Page 72 of The Warrior Priest
“Why does he want me dead?”
“Because you are an obstacle to the stability of Merdu’s Guards, and Rhys’s position as master, in particular. You’re the reason Rhys has never fully committed to the order.”
“Hehascommitted!”
“No, Jac. He has been one step away from leaving ever since meeting you, so the high priest told me. Master Tomaj talked Rhys into staying on many occasions, but after he died, Rhys once again considered leaving.”
“Not for me. He would have told me he…” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“That he loved you?” She snorted. “Does he? Perhaps he thinks he does. Or perhaps he just wanted to have his way with you in that secret room without feeling guilty about breaking an oath. The room isn’t so secret, by the way. I’ve known about it for years.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when she threw a dagger at me. I dodged out of the way as it whizzed past my ear, thanks to my keen sense of sight, which had picked up the slight movement of her hand in time.
The maneuver saved my life but unbalanced me. Giselle took advantage and swiftly attacked. I managed to move just beyond the point of her blade as she struck but couldn’t counterattack quickly enough. All of my energy went into defending myself and delaying my death. If Rhys received Giselle’s message, he would come whether I wanted him to or not. Even with the wounds on his back from the whipping, he could beat her. I just needed to stay alive until then.
I ran through the ruins, keeping distance and pieces of wall between us. She threw another dagger at my head but once again I managed to dodge it, only to realize she’d used the moment of my preoccupation to close the gap between us. She was fast—faster than me—and fearless. She gave me no time to think through my reactions. My mind seized. I stumbled backward, tripped over a stone, and fell onto the grass.
Giselle loomed above me. “Your memory isn’t so perfect when you panic, otherwise your instincts would have taken over by now.”
“I didn’t train long enough to develop instincts for every attack. You saw to that. You brought me back to Tilting before I was ready.”
“Why do the terrible students always blame the teacher? The truth is, you don’t have the strength of character for this. It takes more than a few keen senses and a good memory to win against someone like me.”
Before the final words were out of her mouth, she lunged. I just managed to roll out of the way of her descending blade, cutting her shoulder with my knife as I did so. But it must have been a mere scratch, because it didn’t stop her. With a dagger in each hand now, she came at me from above. Rolling out of the way of one blade would bring me into the path of the other. She sat on my legs and bore her weight down, ensuring I couldn’t wriggle free.
I was trapped. She was right. My keen senses couldn’t save me.
Chapter15
My tactic to delay death until Rhys arrived wasn’t working. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t buck Giselle off. Although I still clutched a knife, she had two. And they were about to cut my throat.
Until then, I could still use my voice. “I’ll pay you!” Her hesitation encouraged me. “I’ll pay you more than both your clients.”
She snorted. “You can’t afford me.”
“I can steal the money. You know I’m a good thief. My uncle is rich and I know his house well. I’ll get you the fee by the end of the week.”
“Tempting but no.”
“Then it’s not about money, is it?”
“I thought it was, but now…for some reason, your offer is not appealing enough for me to let you go.” She huffed a humorless laugh as if the realization surprised her.
I looked past her shoulder and gasped. “Thank Hailia.”
“You think I’ll fall for that?”
“My keen sense of hearing can pick up sounds well before you. I can determine how many approach when I hear footsteps, or hoofbeats. In this case, there are four horses just beyond the clearing.” Giselle’s eyes hardened. Her muscles tensed. “You summoned Rhys,” I went on, “but I suspected you were up to something when I received your note, so I summoned his friends before I came here.”
Her gaze flickered as she finally heard the horses. That moment of distraction was enough for me to thrust my knife toward her. She deflected the strike before the blade sank into her shoulder, but I was able to use the distraction to punch her in the side with my left fist.
With the horses drawing closer, she realized she had little time left. She abandoned her plan to kill me and ran for her horse. She rode off in the opposite direction to the four approaching warrior priests.
I stood just as Rhys leapt down from the saddle. “That way!” I shouted, pointing in the direction Giselle had gone.
Vizah, Rufus, and Andreas went after her.
Rhys cupped my face in his hands. “Jac! Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
