Page 18 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

Something’s wrong.…

Somehow I know Zélie is the cause.

What have they done?For a moment, terror traps me. I don’t know if I’m too late. But I don’t allow myself to give up.

I can’t stop until I see Zélie’s face.

“Keep going!” I order the maji. We all return to the charge. The halls echo with our cries. The boys fight with new resolve.

The maji bleed against their cages. They push so hard, they break their own bones. They fight with their fury. With their sorrow.

For every life we’ve lost to the Skulls.

“Incoming!” Kenyon warns.

Heavy boots move overhead. There’s no hiding our attempt to break free now.

The Skulls are here.

Our time has run out.

“Make them pay!” I scratch my voice raw. “Make them feel what they’ve done!”

With one final charge, my cage flies open.

We spill into the hall as the Skulls open the arched door.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TZAIN

“ATTACK!”KENYON SCREAMS.More maji start to break free. A flash of rain cascades down the wooden steps. The Skulls slip as they fall down the stairs.

I try to lunge forward, but shackles still bind me to the maji. My chains hold me back. I won’t be able to fight like this.

I have to find a way to separate myself from the others.

One Skull charges down the hall. He bites into his hand and removes his crimson hammer. Blood leaks from his broken skin, feeding straight into the runes on his sculpted hilt.

As the same runes carve themselves into the Skull’s chest, the warrior transforms before my eyes. His muscles bulge with new strength. The very ground rumbles under his feet. His neck thickens. His bones crack. He releases a guttural roar as he runs to attack.

Six maji swarm the Skull at once, but the Skull swings with inhuman force. All six maji are blown away. They fly back into their cells, bones crushed.

Another Skull runs toward us. He raises his glowing axe in the air. Blood drips from his hand as the Skull swells, growing so large he fills the space between the cages.

I duck as the Skull swings at my neck. The force of his axe cutsthrough the iron bars of our cell. The Skull rears back and swings again. I throw myself to the floor as the glowing axe passes above my head.

But on the floor, I see my chance. A dagger hangs from the Skull’s belt. With a powerful wrench, the dagger flies free. I don’t waste a second before slicing through the tendons at the Skull’s heel.

The Skull shouts as he goes down. The crimson axe falls from his hand. Taiwo tries to grab the glowing weapon, but touching the foreign metal burns his skin.

“Buy Tzain time!” a maji screams. They hold the Skull down as I strike. I stab again and again, cutting through the Skull’s thigh, through his chest. I dig the dagger into his gut and pull, carving through his abdomen. His blood flies into the air, coating our dark skin.

When the Skull’s body lies still, the glow of his axe fades away, draining with the warrior’s lifeforce. His blood pools around me as my cellmates raid his animal-skin pouches. They use the sulfur-scented tar to break through our chains.

As they slip free, they flood into the hall, aiding the other maji as we struggle to take down the rest of the Skulls. I move to help them, but something pulls at me.

I turn to see the axe lying on the floor.

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