Chapter 15 #3
I placed my hands on either side of the blade near my chest as if I were about to pray.
The steel turned black under my palms, then the sword was gone.
The confusion on the man’s face as his sword vanished before his eyes was almost comical.
He raised his empty hand, and his handsome face filled with horror.
The tips of his fingers had blackened, just as his sword had.
He cried out like an animal caught in a trap as his hand disintegrated to ash, and screamed as it continued up his arm and shoulder.
Boric’s cousin and the other man came closer to watch their friend’s slow death. They were so distracted by the horror unfolding before them, that they didn’t see me dive for my sword.
The screaming stopped once the Darkness had spread to the handsome man’s head.
My sword slashed across Boric’s cousin’s middle before he could even raise his sword.
His intestines spilled onto his feet in a steaming puddle.
I spun to face the third man, who stood transfixed by the gruesome demise of his companions.
His wide eyes met mine for a split second before he turned and darted into the trees.
Dead tree branches scratched my face as I entered an ancient thicket.
I’d lost sight of him, but he wouldn’t get far.
The dying trees and shrubs were far too dense.
I raised my sword and listened, waiting for him to move.
It was quiet, but I heard it. Directly behind me – a footstep on withered leaves.
I lifted my feet and sidestepped the sword coming down on me.
I didn’t hesitate to strike while the man was still bent over, having only hit the air where I had been standing a moment before.
My blade connected, taking his head cleanly off.
Warm blood sprayed me as his neck was exposed to the chilly morning air.
His body dropped to the ground with a horrifying thump.
I walked back to my camp covered in blood. The stark morning light showed me the remains of my other two attackers. One was a pile of ash, while Boric’s cousin still lay where I left him. He was trying to gather up his belly’s contents to push back into his abdomen.
Fighting the horror building inside me, I struggled to look at the gory scene I had created.
Guilt, not anger, made me hold the man’s gaze as I put my sword through his heart, giving him a quicker death than if I had just left him there.
I threw up the contents of my stomach beside the men I’d killed.
Nightmare had freed herself, and I felt her warm muzzle against my head as I kept retching long after my insides were empty.
?
Ignoring the stares as I rode through Murus, I passed the forge without Cillian seeing me, but I could hear the clash of swords as I entered the fortress gates and knew I was out of luck.
As I approached the soldiers on guard, their wide-eyed gazes and half-opened mouths told me that my grim, blood-splattered appearance had caught their attention.
Entering the arena, I passed a few soldiers training with swords and shields before they stopped and stared at me.
I was still sitting on Nightmare’s back, unsure my legs could hold me if I dismounted.
What I had done had depleted me. Between my lack of sleep and empty stomach, I was barely holding on to the reins.
Atlas approached me first, stopping beside Nightmare’s shoulder. ‘What happened to you?’ he asked, a frown marring his usually jovial face.
I looked to my other side when I felt a large, warm hand on my thigh.
Torgrin was looking up at me, the lines between his brows deepening.
I stared back, not able to find any words to explain my gruesome appearance.
He reached his arms up to help me down. I let him only because I wasn’t sure I could dismount alone.
When he tried to draw me into an embrace, I pushed him away weakly.
The pile of ash I had left on the road was too fresh in my memory.
The sky had been clear, but now it was drizzling as we stood silently in the courtyard together. I almost forgot what rain felt like. It had been months since it had rained last. A bloody puddle formed at my feet as the rain washed away my crimes.
Without a word, Atlas walked Nightmare to the stables. Torgrin stayed by my side as I shuffled towards the fortress entrance.
‘Can you tell Lord Warwick I’m back?’ It was an effort to get the words out.
‘Where have you been?’ Torgrin demanded as the rain continued to pour down on us. Inky strands of hair fell across his scarred cheek.
‘Just tell him.’
‘No. Not until you tell me whose blood is all over you!’ He halted my progress with a hand on my arm.
‘Don’t touch me!’ I yelled, a flash of lightning following my words.
Torgrin dropped his hand immediately. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes as thunder rumbled outside.
‘Damn it, woman! Why can’t you just –’ Torgrin stopped mid-growl as Lord Warwick came rushing down the stairs. He must have seen me through the window that faced the training arena.
I spoke to him, ignoring Torgrin, who clenched his jaw so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear a tooth crack. ‘I’m back, my lord.’
‘Are you well?’ he asked, concerned.
I nodded yes, a lie.
‘You’re not,’ Torgrin growled, still struggling to control himself. ‘You leave for days without telling me or Atlas where you’re going, then you come back looking like you just climbed out of the fucking underworld!’
He brought his face so close to mine that I saw lightning reflected in the blackness of his pupils. I turned away from him, trying hard to stay in control.
‘I think you should leave this for another time, Torgrin,’ Lord Warwick said quietly.
‘She can’t just leave without telling us why!’
Torgrin must be beyond reason if he would speak to Lord Warwick with such little care of the consequences. He was the man who paid his wages, after all.
‘She told me,’ Lord Warwick said firmly. ‘Now let her leave,’ he ordered Torgrin.
Torgrin shot me a hurt look just before he moved out of my way. I could feel his gaze as I headed to my room on unsteady legs.