Relyn had his eyes narrowed at the man walking his way.

  “You’ve got time to chat?” The man with a scar on his lips asked him.

  Relyn stared at the man who had just spoken for a second.

  “No.”

  “Why not? We’re here to collect some debts.” Said a second man, coming out of the same place, a bulky person with a thick neck and a lazy eye.

  “Debts?”

  The scarred man tilted his head and chuckled.

  “You’re not from the region, am I mistaken?” He said, and without waiting for an answer, continued “Things here are simple. We heard from our little brother Kael here that you’re holding money that belongs to us, the money was with him. Isn’t that the case?”

  Relyn moved his eyes past the man in front of him and, behind, a familiar red headed boy was on his knees, a bruised and bloodied mess. A thick fat hand gripped the boy’s hair, keeping his face lifted. Tears were running through his cheeks.

  ‘Kid, why are you lying?’

  “You see, we don’t care how you got it, sometimes things just happen. But it does belong to us, so hand over what you took and we can all be on our ways and enjoy another beautiful day. What do you say?” The scarred man shrugged, unbothered.

  Whatever was happening between these two and that kid, Relyn was not going to throw himself into.

  “I don’t have anything to do with that,” Relyn said, and began to walk again.

  “I see..”

  Sounds of metal accompanied his steps, and Brok saw a small leather bag tied to his belt.

  “Hold up for a moment, friend,” Brok called after him.

  “One last question.” His tone was as polite as ever, but this time it seemed a little too excited.

  “What’s in the bag?” Brok asked.

  “You’re asking what’s in my bag?” Relyn stopped, and looked at him for a few seconds.

  “Well… yes, let us take a look there.” Brok’s hand reached to the dagger tucked under his belt, and its small handle was now visibly out .

  Relyn looked over at Kael’s direction once again. The boy’s head moved side to side, his lips trying to silently say something without actually saying it, but he couldn’t make them out.

  He stared again at the man in front of him for a second, he sighed and untied the pouch, helding it with his hand extended forward..

  “Good. You’re quite smart.” Brok approached him, growing closer by every step, his hand still on the dagger on his belt.

  When both men were close, Relyn moved quickly, and he swung the pouch he was holding with strength. The bag hit Brok on his lower jaw, spraying blood from his mouth to the air and throwing the man to the ground.

  “You’re fucking dead!”

  The larger man released Kael’s hair and charged at Relyn. He tried to run, but that bulky man was faster than he imagined and the collision’s impact sent him to the ground. The larger man landed heavy punches on Relyn’s ribs and face.

  Relyn grunted, twisting beneath the man’s weight. He managed to grab hold of one of his wrists. With a burst of strength, using his legs to shift their positions, Relyn flipped the larger man onto his back and delivered a series of blows to his face.

  The man’s struggles weakened, and Rylen climbed to his feet. His knuckles were red and raw, and a thin trail of blood dripped from his head.

  ‘In a mess like this, again...’

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “What’s happening between-” He turned back to Kael and was about to ask, but stopped mid sentence;

  Kael, trembling and pale, had climbed onto Brok, who was still on the ground. In his small hands, he held the dagger he’d pulled from the man’s belt. The blade, as well as his hands, shook as Kael pressed it to the man’s neck.

  “Where is he, Brok?!” Kael’s voice cracked, and he screamed “Don’t think I’m afraid to kill you right now!”

  “Get this street rat off me!”

  “Tell me where he is!” Kael pressed the dagger harder against Brok’s skin.

  “I-I don’t know!” Brok stuttered and raised his hands defensively.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?!”

  “I don’t fucking know! One day he was there in the shelter, and the next he wasn’t! Nobody told us anything!” Brok swallowed hard and beads of sweat dripped from his face.

  “We just used that to make money from you,” Brok added quickly.

  “That’s it! Now drop that!” He screamed.

  “Y-you did what?” The boy asked in disbelief.

  Kael’s grip loosened. His small body fell to the side and his shoulders shook, and this moment of hesitation cost him.

  Brok snarled, his hand shooting up to grab Kael’s wrist. He twisted violently, forcing the boy to cry out and release the dagger.

  “You damn filthy scum,” Brok roared as he pushed Kael off and scrambled to his feet, wiping at the blood dripping from his mouth.

  “You think you’ve got the guts for this? You’re nothing, that’s why you were left to die at these dumps.”

  Now, Brok had the dagger back on his hand. He was standing there, with blood dripping from his broken nose. He viciously starred Relyn and charged forward.

  Relyn stepped back, narrowly avoiding the first wild swing. The blade whistled past his chest, then his side as Brok struck again.

  The third attack finally found him, slicing across Relyn’s shoulder. He felt pain, but didn’t hesitate, and stepped in closer, catching Brok off guard, and delivered a strong hook to Brok’s face. The man’s nose cracked again, a spray of blood painting the cobblestones.

  Brok stumbled back, but his grip on the dagger still held firm. Relyn didn’t give him a chance to recover. He followed up with a knee to Brok’s stomach.

  Relyn didn’t stop until Brok’s knees buckled, and the dagger fell from his hand.

  Brok slumped to the ground, unconscious, his body motionless.

  Relyn stood over him, blood dripping from the shallow cut on his shoulder. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, then turned to Kael, who was still on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning.

  He was mad. The damn boy had dragged him into this whole mess.

  Relyn walked over to where Kael was laying, he wanted to drag the boy’s head through the road from one side of the walls to the other.

  He looked at the boy’s thin frame shaking, rolled in a ball, crying and his bruised face slowly looking up. He was more of a beaten and malnourished animal than a human in his eyes.

  His hands didn’t pick-up the boy by his neck and the words he had thought of were not spoken.

  “Don’t do this again,” That was all Relyn said, and he started to walk off.

  “W-wait… boss” Kael’s weak voice rang out.

  “What?”

  “Their bodies…” Kael slowly got up and continued to speak.

  “These two won’t talk to the guards, but we can’t leave them here… If someone finds them, it’s trouble”

  …..

  The afternoon air was warm and carried a faint distinctive smell in the place they were heading to. Relyn carried the unconscious Brok over one shoulder and grabbed the other thug by the arm, dragging him across the cobblestones.

  Kael trailed behind, stumbling slightly and his face was swollen. One of his eyes was almost entirely shut, but he still managed to mumble directions.

  While they walked, using his other hand, the boy carefully adjusted his twisted finger into place again, occasionally screaming in pain but apparently used to it.

  “There… over there,” Kael pointed weakly toward some debris, a bunch of old barrels, broken crates, and trash bags mounted by the handful in one of the local dumps.

  Relyn dumped the first body to the ground and adjusted his grip on the second. His muscles ached, but he managed to shove both men into the pile of junk. He stepped back, dusted off his hands, and frowned at the mess.

  “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. “Lost another day.”

  “Wait, boss!”

  “What now?” Relyn turned, running out of patience

  The boy was crouched over the unconscious men, rifling through their pockets. He came up with a handful of coins, a crumpled piece of paper, and what looked like a cheap pendant.

  “Can’t leave this behind,” Kael said, stuffing only a coin into his own pockets and handing the rest to Relyn.

  As they made their way back through the streets, Kael, bruised, kept glancing at Relyn from time to time.

  “Boss,” he spoke up, his voice still a little weak but excited.

  “How are you that strong? Were you a soldier?” Kael finally asked what had been in his mind.

  Relyn didn’t answer and just kept moving.

  “A knight? Nah, you wouldn’t be in a shelter if you were a knight. Maybe an assassin? A poor one?” Kael paused.

  “Or a bodyguard! You could’ve been a bodyguard for some rich lord. That makes sense.”

  Relyn’s pace didn’t slow down, but his hands tightened slightly.

  “Wait, I’ve got it!” Kael snapped his fingers.

  “You were one of those pit fighters, weren’t you? Like in the arenas! I heard about them!” His eyes shone with excitement.

  Relyn sighed and picked up the pace.

  “Come on, tell me! How else could you take out two guys like that? Normal people don’t just-” Kael stumbled after him.

  “Do you ever shut up?” Relyn stopped abruptly, turning to face Kael.

  “Sorry.” Kael blinked, startled, then shrugged.

  “Alright, boss. But if you were a pit fighter, you’d tell me, right?” Kael grinned despite the pain in his jaw,

  Relyn didn’t respond.

  By the time they reached the shelter, Kael was still listing off possibilities. Relyn pushed open the creaking door and stepped inside, letting it slam behind him.

  ‘Damn this kid.’

  “Pit fighter, definitely a pit fighter. Or maybe not…”