Page 40 of Conflicted Fate
What if that never stopped? What if killing becametooeasy, and I found myself craving more? More fighting. More death.
“I don’t want to end up likethem,” I said as the first ropes were hurled down to the docks.
“You won’t,” Kiel rumbled. “Because you’re agoodperson, Jada. You have a good heart.”
“And if I lose that?” I whispered. “If it becomes tainted?”
“You’re no longer immortal,” he said. “Someone will stop you, even if it’s time itself.”
“Good point,” I admitted as the ship came to a halt. “So, what now?”
“Now?” Kiel said, his voice rising as he stood. “Now, we take the next step in putting these bastards in the ground for good. Now, we take the city.Remember, Arcadia waits for no one!”
He finished in a bellow as he pulled his sword from his waist with one hand and vaulted over the edge of the ship with the other. I was right behind him.
A wordless, thunderousroarenveloped the ship, and sixty rebels, furious at having been lied to and deceived their entire lives, followed us over the edge and onto the docks, blasting past the stunned workers, a tidal wave of fury ready to vent itself on those who stood in the way of their quest for liberty.
I pitied any guard in armor who got in our way.
Chapter Twenty-One
Apair of guards watched us come at them, shocked into immobility. I reached them first and leveled my sword at them.
“Drop your weapons,” I growled.
Behind me, rebel fighters poured from the ships. Cries of “Free Arcadia” and “Death to the Tyrants” filled the docks. Sounds of fighting swiftly followed, including several screams that were cut off with sudden finality.
“Please,” I added as a half-dozen angry rebels squared up around me. “You don’t need to die here. Just surrender, and we won’t harm you. It doesn’t have to end this way.”
The guard to the left took in the assembled rebels and started to unbuckle his belt, recognizing the hopeless odds.
“Traitor!” the other hissed, pulling out a dagger and burying it in his comrade’s neck before any of us could react.
The helpless guard made a gurgling sound as blood fountained from the fatal wound. He fell to his knees as he tried and failed to stem the flow.
“That was a really stupid and unnecessary thing to do,” I growled. “You don’t stand a hope.”
“Better to die than to surrender to traitorous swine like you,” the guard sneered, pulling his sword free.
“This one is mine,” I told the rebels, a wave of fire filling my body at the senseless murder and betrayal.
The guard sneered and advanced at me, his sword held at the ready. I brought mine up, forcing myself to remember I didn’t actually have much training in the art of using a sword, while the guard was a full-fledged member of the Wulfhere.
So, I cheated. I closed in on him, and as our swords clanged together, I spat in his face, momentarily blinding him. That gave me all the time I needed to disengage and drive the blade through the gape in his armor between stomach and thigh.
The guard screamed and fell to his knees, babbling in pain as I sliced through someverysensitive areas.
“Gutless piece of shit,” I growled at him. “You’re all that’s wrong with the empire.”
Then I pulled the blade free and drove the tip through his eye, ending the screams.
By the time I was done with him, the docks had been seized and cleared of all guards. The rebels had already moved into the market that lay beyond, taking it over. Armored bodies lay here and there, as did several others. The first casualties on our side.
Now that our force was assembled, the market was emptying at a rapid pace. Even the guards, seeing they were badly outnumbered, were retreating. A dozen or so were currently stripping themselves of their armor, surrendering to the inevitable.
I was glad to see we’d managed to avoid some needless death, though I was sure there would be plenty more before the day was done.
“Come on,” I said to my group of rebels, heading up one market street as the crowd fled before us.
