Chapter 8
Anelize ran as quickly as her legs could take her, her skirts soaked in snow and mud as she cut through streets and alleyways.
Cold air piercing her lungs with every labored breath she took, she listened to the several thundering footsteps behind her as they pounded against the cobblestones.
The Watchmen’s voices a ceaseless storm of curses, threats to bring upon her demise should they catch her.
As if they took a thrill in this chase of theirs.
The Watchmen relentless in their pursuit.
She’d managed to hold them off for only a few seconds at most, her power rampant and quick as a viper but not enough to have been able to lose them entirely.
Weak.
After so many years of hiding her power and ensuring none caught so much as a glimpse of it, Anelize had sacrificed the one thing that could have been the most useful to her in this very instance.
Her chance of survival close to none as the sound of arrows flew past her.
A sharp sting on her arm and the sound of fabric tearing barely made her flinch as she ducked into another alley.
The familiar sound of a horn announcing her existence to the rest of the Watchmen nearby, beckoning them all to her.
She ran and ran until she no longer knew which way to go, losing herself in the labyrinth of the city.
Pushing past crowds and ignoring the cries of horror from those who knew exactly who she was, what she was.
Their faces blurring into one shared look of disdain.
Hands that tried to reach for her were pushed aside in her haste.
Fingers snagging in her long tresses pulling at her braid until it unraveled around her.
Nails sinking into her flesh as she rushed past, refusing to be slowed by them.
Caught. In this very instance, there was no force greater than her fear pumping through her veins.
“Stop in the name of the king!” a Watchman called as he suddenly pulled his horse to a halt, blocking one of the streets before her.
Coming to a screeching halt with a gasp, Anelize turned and pushed into one of the alleyways to her left.
The Watchmen chased after her as she turned down another street before being met with nothing but a wall.
Trapped. She’d gone into a dead-end. The windows around her had been barred and crates blocked the only door she could spy between them. She was trapped.
The sound of men panting behind her made her freeze as one of them said, “That’s enough now, Vedran! You’re coming with us.”
Slowly, she turned to face four Watchmen who had caught up to her. Three of them held swords in their hands, but the fourth, he held a bow. The gleaming tip of an arrow pointed straight at her. If his aim was any good, he’d shoot it through her throat and end her life within a matter of seconds.
One wrong move and she’d be dead.
Death was preferable to whatever their hateful gazes held for her as the Watchmen stalked toward her. Her eyes flickered between them as they approached, closing in around her as she backed away. Her back hitting the wall seconds later.
“P-please, just let me go,” she panted, knowing it would be useless. But the instinct to survive had won over any logic she may have possessed before.
It should have hardly phased her when the Watchmen laughed at her, looking at each other as though she’d made a great jest. And yet, their lack of humanity, common decency, forced her to shut her mouth.
Loathe herself for her pathetic attempt.
Weak is what she was, and she’d just proven it to these men with predator’s eyes.
“Let her go?” one of them mocked. “As if she wouldn’t kill us all with a simple flick of her wrist?”
“You’re already at the bottom of the barrel.”
“What did you expect?”
The Watchman who approached her revealed horrid yellow teeth as he grinned, pressing the tip of his blade against the base of her neck until she felt a twinge of pain.
His eyes roamed her face then down to where she felt blood had been spilled, a rivulet running down her neck beneath the collar of her dress.
The call of her power starting a dull roar in her ears.
Commanding her to will it to the surface once more.
Her eyes trailed down to the pulsing glow of light from the Watchman’s chest, seeing his heart as clear as day before her vision blurred and she shut her eyes momentarily.
Before she could answer its call, the Watchman said, “She doesn’t look half as fearsome.
The last Vedran we killed was at least twice your size, a real ox.
And she went down like one too, after my blade pierced her heart.
At the very least, she didn’t beg like you.
She had some pride.” The sick satisfaction in his beady eyes made her stomach revolt as he murmured, “Ah, but I do love it when they beg. Makes this all the more worthwhile.”
“So do I,” called a voice from behind the Watchmen, deep as smoke trailing from embers.
Peering between the Watchmen as they whirled around to face whoever had interrupted them, she saw a masked man with a vicious look in his green eyes.
Dressed in black leathers, his stance was imposing as he gripped two short swords in either hand. Already dripping in blood.
“Rebel filth!” Two of the Watchmen rushed toward him, their weapons raised.
The rebel moved so fast, she was barely able to keep track as he dodged the first set of attacks.
Parrying one of the Watchmen’s attacks before blocking the next with his swords.
Sparks flew from the blades as the rebel shoved one the men away before pivoting, running his sword down the length of his attacker’s chest.
As if sensing the next attack, he spun as a flying arrow was shot his way before he ducked at the last second.
With one quick spin, he drove his swords along the backs of one of the next Watchman’s thighs in quick succession.
Blood sprayed and the man screamed in sheer agony.
Before he could fall to the ground, the rebel hauled him to stand before him.
Using him as a shield as the other Watchman sent another arrow flying toward him. Sinking into his comrade’s chest.
“Pathetic. So much training to learn how to kill Vedrans, and this is all you have to show for it.” With a scoff, the rebel let the dead Watchman crumple unceremoniously at his feet, barely casting him so much as a glance as he stepped over him.
“A-alright, you’ve proven your point. We’ll go now.” The man said even as he quickly drew another arrow before he gingerly aimed it at the rebel.
“Will you now?” the rebel rasped with a cruel laugh. “A little late to start begging for your life, don’t you think? Unfortunately, you’ve caught me on a bad day. I’ve gone far beyond granting mercy, I’m afraid.”
At his words, the Watchman released a growl of rage. The arrow flew, aiming true for the rebel’s chest before it was stopped by a single swing of his blade. There was a murderous glint in the masked man’s eyes, a tilt of his head as if he relished in the shock on the Watchman’s face.
The Watchman who had Anelize pressed to the wall hissed in annoyance just as two more guards rushed into the alley.
Glancing between the bloodied mess before them and the man responsible for it.
The rebel’s eyes shifted slightly, seemingly assessing his opponents as they came to surround him.
Anelize was sure it wouldn’t be long before they managed to kill him soon enough. He was outnumbered by all accounts.
“You fucking rat, we’ll gut you for this. Do you know the cost of allying yourself with the likes of Vedrans is death?” the Watchman holding the knife to Anelize’s throat bellowed, as the two others stalked toward him, swords angled.
“Yes, I do,” the masked man said. Slowly, he sheathed his swords behind his back and raised his hands, both dripping in blood from the small cuts he’d somehow made along the center of his palms without her noticing. “But I have a job to do here, and you’re in my way.”
Suddenly the falling snow around them stopped in their descent, hanging like crystals of a chandelier in a noble’s home as they slowly spun and gathered around him, tilting horizontally as though they shared one mind.
Forming pointed shards aiming straight for the Watchmen, appearing as arrows crafted of pure ice.
Sending them flying with the flex of his fingers, the men released pained screams as the shards pierced straight through their armor, their bodies crumbling to the ground.
Dead within mere moments.
“D-don’t come any closer. I’ll kill her, I swear I will!
” The remaining Watchman suddenly gripped her, placing her between him and the masked rebel as he slowly approached.
Death personified coming to claim the last soul to complete his collection.
The Watchman’s sword cut into her neck just a little more as he tensed.
Making more blood pour down the front of her dress.
The masked man narrowed his eyes but did not move, the snow resuming their fall around them as he dropped his hands back to his sides.
“Let her go, and I promise I’ll make it as quick and painless as I can,” the man drawled, almost sounding bored, as he spoke.
Anelize glared at him. Was now truly the time to test the mercy of a man who had been about to kill her mere seconds ago?
“You think I won’t do it?” the Watchman huffed.
The masked man placed his hands over his hips, shrugging. “Go ahead.”
If she survived this, she was going to kill the Vedran before her.
Then, eyes lit with intent as they met hers, he said, “Though, I can’t imagine your king is going to be fond of you killing a nevit. Rare breeds, they are. In fact, she could so easily kill you herself right here and now. You wouldn’t even see it coming.”
Anelize blinked before slowly glancing down, to where the Watchman’s arm remained fastened across her chest. Taking in a deep breath, she concentrated as the Watchman jostled her with a laugh.
“This one here? She can barely hold her own against me. What could she possibly—”
All it took was her closing her hand into a fist and then—the snap of bones.
His words died on a scream in her ear so loud that she winced.
When she glanced down, the Watchman’s fingers were angled in unnatural directions like the wilting petals of a flower.
It was enough for him to stumble back, crying out in agony as he took in what she’d done to him.
Anelize backed away, turning to face him when he released a scream of pure rage.
She didn’t see the fist coming toward her until it connected with the side of her cheek, sending her slamming into the wall.
The world spun in circles as she sank to the ground.
Through her haze, she could hardly make out anything clearly as the Watchman stumbled toward her, sword raised before blood suddenly splattered across the wall behind him.
A large shard of ice lodged into his neck.
A gurgling sound followed as the Watchman fell to his knees, clutching his neck before he joined the others on the ground. Lifeless eyes staring back at her.
“Well, that was sloppy, I’ll admit,” the rebel said as his boots stepped into her view.
Her eyes struggling to remain open even as she fought the shadows closing in around her.
Her body no longer seeming to listen to her as the throb in her head made everything shift out of focus.
The masked man crouched before her, his hands hanging loosely between his thighs as his words echoed in a dissonance.
The darkness finally coming to claim her.
“Is that really the best you can do?”