VALERIAN #3
I keep trailing my blade down his neck, circling his Adam’s apple, which is still bobbing in his throat, freaking out like the rest of his anatomy.
His legs shake. Even his jaw is quivering.
I wouldn’t really call it a jaw. I can’t see where the neck ends, and the face begins.
I’m sure it’s hiding somewhere underneath all of that face fat.
Perhaps I should slice into the skin and investigate.
Unlike his face, the rest of him is skinny. He’s like a stick insect, but he walks around, chin high, like he sees himself as the king of the jungle, capable of winning every fight.
Money will buy you the biggest crown. But nothing is stopping anyone from knocking it off.
“Which body part should I start with first, hm?”
Siguard snorts. “You think you’re better than Jamie?” He pinches his eyes. “You’re wrong. You’re no better than him and me combined.”
A bullet explodes before I have the chance to process those words.
It sails right this way, skimming Siguard’s head. That was close. He almost got killed by his own man.
More bullets follow. Niko seems to be holding them off okay. I glance over my shoulder, checking on my son. He’s not where he was. I search the roof. He’s with Joy, pulling her away from the edge.
“Looks like he’s not quite done with her after all,” snarls Siguad, watching with me.
Niko removes his knife from his fourth kill, wiping it on his shirt. He looks over at me. Job done. There was only four masked men up here to begin with.
Siguard knocks past me. He sticks some fingers into his mouth, whistling.
On command, more masked men jump down from the wall, joining us on the lower part of the roof. I count seven.
Niko finishes wiping his blade, his shirt soaked in fresh blood—one of my favorite sights to see.
Normally, being covered in enemy blood reinstates the fact that you’re winning, but I’m not so sure this evening. With another seven guards to go and Siguard still alive, our chances are slim.
“Hold fire for now,” says Siguard, extending his arms. “I have some news to deliver first.”
Niko’s gaze is scolding my temple. I turn to him, shaking my head. I could kill Siguard from behind. Shove my knife into his back, thrusting the blade through his spine, all the way into his heart.
But my muscles seize up. My body won’t let me do that just yet.
I need to hear what he has to say.
He digs around in his pants pocket, pulling something out. I stop in my tracks, zeroing in on the item.
“Igor,” Siguard begins, “you might want to know something first before taking your girl back.” He pauses for dramatic effect, turning this night into a fucking theatre performance. “She’s pregnant. And I don’t think the baby is yours.”
My heart stops. She’s not pregnant. She would have fucking told me.
All I see is Igor watching me. He keeps a tight hold of Joy, his arms wrapped around her midriff, keeping her locked in place. His face darkens, the resentment taking weight in his eyes again.
Nice of Siguard to drop this bomb.
I sigh, rubbing my head, shooting Joy a questionable glare. Siguard could be messing with me, trying to get under my skin, producing a fake pregnancy test to stall me.
But I see the truth loud and clear in Joy’s broken eyes as she watches me. The whites of her eyes have been dyed red from all of the crying. She isn’t shaking her head or denying everything.
It’s true.
Before I can take my next breath, Igor is rushing over to me, resentment twisting his features into something I don’t recognize. “You got her fucking pregnant.”
I pin Siguard a glare. This was his plan all along. To take my son from me and pit him against me. He knows exactly what he’s doing, knocking Igor off guard, putting him in a vulnerable headspace.
It was all strategy. In times of chaos when everything is distorted, you cling onto the first thing that feels stable, that makes you feel better. All you want is to be in control again.
The past can’t be controlled, but it’s how you move forward that determines everything.
And Siguard is encouraging him to channel all that hurt and anger. He’s weaponizing my own son against me.
“You may have saved Mom, put her out of her misery,” says Igor, “but that doesn’t change anything. You’re still here, taking everything away. Getting her pregnant. You wouldn’t have met Joy if it wasn’t for me.”
I pull Igor to one side. “Stop focusing on me and ask yourself why Siguard is telling you this information.” I glare at him. “He wants to win. It doesn’t matter whose side you’re on. This man will leave you for dead as soon as he gets what he wants out of you.”
Feeling Siguard watching us, I turn and flash him evils.
How much more of my life does he want to ruin?
He took my father. Now he’s taking my son.
He even took the words out of Joy’s mouth before she was ready to speak them.
There’s a price for his actions and I’ll make sure he’ll pay every fucking last cent.
The wind blows between us, and somehow, despite his frame, Siguard remains standing. Not even the force of nature can knock him.
He’s like a shadow I can’t shake off, always around finding new ways to ruin me. I’m putting an end to this, even if I turn into the same monster he is as a result.