Page 97 of New World

Another wound.

Another failure.

Dorane scooted against the wall. His breath caught when he realized that Mei was slowly driving Andri away from him and out into the open. His eyes flashed across the open area. He breathed a sigh of relief when he counted each of the men and women he had come to know and respect emerging. They were watching Mei with the same awe and respect as he was.

Andri staggered, his limbs heavy, his strength fading. His rage was turning to panic. He was losing and he knew it.

“No,” Andri whispered.

Mei took a step closer.

“There is a saying that a man who dies by a thousand cuts feels the weight of sin upon his soul,” she said softly. “Each cut is a wound of your own making.”

Mei sliced another cut, this one across Andri’s face, the same place where Andri had cut his brother Coleridge. Andri screamed in rage, lifted his Gallant Staff, and twisted it.

“Mei—!” Roan shouted.

Dorane realized at the same time what Andri was doing: setting the Staff to overload. Roan lunged, yanking Mei a safe distance away.

And then—the world erupted in brilliant white fire.

Epilogue

“Ouch! That hurts,” Dorane hissed, peering up at Mei’s thunderous expression.

“You weren’t supposed to get hurt. I had plans for tonight,” she snapped.

Dorane ignored Sergi and Ash’s snickers. Instead, he tried to lie still and not wiggle out from under Mei’s torturous hands.

“Why don’t you let me and Cassa finish this, Mei?” Julia offered.

Mei looked up at Julia before she closed her eyes, pulled in a calming breath, and nodded. Dorane mouthed a silent thank you to Julia and Cassa. He reached out and gripped Mei’s hand, pulling her closer to the top of the medical bed so Julia could work on his wound.

His heart melted when he noticed the glisten of tears in her beautiful brown eyes. Lifting her hand, he kissed her knuckles and gave her a crooked smile.

“Thanks for saving my ass again,” he murmured.

“Somebody has to. Asta and Jammer would be upset if I brought them back a corpse,” she sniffed.

“Mei, how many did you get back there?” Ash asked.

Mei frowned and looked over her shoulder. “How many what did I get?” she asked.

“Body count, pandochka. We have a bet going,” Sergi said.

Mei rolled her eyes. “That’s goes against my moral compass,” she said.

Ash snorted out a laugh. “And killing doesn’t?”

“Why should killing the bad guys go against a moral compass?” Kella asked, then frowned and added, “What is a moral compass, anyway? Does it help you find someone to kill?”

“Yes, it is definitely a compass to help you kill,” Sergi said, clearly enjoying his mischief.

“Then why haven’t you given me one yet?” Kella asked Ash. “I would like to have one.”

Julia smothered a giggle while Sergi threw his head back, laughed, and slapped Ash on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

“Now, to get out of this one,” Sergi said.

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