The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) Read Online Free Page B

shouldn’t have said that. I wouldn’t like it if you had said certain things about me.”
    “Like what?” she asked, in a genuinely innocent tone.
    “Like if I feel,” he said, releasing her arms. “Or if you treated me as nothing more than a weapon to further your goals. I would be pissed.”
    “Then let’s stay away from those topics,” she said with a gleam in her eye. “And on to more pressing ones. LIKE FOOD!” She shouted so loudly that they heard a quick rustling down below. A twig cracked beneath them, and before Bastion could say anything, Lily had already leapt off the branches and to the ground below.
    Hitting the surface hard, she nearly fell over at the bend of her knees, but she stuck a hand out behind her to catch her fall, and then she propelled herself forward, sprinting toward the source of the noise. Bastion stayed in the treetops, leaping from one clump of branches to the other as he kept an aerial view of the forest. He kept to the more open areas of the forest canopy.
    A toss of leaves caught his attention from the left.
    “OVER TO YOUR LEFT!” Bastion shouted, and Lily grunted in irritation. She had already been running fast, and now she needed to change direction. She leapt to the right, kicked off the middle of a tree, and then used the momentum to push herself onto the proper path. Bastion leapt down to the ground and began running with Lily, trying to trap the animal between them. From the quick sightings they got whenever they got close, it was definitely furry, but it was never beyond a second. The animal, as if sensing their proximity, would kick it into overdrive, going even faster than before.
    Bastion and Lily smiled respectively as they kept up the chase, pumping more energy into their legs, but not too much, just in case they had to change course again.
    They were coming upon the forest edge, and soon they would hit the Quietus walls. The animal was sure to change direction then. Bastion turned to Lily and she was already nodding toward him. She had the same idea.
    They split up, Lily to the right and Bastion to the left, deciding to slow down and not make as much noise in their approach. Out of the corner of his eye, the animal slowed down a little bit, as if thinking that it had lost them. It was a fatal mistake. As it came upon the Kingdom walls, it decided to go left toward Bastion. Bastion ditched stealth and sprinted forward with hands outstretched. The fat ball of fur turned and began speeding off to its right, but Lily was already on it. She scooped it up in her hands and kept it tight in her grip.
    “Whew!” Bastion sighed, stooping over and putting his hands on his knees. “Well that was intense. No wonder the Quietus like hunting here.”
    “Aw, it’s cute,” Lily said, examining it. “It has the tiniest little face. I almost want to keep it as a pet. But I know we can’t.”
    “We could find something else.”
    “No, it might take too long. Besides, this thing is so fast, I don’t think we would be able to catch it if it ran away again.”
    “We caught it once.”
    “You mean I caught it,” she winked at him. “You got out of breath.”
    “Oh, don’t even start,” Bastion laughed, standing upright. “I’m not tired.”
    “Mm-hmm. And that little break you just took was because you had too much energy.”
    “It was because I was surprised over how fast that creature was.”
    “Sure it was.”
    “You were fast too. I was shocked by how much.”
    “Two peas in a pod,” she said with a smile. Bastion gave her a puzzled look. “Nevermind,” Lily said. “It’s just an expression.”
    “I’m curious,” Bastion said. “How strong are you? Really.”
    “Why do you want to know?” she asked low, wondering what he was trying to figure out.
    “It’s…well, I came here to Quietus to be separate from everyone else. I want to get stronger. I need to prepare for whatever’s coming, and I don’t know what side I’m on or who I’m fighting