The Phantom Riser

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE - NOWHERE TO HIDE

Kiro and his team continued their journey on foot. Theodore had teleported them as close to the valley as he could, but they would have to complete the journey ‘the old fashion way’. Hopefully, the rest of the way would be uneventful, but were they really blessed with that kind of luck though? Kiro repeatedly checked his map to avoid any surprises. At least that way if someone was approaching them and they failed to pick him up, the map would. But the Ranger though. That was one surprise that they really couldn’t plan their way out of. Kiro’s expression changed a bit. He felt a jolt in his head. The only one who seemed to notice was Lucas. He had been staring at Kiro for the most part of their journey. Not in an obvious manner, but enough for him to observe him well. But the change in his expression was so quick that he didn’t bother about it.

“You know that there is no way you can avoid this Ranger, right?” Aaron said within Kiro’s subconscious. His voice took Kiro by surprise. It had been a while since Aaron spoke to him. Sometimes, he even forgot that Aaron was somewhere in his head.

Kiro’s eyes narrowed a bit. It was definitely something that ran through his mind if not all of their minds. But what was he going to do about it? Besides, Noah had sent another Ranger to take care of it. Maybe he found him already. If he did though, there was no way he would leave peacefully. And a fight between the Rangers wasn’t one that could happen silently. And if he hadn’t found him, was he still searching, or was he following them? Well, there was no sign of him on the map either. Which probably meant that he was still in the neutral zone since the map didn’t extend to neutral zones. It showed their positions but nothing more. Maybe he was unable to leave the sage temple they mentioned to him. Wouldn’t that mean they were in fatal danger?

“I’m well aware, Aaron,” Kiro replied. Then a thought ran through his head. What if the Ranger had been hiding in a neutral zone? That would make him invisible to the map. So, how would he get to them?

“You can’t think your way out of this one, Kiro. It’s a messy situation. But know this, I will protect you and the Beast, but my protection doesn’t extend to the Ascient,” Aaron said rather coldly. It was no surprise that he had no intention of protecting Kiro, but it still hit him hard every time he heard Aaron suggest such. Because for what it was worth, he earnestly hoped that Aaron was wrong. And he would do anything to prove him so.

Kiro came to a sharp halt. Everyone stopped as well. It was surprising that Kiro would stop when they were in such a hurry. “What’s wrong?” Karenia asked. All eyes were on Kiro. It brought a kind of familiar feeling for Theodore and Olivia. Lucas was a strange one also. He would say a lot of strange things that even he did not understand and do things that no one could explain. Maybe they had something that connected both?

Kiro snapped out of his thoughts. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.” His smile was pale but evidently fake. But in the end, they understood what would have been going through his mind. Or at least they thought they did.

“We are all worried too. But we’ll make it. All of us,” Karenia assured. But it was more than just Jovak or the Ranger or even the test itself. It was something that went beyond all that. A bigger picture. And even though Kiro knew that such a task was beyond her, somehow, it comforted him. The thought of their unending support strengthened him more than they would ever know. And after that brief conversation, they were on the move once more.

“I’ll protect him whether you want to or not. I’ll protect them all,” Kiro replied Aaron emphatically. And if he could see Aaron’s face, he’d see how pissed he was. With the repeated defiance that Kiro displayed, the complete disregard to his warnings, and the utter recklessness with which he handled such delicate matters, Aaron could only but be annoyed. When will finally learn? Hopefully, before it was too late.

Kiro soon had something a little more immediate to deal with; Jovak and Isaac.

Out of a portal that popped up in front of them, Jovak and Isaac walked out. The aura that emanated from both of them was intimidating. They wasted no time in attacking but Theodore took them all out of there in an instant. Normally, he would have to be physically in contact with someone to move them, but with Lucas linking them all together, he was able to remotely teleport them all.

Theodore took them to the first place his mind could think of. It was a water spring. Considering the kind of situation they were in, he sure thought of a very serene place. “How the hell did he find us?” Victor snapped.

“I don’t know, but we need to go back,” Kiro said.

“What!” they all exclaimed. What did he mean 'go back'? They were lucky enough that Theodore was able to get them out that quickly. And that was mainly because of how quickly Lucas reacted to the threat.

“Listen to me first. Yes, we barely escaped Jovak. But the fact that he followed us all the way here, I don’t think this will be the only time. We still need to move on foot to the valley. There is no way we can avoid him. And facing him with that Ranger is certain death. We have nowhere to hide.”

“You want him to take him out or asked him to join us? Because I don’t think he’s going to let us go,” Victor said.

“Neither. We’re going to ask him to let us go.”