Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty: In time
Beth slowly got to her feet. She looked to be fully healed, but her footing looked a little wobbly.
Liz was quick to reach for her bag and offer some potions. “Here take these.”
Beth reached out and took the vials. “Thank you.” She pushed off the tops and downed one after the other.
Liz laid her bag on the ground. “If you need to resupply, help yourself now. I expect we’ll be moving on in a moment.”
Liz and Beth both turned to me. “Yeah, I want to get to Altria’s and Serin’s as quickly as possible… We’ll wait until you’re a little steadier on your feet though.”
Beth started to load up on potions from Liz’s bag. Once her pouch was filled, she turned to me. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
I shook my head. “Not really, but someone seems to be targeting our party. Liz and I have already been attacked.”
Beth quickly checked the sword at her side. “Let’s head there right now.”
“Are you okay to move already?”
Beth patted the now closed wound on her shoulder. “I’m fine, I’m more concerned about the others right now.”
“If you’re sure, just don’t push yourself.”
“Honestly, I’m fine you shouldn’t worry.”
“You can say that, but I’m still going to.” I looked around her back yard. “Anyway, what happened here? I can’t see a body.”
“There isn’t one.” Beth winced. “I let them get away, but they have a nasty cut… Shouldn’t I explain on the way? Shouldn’t we hurry?”
“We should. Okay let’s head to Altria’s you can explain on the way.”
I turned to leave, but Celine pulled on my arm. “Master.” She looked concerned.
“What’s up?”
“I know that I should remain hidden… But I can’t.”
“You can’t?”
She shuffled awkwardly. “I know you don’t have the time, but…”
“Oh right, that’s why! Don’t worry, I have something for you.” I reached for the small pouch of vials that Liz had given me earlier.
Celine titled her head in a look of confusion. “Master?”
I handed her the pouch. “Try one of these, Liz made them for you. They should replenish your energy for now, until I have a chance to feed you properly.”
She pulled out one of the vials and eyed it a little suspiciously. “Is this safe for me to drink?” She glanced between me and Liz.
I nodded. “Liz wouldn’t make something that would harm you.”
Liz stepped closer. “It’s safe, trust me. It just hasn’t been tested on a succubus yet… But I’ve tried it myself.”
Celine still didn’t look convinced. She held the vial closer, then slowly popped the lid off and brought the vial to her lips. After a moment’s hesitation she poured the liquid into her mouth.
Her face contorted a little, then she swallowed. “Bleh, what’s in this? It’s discussing!”
Liz face dropped a little. “Ah, sorry. I had no idea how to flavour it to your liking. When we have more time, we can work on making it a little more palatable. That was all I could do for now.”
Celine coughed, she looked almost as if she might be sick. “It needs to be more than a little more palatable!”
“Sorry… Did it work though?” Liz’s expression had changed from looking a little disinherited to looking genuinely excited in an instant.
“It’s seems to have done. I feel a little energised now.”
Liz almost jumped up. “It was a success!”
Celine turned to me, she was heavily frowning and looking as if she was still fighting the urge to be sick. “Master.”
“Sorry Celine.” I ruffled her hair. “You did well. I’ll give you a proper meal later.”
She perked up a little. “You promise?”
“I do.”
“Yay!”
“But if you can hide yourself now, we should leave.”
“I can.”
Celine vanished.
I turned to the others. “We should go too.”
As a group we headed towards the now smashed in door at the back of Beth’s place. She stopped to look at the damage before joining the rest of us in the backstreet.
Ameri was rubbing her head. “Ah sorry about that.”
Beth waved her hands. “No, no it’s okay. You thought you had to.”
Once we were all out onto the street we made in the direction of Altria’s. We passed through the small alley and back out into the main street with the store fronts. It was still completely quiet and deserted.
From there we headed directly for the posh part of the city. As far as I knew, that was still where Altria lived.
As we jogged along, I came up alongside Beth. “Are you still okay?”
She slapped me on the back, hard. “I’m fine! Please stop asking me that. You’re making me feel like a liability, and I’m supposed to be the experienced one here!”
“Sorry.”
She laughed. “It’s okay.”
“Uh, come to think of it. I don’t know exactly where Altria lives. Only that it’s in the same part of town as Lillia’s place.”
Beth looked surprised. “You’ve never been there?”
I shook my head. “No. Altria always came to me, or we would go to Lillia’s…”
“Hmm, I’m surprised you didn’t know where she lives.”
“Well, she’s never invited me over.”
“That’s even more surprising!”
“Maybe, but do you know where she lives?”
“I do… She lives in the same building as Lillia used to.”
“They live in the same building!”
“Yes.”
“I feel like I should’ve realised that!”
Beth laughed. “Probably.”
“At least I know where we’re heading to now.”
We continued jogging in the direction of the apartment block where Lillia used to live. We had soon passed through the shopping district and were entering the start of the large and plush buildings of the wealthier inhabitants of the city.
We were about three streets away, when I decided to question Beth about what had happened to her back in her yard. “I have to admit, I was more than a little surprised when we found you injured like that.”
Beth glanced away. “It was a lapse on my part. Even without hearing the horn, I should’ve been more on guard.”
“What happened?”
Her shoulders slumped. “I messed up. Someone had entered my place and I didn’t even realise until they fired their shot from the shadows. It was only luck that I was able to fend them off. If there had been more than one of them, I wouldn’t have been so lucky.”
“You shouldn’t beat yourself up over it. You were in your own home. It’s no surprise you weren’t expecting to be attacked.”
She shook her head. “No, I should’ve known better. It was obvious this situation isn’t normal, and it isn’t as if I lack experience.”
“Still, it’s something that would’ve taken anyone by surprise.”
“It’s okay Theo, you don’t need to try and cheer me up. I just need to remember not to drop my guard again.”
It seemed like a sad situation when none of our party could relax and drop our worries even when we were back home. I wondered how long things would stay like this for.