Except that was only me. The others were too preoccupied with the situation to notice my intention of already turning in for the night.
Not that I could blame them. They probably have so many questions in mind. At the same time, I dropped the bomb that the guy who tried to abduct me, made me his brother through a soul vow ipso facto, was in fact a transcendent being. One they had no chances of winning against.
It wasn't an everyday scenario they have to deal with.
"A vow of the soul? You allowed such a thing, Master Skandar?" William turned to me in disbelief.
Objection! This is not on me alright? Why are you looking at me like I'm the one at fault?
"It was not exactly a situation that was in my control at that time," I said with a shrug.
Abi chuckled at my words. Despite how I brushed it off and spoke politely as ever, I guess he could still detect the annoyance in my tone.
Well, I'd be glad if he did notice it. That would be quite an achievement.
"That's that. All is well that ends well." A yawn escaped my lips as I turned to them.
"It would be good to depart early tomorrow so we could make up for the time we spent here. I think the sandstorm would let up by then. Let us rest for the night." I dismissed Captain Arthur and William, ignoring their protesting looks.
And since none of them expected that I would be bringing back someone with me, much less a transcendent being, there was no other tent for Abi to stay in.
Against my better judgment, I figure it would be fine to let him share mine. Though I did ask for William to set up another bed.
Poor Captain Arthur. He had to give up his mattress for that. Though I can't say he felt the same. The guy looked elated even.
I'm not exactly keen on sleeping with another person even if said person was a relative.
"Where are we headed?" Abi suddenly asked out of the blue. He laid sideways on the bed, his hand cradling his head.
I lifted my eyes towards him.
Really? Can't the questions wait until I had my sleep?
Just because you don't need it, doesn't mean that it's the same for me.
"The Capital. The imperial family will be officially coronating the crown prince. And as the Grand Duke of Sonomi, my presence is requested." I answered resignedly.
I tucked myself in the sheets after that and earned a snigger from Abi.
"I traveled for hours and had to deal with these consecutive situations. If you have any more you want to know, ask away tomorrow."
And without waiting for Abi's reply I went straight to sleep. I was pretty much knocked out immediately.
Dealing with people, with various things springing up one after the other is draining.
My blissful sleeping self was unsuspecting that there would be even more problematic things to come.
----
"He's dying," Abi said matter-of-factly. Though his expression tells me an entirely different narrative. He finds great amusement in this.
"I have eyes. I can see that, Abinatha." The dire situation almost broke through my iron-clad decorum. I almost snapped at the Jinn that spectated at the situation in such a carefree manner.
I truly might give in to the urge to punch him one of these days.
"I do not need you to spout obvious nonsense. What I need is a clear sense of the situation."
I said in exasperation whilst holding the thin, frail form of a child that gasped for breath like a fish out of water.
A huge whirlpool of both mana and aura forces clashed around and inflicting quite the damage to his small body. His skin split and blood continued to pour out, staining my sleepwear a sickening dark red almost immediately.
I don't doubt Abi's word. The child was dying.
I groaned internally at the current situation. I was just sleeping peacefully an hour ago, the next moment I had to take care of a life and death situation.
Let me recount how Abi and I got to this sticky situation.
As I was slumbering, relishing my sweet dreams, I was suddenly shaken awake.
My poor sleep-deprived self, shot up from the bed thinking that there was some sort of attack or assassination. Except it suddenly dawned on me that that sort of situation is impossible.
Who would have the guts to assassinate the Grand Duke of Sonomi?
Besides, none of my current companions will ever have the courage to shake me so violently until I was awake.
Except for one.
I cannot say it is a pleasant experience opening your eyes and being greeted with the shit-eating grin of someone who took pleasure in disturbing your peace.
"Something the matter?" Despite my displeasure and urge to lash out, my automatic filter called perfect manners courtesy of the Honorable Lady Konstantin prevented me yet again.
"There's a disturbance we need to check out," Abi answered as he floated away from my face.
Good move. Any longer and I would have punched him. For real, this time.
"Captain Arthur and William will deal with that. Go back to sleep." I said, a little exasperated.
Abi crossed his arms and stared at me with disappointment.
"Don't be boring. Let's check it out ourselves. Your men might not be able to deal with it anyhow." He spoke with a scoff.
I sighed at his poor attempt of goading me but stood up, nonetheless.
It's not that I was truly goaded into doing so or anything. Me being called boring didn't bother me in the slightest.
No, not at all.
I was merely concerned with how he said that Captain Arthur and William would not be able to deal with whatever the disturbance was.
There are a few things in this world that those two are incapable of handling.
Since this all-powerful Jinn insisted, I might as well come along.
As we walked... well, I walked. Abi just floated away leisurely. Some guys got it good.
I found that the path we were taking was familiar. It was the one that led to the caravans we checked out earlier. Where I found Abi's lamp.
Looking around at this time, I could feel a great fluctuation of mana and aura that wasn't present earlier. I can see why Abi said it was a disturbance. Though it was moderately faint when I felt it back at our camp.
I couldn't really be bothered with it earlier. It was too miniscule to acknowledge as a problem.
At the same time, I admired the range of his perception. He was like a handy detecting tool. Not that I would ever tell him that.
Abi stopped at a barrel covered by the rolls of cloth within the intact cart. He floated it out and took it apart in the air.
Tch. Jinns and their fancy tricks.
I stopped dissing him when I saw the content of that barrel.
It was a child about the age of five or six whose whole body spasmed as he endured the forces surrounding him.
And that was where we are now.
"Do you want to save him?" Abi asked me ignoring my thorny reaction.
"Why shouldn't I?" I retorted coldly. The Jinn dared to shrug his shoulders, nonplussed.
"But he's a slave." His answer irked me to no end but I held off because now wasn't the time to get mad at him.
I can't blame him either. He is a Jinn. One measly human life that he finds uninteresting means nothing at all. It is his nature to react like so.
But even though I am an aspiring Villain Lord, I am not so cold-blooded as to let a helpless child die in front of me. I still have my bottomline.
"Slave or not, he is in my territory. Every person who resides in Sonomi is my people, the desert does not care about their origins. Nor will I." I declared in a solemn voice.
Abi raised his brow at me. Then smiled as if he had seen the most pleasurable thing in the world. He leaned towards me and touched the hand clasping those of the child.
I felt a sharp tingle for a moment and then saw a drop of blood floating out of my hand. Under Abi's purple eyes that currently shone mystically, I saw it form a seal.
The blood seal seeped into the child's forehead and slowly sucked in the clashing forces, sorting them out separately as they returned to the child's body. With that, his wounds slowly healed as well.
It took a while for the entire thing to finish. I couldn't help but be stunned at the sheer amount of power the child we found had.
Was this truly a slave child? Why was he in this merchant caravan? Is he the one they were protecting til the end?
"There we go. The seal will slowly unravel as his body grows stronger. I must say this child has promising potential. You lucked out, brother." Abi murmured as circled me and the child habitually.
"Was my blood necessary?" I asked curiously. It bothered me a bit. But it wasn't that much of a big deal.
"Well, the seal needed a medium. I have no blood to speak of. And my force is incompatible with his. It could only be yours then." Abi said in a helpless tone.
Fair enough.
Still, as I gazed down at the child, I couldn't shake the feeling that fate had woven an unexpected thread into my life.
I glanced at the child that was peacefully sleeping in my arms.
Here's another one who got it good.
Abi's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"I have to say though. He looks quite similar to you. Are you sure he isn't related to you?" Abi asked as he stared at both of us.
I rolled my eyes at him. This one couldn't possibly be my brother. My dearest father's heart is grasped by the Honorable Lady Konstantin in an iron grip.
Even if it was she who pushed my father to sleep around and have children with other women, my father would rather die than do so. That's merely a hypothetical explanation of it.
My point is, that this child could never be a half-brother of mine.
And it most certainly is not my biological child either. That is just not possible at this point.
"He isn't your illegitimate child, is he?" Abi has that gossipy air around him that is quite irritating.
"Don't be ridiculous. Do I look like someone who sleeps around? My parents would hang me with their own hands if I ever did something so dishonorable."
The dawn colored the skies red and shone its light on the three of us.
I glanced at the child once again. I have to acknowledge one thing. He did look similar to me. Almost as cute as I was when I was the same age. Though when one looked carefully at his features, the differences could be noted.
He really could pass up as my son.