Page 18 of Broken Fate
“Go,” the big man said, and several others led the way into the sewer. Clive jumped down and caught me as I followed, the drop nearly double what I’d expected. His arms closed around my sides, casually stopping me and holding me aloft before setting me down.
“You next.”
I looked up to see the tall woman frown at the gesture directed her way. “But this is—”
“Your job here is done,” the group’s leader told her firmly. “You did well. Now, let’s go.”
There was no further pushback. The woman dropped into the opening, hair billowing up behind her. I watched as the big man grabbed the sewer grate and deftly angled it into its hole. His entire body flexed as he hung from beneath it, only one edge in place, the other end angled toward the sky.
Slowly, he let it drop into place while he hung from beneath it, using the force of his muscles and weight to resist gravity by pulling down with the hand closest to the edge already in place while pushing up with the other.
Every muscle in his arms tightened like corded cable, and his shirt rose up, revealing a fiercely chiseled core that twisted slightly as he came down, his abs rippling down until they disappeared beneath his loose pants.
“You’re drooling,” the woman said as she passed me.
I clicked my jaw shut and turned away. Clive was staring at me as well, but he hurried forward into the sewers, following a path set by one of our other members. Behind us, shouts could be heard from within the prison.
Someone had noticed us and raised the alarm. We ran, feet splashing through the water and unmentionables that moved slowly through the underground pipes. The stench we stirred up from our passage clung to my nose and lips, and only the adrenaline of our escape kept nausea at bay.
Turning a corner, I saw a grate up ahead, illuminated by starlight from the outside. A figure on the outside gave a signal mirrored by the woman, who now held the candle, using its light to indicate our presence.
The shadow signaled something back, then moved forward, out of the tunnel and into a half-pipe that ran out from the palace and down to the lake.
As that happened, more shadows dropped down from above. They looked like more of the team joining us—until one of them shoved a sword through the back of our lookout. His body dropped face-first into the sewage as he died without a sound.
The rasp of metal being drawn from sheaths filled the space as my rescue party —and why would anyone come to rescue me of all people?— drew their weapons. Including, I noticed, to my horror, Clive.
Since when did nerdy little Clive know how to wield a sword? I gaped as he and the others closed on the men who had killed the lookout.
“Wait here,” the woman said, thrusting an arm across my chest to halt my progress. Then she turned to one of the other men. “Give me your sword.”
The man didn’t protest. Instead, he simply flipped the weapon over its end to extend the hilt to her. She grabbed it and darted forward. I stopped, watching and listening in horror as blades slammed together with peals of screeching metal and grunts of effort. There were no shouts, no cries. Both sides knew what was at stake.
“Stay back,” the man assigned to guard me said as one of our other team members staggered back, his stomach bleeding profusely from a blade that had slipped through.
I tried to protest, my attention drawn in several different ways as I looked at the woman and Clive. My gaze moved to the big man leading us as he carved a path through his opponents.
However, more guards were arriving, and though ‘my side’ seemed to be more skilled, that only went so far. Clive was backing up, facing two opponents as he wielded his sword with a skill I would never have dreamed he possessed.
But he was outnumbered, and he stumbled.
One of the guards flicked his sword out, and Clive hissed as it scored along his ribcage, opening a wound he couldn’t quite ignore. The other brought his sword around to try to stab him through the side, but Clive managed to block it. The action was awkward, however, and his foe gave a mighty shove. Clive fell, his left side fully exposed. I saw the second guard get ready for the killing blow.
Acting without thinking, I reached down, scraping up a handful of shit and other muck, and flung it at his face. The man stumbled backward. Clive’s leg shot out, dropping his other foe onto his back. While my friend dealt with him, I ran up to the feces-faced man and kicked him as hard as I could between the legs.
Despite the fact he wanted to kill everyone on my team, I still cringed as he went down with a whimper.
Then Clive came over and sliced his throat, grabbing my hand and tugging me after him. As a group, we bowled over the guards and ran, taking advantage of the momentary shock to escape into the night.
The guards would be in hot pursuit, but for the time being, we were free as we made our way to the lake, along the shore, out of the city, past a sleeping watchtower, and out of Arcadia.
At one point, as we climbed a ridge south of Arcadia, I glanced back over my shoulder at the glittering lights of the second-biggest city within Canis Empire. A city that, after tonight, I might never be able to go back.
“Come on,” Clive said, coming up next to me. “We’ve got a long way to go. Don’t stop now.”
I took a deep breath and then ran after him and the others, hoping that the consequences of this wouldn’t catch up with me like they always seemed to.
Watching Clive run, I couldn’t help but fear that he’d just signed a death warrant for himself by coming along. Him and all the others.
