handed over his robe, too.

“We rent horses.” Kara said and felt that it was the right thing to do. “Even if it won't be as fast as we're used to travelling, it will get us there in time.”

“I've never ridden a horse before.” Josh said and stored the robes in his bag of holding.

“Me, either.” Steven said.

“I have.” Jessica, Evangeline and Aimee said at almost the same time.

“You'll catch on quickly.” Kara said, and felt the same 'right' feeling. She didn't admit that she hadn't ridden a horse because she knew that in a few minutes it wouldn't matter. “Let's go.”

The six of them left the room and went downstairs, asked the innkeeper about renting horses, and he told them where to go. They left the inn and went there, rented six horses, then rode out of town. Josh and Steven did adapt quickly and they rode the horses as if they had ridden them all their lives, and Josh laughed at his innate ability to do something he hadn't thought he would ever do.

The horses were strong and agile, and Kara knew they didn't have to take it easy on them, so she rode that horse hard. She was so close to finding her prince again that she had to actively push her anxiety and anticipation aside. Her anguish over fatally wounding him still hovered in her consciousness and she still hadn't forgiven herself for it. She had been surprised that the Goddess Chiaya had only asked her to atone for the mistake, and hadn't ask her to beg for forgiveness, either.

Probably because she knows I already have a thousand times in my head. Kara thought, then she pushed that aside with her guilt and raced down the main road.

The others could almost feel the determination from Kara, and it matched Jessica's. She was determined as well, and they all believed that she only wanted to get there to help the injured, when what she really wanted was to finally reunite with her saviour. She needed to tell him how much she loved him and to thank him for what he did for her.

*

We jogged for nearly two hours and there was still no sign of a town. There were side roads and we suspected that they had to lead somewhere; but, with no evidence that help could be found there, we had to stay on the main road. A man and woman on a horse passed by and ignored us completely. Neither I nor Maylia tried to ask for help or directions, because we knew they would keep ignoring us and wouldn't answer.

Maylia said we should stop and rest, so we set the stretcher down beside the road. The light of day started to fade and I wondered how long it would take to get to the next town. We had enough bedrolls for everyone if we had to stay the night nearby, and I looked at the three people on the stretcher. The lamia I was sure would run at the first opportunity, and that was a concern. However, the biggest concern I had was the blue haired girl. That red stuff on her neck and face wasn't spreading at the moment, probably because of the stasis potion; but, it was dangerously close to her heart and I could see it struggling against the poison that was trying to kill it.

The tanned man wasn't far behind her. All of his muscles were partially eaten away from the lamia venom and it had infected him almost completely. The flow of mana through him was halted, also probably because of the stasis potion, and I was pretty sure that was what was keeping him alive.

We sat there for about half an hour, and the day faded almost completely to plunge us into semi-darkness. I wasn't worried about it, since I had spent several nights out in the darkness and nothing seemed to bother me. I was also pretty confident that if we did have to stay outside overnight, we would be relatively safe from outside threats.

Then I felt someone very familiar enter my expanded detection range.

“Kara!” I exclaimed as anger filled me and I stood to look up the road and saw six horses running at full speed towards us.

Maylia jumped to her feet as well. “I'll guard them! GO!”

I nodded and dismissed my Mask Presence technique, since I didn't need it anymore, and I let my anger at her for killing me boost my Presence as I gathered as much of it to myself as I could. My mana boosted as well, then it doubled and tripled in intensity. The energy coursed through me and settled into my muscles and my bones, as if I had activated my body enhancement technique. That reminded me that I could do that, so I felt twice as strong and fast as I normally did when I activated the technique.

My entire body glowed green and I used Mana Presence Run at full speed to take off and it felt as if Maylia and I were sharing energy. I wasn't sure why my body reacted that way; but, I didn't care at the moment and used it to full advantage. In barely two seconds I was a third of the way towards Kara and I created solid Presence boxes in front of the horses. All six of them tripped over the invisible boxes, and since the horses were running full out, the heads of the horses slammed into the road and it knocked them out.

The unconscious horses flipped end over end and four of the riders were lucky. They were thrown off the saddles and flung forward to land on the road in various states of tumbling and slid to a stop a second later. Two were conscious and two were unconscious. The two unlucky ones, an armored man and a white-robed woman, had held onto the reins and were pulled down and crushed into the road under their horse's weight. Bones snapped and there were cries of surprise and pain from most of them.

I ignored their cries, because one of the still conscious ones was Kara. She had landed almost like a superhero, partially knelt on one knee and with one hand on the road in front of her to stop her momentum, which ended her roll. It had hurt her to catch herself like that after being flipped over, and I saw the Presence around her knees and arms that she had used to reinforce herself. I entered her detection range a second later, and she felt me coming and reacted.

Kara stood up and drew her sword, a normal one, and I bared my teeth at her as took my father's Light sword from my belt and activated it. Her blade was covered in a green glow a second later and she blocked my incoming swing. I was surprised that I didn't cut through her blade right away; but, because I had so much force behind me, with momentum and my boosted body, I knocked her sword out of the way, turned the Light sword around, and plunged it right through her light leather armor and into her heart. I didn't stop pushing until the hilt touched the leather.

The surprise on her face was a balm to my heart, because I had assumed, quite correctly, that she never suspected I would ever have an advantage over her or gain the upper hand. Whatever this place was and whatever it had done to me, it had definitely come in handy.

Kara dropped her sword and put a hand on mine that held the Light sword in her chest. “I... hope you... can forgive...”

I pulled the Light sword out of her chest and she dropped to her knees. “Forgive you for playing me for a fool and then killing me?” I asked. “Sure. Now that I've paid you back, I forgive you.”

*

Jessica woke up groggily and sat up to see something out of a horror movie. People and horses scattered all over the road with blood spread everywhere and people crying and yelling. She looked down at herself and saw her arm was bent the wrong way and she was surprised that it didn't hurt.

I must be in shock. Jessica thought, her now very quick and able mind grasped the situation immediately. I need to do this quick, then.

Jessica didn't yell when she used her still working arm to turn her broken arm the other way. It still hung limply, but she didn't need her arm for casting spells anyway. She stood up on slightly shaky knees and held her hand out. Her staff flew from where it had landed and came to her hand. Now that she stood, she saw over the horse in front of her and Kara being run through with some kind of glowing energy blade through her heart.

Jessica was immediately angered that someone would hurt her friend and readied her attack spells as she hopped over the horse in front of her while the green cloaked figure removed the glowing blade from Kara, who dropped to her knees.

“Forgive you for playing me for a fool and then killing me? Sure. Now that I've paid you back, I forgive you.” The green cloaked figure spat at her and Jessica ran at Kara's assailant, fully intending to smash him with her best offensive spell as she swung her staff at his chest, then she saw who it was.

“MARCUS! NOOO!” Jessica yelled and changed her spell to a basic impact with a knock back component and whacked him in the chest.

*

I heard my earth name and looked to the side just in time to see a young woman swing a staff at my chest. A small green explosion came out of the top and it felt like I got kicked by both hooves of a horse. The breath was knocked out of me and I flew back almost twenty feet. I wasn't knocked unconscious, thankfully, so I used both Presence and mana to slow my speed and landed on my feet. I couldn't breathe; but, I had mastered breathing years ago. My body wasn't going to suffer from oxygen deprivation for quite some time. Of course, now I had a bit of a problem.

That girl just called me Marcus. I thought, confused. Even if she's psychic, my mental barriers are all still in place.

“Josh! JOSH!” The girl yelled as she laid Kara down on the ground. “You're tougher than this, remember? Get over here! NOW!”

A robed man sat up and looked around and his eyes were red from crying. “My leg's broken.”

“Are you a Sorcerer Priest or not?” The girl asked. “Just heal it and help me! Kara's dead!”

No, she isn't. I thought, because her Presence wasn't trying to escape her body like mine had tried to do. Dammit. I already forgave her for killing me, too.

Josh took a deep breath and quickly wrote out a verse and chanted. A second later, his leg glowed and turned slightly, then Josh stood up.

What the... who are these people? I thought and slowly walked over to Kara as Josh knelt and put both of his hands on her. He chanted something that I didn't understand for a few seconds, then the hole in Kara's chest closed up like water filling a hole and she took in a huge breath.

“Now go help the others.” The girl ordered, and I quickly used Presence to bind Kara's hands and feet. Josh wiped at his eyes and nodded, then he stood up and went to the others and did the same thing to them. I stood there and watched, completely dumbfounded, as Josh went to each person, even the two that had been crushed by the horses, and completely restored them to perfect health. He even did it to the horses.

“Marcus, how could you do this to her?” The girl asked me.

“I did it to him first.” Kara said sadly as she sat up, and the girl gasped.

“I didn't manage to kill her like she killed me, though.” I said, disappointed.

“She wasn't breathing and you burned through her heart with that thing!” The girl said and pointed at my father's Light sword.

“Her Presence didn't leak out at all, not like mine did.” I said and looked at Josh and the others as they walked over to us and led the horses. “I guess I have to kill him first to finish the job?” I asked. “Is he the lynch pin for your group or something?”

“Marcus. Montgomery. Moon.” The girl said in a deadly voice as she stood up.

My mouth dropped open in shock as I heard my entire earth name spoken for the very first time. She was four inches shorter than me and she had no problem getting right up in my face. I had to turn off the Light sword so she wouldn't hit it by accident.

“Shut your mouth!” She nearly shouted. “Is there something wrong with you? How can you be so disrespectful? Why did you attack us?”

I barely heard anything she said. I didn't even know someone else knew my middle name. I thought, surprised. “Who are you people?”

“We're the Goddess Chaiya's emissaries sent to this world to help her chosen hero.” The armored man said in an angry tone as he and the others gathered around us.

“The chosen hero is supposed to fight the evil that's permeating the world, not hurt and kill their friends.” Josh said, his tone angry as well. “If I wasn't here, both Aimee and Kara would be dead right now.”

I ignored their stares as I turned my head and looked at Kara.

“No, I'm not the chosen hero.” Kara said and slowly stood up, her arms and legs still bound. “You are.”

I stared at her and the Presence didn't waver. That didn't make any sense to me at all. “N-no, that... that can't be right.”

“The five of us were sent here because she needs our help.” The girl that was still up in my face said. “You need to listen and...”

“I don't need to do anything.” I said and stepped back from her. “I saw a group of people with Kara, a woman that has chased me across the universe, as they charged down the road towards me. I reacted and attacked. Would any of you do anything differently?” I looked at their faces. “Would you stand there and wait while someone who killed you rode towards you on horseback?”

No one said anything in response.

“I don't think any of you would stand still and wait to see what they had to say. You would attack and hope against hope that you wouldn't die again.” I said and looked at Josh. “Then again, with him around you can't die, so maybe your choices are a lot different than mine.”

“We can talk about this misunderstanding later.” The girl in front of me said. “We need to treat the people you saved.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, confused.

“That's why we were running our horses so hard. They don't have much time left.” The girl said and stepped around me. “Josh, Aimee, and Evangeline.” She motioned for them to follow. “Let's get to work.”