Chapter 10 #3
I moved without thought, devoid of hesitation.
Snatching up the scythe, I swung it with a venomous cry.
The sound of flesh and bone crunched in the air, blood spraying over me.
The villager froze for a second before half of his torso slid off, the axe tumbling to the ground along with the rest of his body.
Energy thundered off me, and I whirled to the two men wrestling on the floor.
Blood gushed out of the Northerner’s wound, draining strength from him, allowing the other man to have a chance.
It shouldn’t even have been a contest, the Northerner was shredded with muscle, but he was struggling, fighting for dominance of the dagger between them.
The villager turned the blade to the Northerner’s throat, a gleeful smirk on his lips as it punctured his skin.
“No!” I swung down again, the bellow more a command.
The blade severed the man’s neck with a wet snap, his head rolling off his body.
His form twitched before going limp, blood pooling out onto the ground.
Silence throbbed through the room, our heavy breathing rebounding off the stone.
We inhaled and exhaled together in a rhythmic cadence, surrounded by dead bodies.
Grunting, he pushed himself up to a seated position, falling against the wall. I swung to him, the tip of the scythe grazing his throat. He tipped his head up, void of emotion. If anything, I felt the challenge in his eyes, the dare to actually do it.
I could. Now was my moment, his life was in my hands. I craved nothing but being able to put my blade to his throat, see his life bleed out.
Yet, I stood there.
As if the scythe wasn’t at his throat, he yanked the knife protruding from his shoulder, huffing in pain, the metal hitting the stone floor with a clank, his eyes never leaving mine.
For a moment I saw every animal I had stared in the eyes before they were sacrificed in my honor. The deep understanding that their life was over and I was their last connection to the world.
Slowly I lowered the weapon, my arms shaking from the adrenaline, my will to take more life crumbling like the stone below my feet.
“You ran.” It was several moments before he spoke, ripping the bottom of his soiled tunic and pressing down on the wound. “And you were gonna let me die here.”
“I just saved your life!” I choked out a sputter.
He tipped his head, his eyes still penetrating mine.
“Like you would have done any differently,” I scoffed.
He grunted, pushing up to stand. Taking several panting breaths, he steadied himself on his feet, his hand still holding the cloth to his collar bone. “Just a note . . . if you’re going to try to make a break for it, make sure your plan actually works.”
“Like I had a choice.” My gaze drew to the boy on the ground, half his head concave.
The Northerner followed my gaze to the dead body, his brow curving up. Scanned the other two men I’d sliced in half, their gore and blood smearing over the floor. The two others slaughtered by his hand.
“Impressed, kanin.” He pushed off the wall, his jaw crunching down, disregarding his pain. He sauntered up to me, easily taking the scythe from my hands with his free hand, hooking it on his back. He moved in until our bodies lined up, his voice low. “You know this doesn’t change anything.”
“Of course it doesn’t.” I tipped my head back, glaring at him. “That would mean you have a conscience. A heart inside that chest.”
“That was ripped out a long time ago.” His gaze traveled over my figure, taking in every scrape and cut. His hand reached up, his thumb brushing over the bruise forming on my cheek. “They get you anywhere else?”
I swallowed at his touch, shaking my head.
His eyes stayed on me for another moment before he cleared his throat, his hand dropping away. He stepped back. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yeah.” I agreed, nodding at the corpses piled in the room. It wouldn’t be long before more came searching for them.
Laboriously, he moved toward the door, collecting the extra weapons, plus a few coins from the pockets of the dead bodies.
“What the fuck?” He lifted the reins, one of them chewed in half. He scowled back at me like I was the reason they were broken.
“I got hungry.” I shrugged, thinking of those strange critters. He sighed, shuffling outside, while I followed close behind.
Outside, he put two fingers to his lips, whistling sharply.
With a nicker, the draugrhest came galloping to him like he was his master. It pranced and huffed as he saddled the beast, cramming the saddlebags with the weapons.
Tossing me up with a hiss of pain, he mounted the horse behind me, snapping the broken reins.
The horse kicked at the earth, sprinting away from the tower.
I glanced behind, the raven symbol spiking above the trees from the roof.
I could see it now, the symbol of King Vorian’s rule.
As it disappeared in the distance, a chill ran down my spine.
The world I knew before, the life I had lived, had just slipped away from me.
And I allowed it.