Page 60 of The Cruel Dawn
Just then, the broken cart creaks, and a little Renrian girl with white hair crawls out into the open with a kitten clutched to her chest.
I gasp and shiver. If I’d hurled that fireball, I would’ve… Exhaustion buzzes through me, another death averted by my tenuous self-control.Too much. This is becoming too much.
“She will kill each of you with her fire and wind,” Separi shouts to the crowd. “Don’t you remember? Don’t you understand? She is no ordinary townswoman or traveler. Have you forgotten the terrible power that the Lady of the Verdant Realm possesses? Do you want her to burn down the rest of Caburh?”
Some townsfolk come to their senses and stow their weapons.
“Forgive us, Lady.”
“What has happened to us?”
Others shout, “Fuck her!”
“False god!”
“Abomination!”
They grip their weapons tighter, ready to kill the stray dog, no longer caring that their lives may be consumed by flames if they take one more step…
“Lady,” Separi shouts, “please show mercy. They—”
Don’t know what they’re doing?
Bullshit. They know how swords work.
They’re angry and terrified?
Who isn’t?
They’re dumb shits who need to take it out on somebody, but since the real culprit who looks like them isn’t here, they’ll instead kill you, the tall, big-haired stranger?
Yeah. Sounds about right.
“Trouble has found you before, Caburh,” I say. “But I don’t want—”
A breeze whips past my face.
Something thuds to my left.
A man utters, “Oof,” and falls back into the gasping crowd. His left hand clutches an arrow now lodged in his chest.
“Who shot that?” I shout, spinning around to find the assassin.
The crowd goes silent as the man with the arrow in his chest glows amber, and then…he glows nothing at all.
The hair on my neck bristles, and my mouth goes dry. My hands burn hot with the same fire that continues to burn down Caerno Woods. My gaze skips from dirty face to dirty face, and I listen to the thoughts of those now surrounding me.
“Supreme help us.”
“She’ll kill us all.”
“Why is this happening?”
“Move away from her immediately,” Separi shouts.
The crowd steps back.
“More! Give the Lady space!”
