Animus
Page 7
“You want death, you’ve got it,” he cried out to them as the few around the man stood stunned with wide eyes. Lucius raised his sword over his head and yelled, “Hydra!”
The call of me and my own brigade drifted across the field. Then we were running, my thighs eating up the distance easily as Victor ran beside me, the soldiers directly in front of Lucius pulling themselves out of their stunned states to come to surround him. The dragons swooped down above us, the black one next to Apep as he spewed what looked to be dark oil. Apep caught it with her flame-laden breath, catching any soldier within its path. Their screams pierced the air as the slight breeze continued to carry the flame for her. The other two were sky-blue with hints of purple within their folds, spitting out ice and freezing a decently large portion of Paderborn’s soldiers in its wake.
Within seconds, my body collided with those that surged toward us, the impact nearly knocking the breath from my lungs, but I kept moving. I pushed my way deep into the throng, losing both Lucius and Victor in the mass of thrashing and screaming bodies. Before I had a chance to take in my surroundings, something impacted with the corner of my mouth, sending me stumbling back a few steps and nearly falling. When I looked up, I was standing before the male Royal of Paderborn, his red clothing thick enough to hinder his movement despite his size and muscle tone. He began to circle me. His gait was slow and leisurely as his own men made way for him, even though they were occupied with our forces.
“So, this is the infamous General Ragnarok,” he said as he watched me wipe the corner of my mouth and pull away blood. “You’re just a girl. You cannot defeat Paderborn.”
I laughed a little and straightened my back, rolling my shoulders.
“That’s exactly what Alexander Furor said before he was burned at the stake for attempting to poison me, but we all saw how that worked out. Now, here we are, and we are winning. Paderborn will be ash when we are finished with it.”
His brows pulled down in a V as an enraged sneer crossed over his face. This was how I knew I could kill him. He let his emotions rule him in battle, unable to reel them in enough to keep his head about him.
He lunged at me and I lashed out with my sword. I felt it slash flesh and rip it open. When he turned back to me to launch another attack, his right pectoral was bleeding, the deep crimson flowing freely over his tunics that were supposed to protect him. He came again, pulling his sword and attacking with a ferocious roar of anger. We became a flurry of physical blows and sword swipes. I kicked out, catching him in the knee, and when he fell to the ground, I took my chance to end it all, raising my sword over my head against Paderborn for what I was hoping would be the last time. With one sweep, I felt my blade bite into his neck, moving easily through flesh and bone. His head fell to the ground and rolled until it came to stop at my feet.
Then a strangled female cry came from directly behind me. When I turned, I realized his queen had seen what I had done and held vengeance in her eyes. She lunged at me, sword in hand as her pale brown eyes pierced mine. I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to defend myself.
Strong male arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me away, flames shooting down to engulf the queen, hungry and hot as it billowed around her. She screamed in agony and fell to her knees, continuing to burn until there was nothing left. I turned away from the carnage to look directly into the dark eyes of Lucius, death incarnate.
The sounds of battle died out around us and I could see Victor’s back in the distance, striking down one last soldier. Feeling my eyes on him, he turned around. He was covered in sweat, soot, and dirt, a long gash running down his cheek. He still smiled in victory.
We had taken down Paderborn, winning in honor of the Sentinel of Hydra and Archer’s State. Now there was no one that could stand in our way. I looked up into the sky as Apep gave one final roar and joy bloomed within my chest. I hadn’t expected this to move so quickly, but I had been grossly underestimated by the king. Now he and his queen were dead, no longer to plague us or the Long Realm of the Channel again.