by K. T. Davies
Even though I was on my knees I could see over the balcony. My arms were heavy, my mind fogged, but with agonizing slowness, I began the draw. Ludo swayed and leaned against the altar for support. Someone in the audience sobbed. It was a short hysterical burst of noise, but enough to challenge the Mage Lords fragile grip on sanity. There was a soft implosion of air, and one became two. The next moment there was a loud snap and a bewigged noblewoman’s head rolled across the floor. “Hush now, silly goose,” Ludo with the claw hissed at the quivering body.
I continued to aim on the half of him standing by the altar, but it was hard. My head was pounding. It would be so much easier to lower the bow and just sit back and watch…
“Don’t you fucking dare!” Mother screamed at me from beyond the grave rousing me from the trance into which I was falling. Power began to build in the stones. The arrow’s flights kissed my cheek as I pulled to full draw. The bow stave creaked. There was another soft implosion of air.
I loosed.
Ludo with the claw appeared next to his other half, blood dripping from the over-sized pincer. The shaft flew true and took Ludo with the tentacle in the throat. The compulsion laid upon the chamber broke, followed swiftly by all hell. The oppressive weight lifted, I quickly nocked another shaft. Spewing ichor, the half of Ludo I’d struck staggered and fell back Tentacle grasping for the shaft, he died at his own feet. The other Ludo screamed, tracked the flight of the arrow, and locked his hate filled gaze upon mine. I loosed, turned, and ran.
The balcony exploded, showering me in splinters of wood, chunks of stone, and mangled corpse. Fear and fury are highly motivating, and I pelted along the passage until I found a flight of stairs. I bounded down, closely followed by collapsing tunnel. At the bottom of the stairs, I stumbled into a dust-choked atrium where dozens of confused looking clanks were stumbling around with their swords drawn.
“The Empirifex is in danger!” I bellowed and pointed to the gilded doors.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him, sweetling.”
I hit the floor and rolled. Ludo’s pincer snapped on air where my head had been. The broken shaft of my arrow was sticking out of his shoulder. Black blood stained his stolen robes. His wispy yellow hair was clinging to his misshapen skull, his one remaining human eye blazed with uncontained anger. “Silly fish. I left you with Mother, you should have stayed there; two dead rats snuggled in their nest.”
“Make your mind up. What am I, a fish, or a rat?”
“Annoying, dear friend, you are very, fucking annoying. But not for much longer.”
“You killed her. After all those years, you killed her.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” His reedy tone was mocking. “I took her from behind like a coward.”
“Like a cunt. Like a miserable, cockshot, pissdribbling, mashfaced cunt.”
He laughed. “Don’t hedge, say what you think, child.”
I would have nocked another arrow, but I couldn’t because I was laying on the quiver. “You know, I always liked the other half of you more.” I turned to the knight with the biggest plume in his helmet. “Don’t just stand there. This is the shitrat who’s fixing to kill the Empirifex.”
Under usual circumstances, I regarded imperial clanks as a parcel of brutal fucks, but right then, they became the heroes they thought they were. The clank barked an order; battle cries rang out, and spears flew as they charged Ludo. I scrambled out of the way as a knight swung his sword at Ludo’s head. He caught it on his claw, sparks flew. Weaker by half, he staggered. Someone speared him in the side. He screamed. For one brief, wonderful moment I thought they had him.
I cannot say for sure what happened after that. All I knew was that I was both deafened, blinded, and burned.
I prised open my eyes, saw that coals from braziers had spilled and set fire to banners and tapestries. The atrium was filled with smoke, and piles of rubble were mortared with the pulverized remains of clanks. I blinked blood from my eyes. I could see that people screaming as they stumbled from the slaughterhouse, but I couldn’t hear them. I tried to get up, which was when I noticed that my leg was bent beneath me at an ugly angle. I took hold of my ankle, which was folded beside my thigh and twisted it in the right direction. At least being deaf meant that I couldn’t hear my screams. The room began to darken at the edges. I slapped my face, and bit my hand, tried to counter pain with pain. If I passed out now I would die, and I couldn’t die because I still had half a cunt to kill. The darkness receded.
I sat up. The doors to the inner chamber had been torn from their hinges. Bodies were piled in the doorway as those fighting to escape fell and were trampled to death by their fellows. A bright flash lit up the chamber. The walls began to shake more vigorously, marble cladding fell in sheets, crushing more of those trying to flee. Part of me wanted to escape with them but because I’m a fucking idiot I ignored it, and picked up a spear to use as a crutch.
Ludo was on the adyton, still fighting knights beside the corpse of his other half. One of the warriors burst into flames before being hurled screaming across the chamber. Another took her place. Heartened, I kept going. But Ludo wasn’t done yet. A corpse laying in the central aisle ahead of me began to twitch and it’s eyes flickered open. All around the dead began to rise, and fall upon the embattled clanks. I drew an arrow from the quiver. It was cracked, but the sigil still glowed, still held power. It wasn’t quite Volund’s blade, but it was all I had. Ludo hurled another knight aside, and then his gaze fell on me.
“Dear friend?” He canted his head. “Why won’t you just fucking die?” At least, I think that’s what he said because I couldn’t hear him.
“After you, shitpole,” I shouted.
Behind him, on the other side of the angle gate, one of the knights stumbled to his feet and tore off his helm. It was Tobias. He coughed, blinked dust from his eyes, and picked up his sword and shield. More dead stumbled up the steps of the adyton. The imperials didn’t falter and hacked them down as they continued to press Ludo. Alas, the weight of numbers was against them. I knew this game, had seen it played out before. Tobias looked from Ludo to the Empirifex, the power to change destiny clutched in his hands. Another knight charged the Mage Lord and was flung across the chamber.
“This way, sire!” Vulsones ran to the Empirifex and Murcatoria and raised his shield to protect them as he ushered them off the adyton. A couple of knights came to his aid and together cut a path through the risen dead. As they passed me, Tobias slowed. “Come with us!” he mouthed.
I can’t say I wasn’t tempted but just then the last knight fighting Ludo staggered away from him clutching the bleeding stump of his sword arm. Without wasting a second to gloat, Ludo placed his bloody hand on the nearest column. The air around him shimmered, and a seam in the world opened in the middle of the gate. I tried to run and took a step, forgetting that my leg was broken. I fell. Ludo picked up his other half, threw it over his shoulder, and stepped towards the space between worlds. Just before entering, he turned waved me goodbye. The undead fell as their necromantic strings were cut. The chamber emptied as all those who could, fled.
Except me.
I crawled towards the angle gate. It didn’t matter that I was hurt. I was going to follow him. I was born in the Void, I would find him wherever he went, and I would kill him and…
As I reached the first step of the adyton the gate crumbled. I think I screamed then. I know flames lit along my arms as power roared to life within me. Oh, and it was hungry.
The next thing I remember was seeing Mother standing over me. She was scowling. Nothing new there then. And then she slapped me. Again, nothing new. “Wake the fuck up!” she yelled.
I opened my eyes for real and saw a pair of bare, human feet. My gaze tracked up, past skinny ankles, striped leggings, and a blue robe with silver bells on the hem. I expected to see Mother, and was therefore confused and disappointed to see Swann looking down at me. He was holding the tentacle pendant. Blood dripped from his inky fingers.
>
“Chas!” He beamed. “Welcome back.” His voice was muffled, and the room stank of burned meat.
“Swann? What…how did you…?” My tongue felt too big for my mouth, my throat was raw, and my lips were cracked and blistered.
“Good, you know who I am. That’s really good.” The talismancer crouched beside me and gave me the once over while pretending not to. I was lying on the floor in the chalk circles. “When smoke started pouring from the ziggurat, I guessed it was time to get you out of there.”
I tried to sit up and failed. For a change, everything hurt. “How did you get me out?”
“Same way I got you in.” He wiggled his fingers. “With lovely, lovely magic. Effie’s going to kill me, but between you and me, I hate family gatherings, and chicken.” He looked drained but was grinned like a cove who, quite rightly, was very pleased with himself.
My ears popped. “Why, though?” I shouted, before realising. “Not that I’m not grateful, but I didn’t pay you for that.”
“No, you didn’t.” He looked away. “But, I’ve got to look after my investment. You remember our deal, don’t you?”
“I never forget a deal.” Something was off. Something about his manner and his explanation pricked me. Anger spiked. “How about you, jimma?”
He swallowed. “What do you mean?”
Despite being in a lot of pain I was still so angry that I could shit nails. I wanted to destroy the world and everything in it. Swann must have seen something of that in my face and took a step back and then looked in horror at the smear in the warding circles. “Oops.”
“Who paid you, Swann?”
He licked his lips. “You’re hurt.”
“You have no fucking idea.”
He laughed and ran a hand through his tangled mane. “This is awkward.” The artifice fell away. “Sorry, Breed.”
He knew my name. “No, you aren’t.” Not yet. I didn’t know who he’d sold me out to. I just knew that he had. I stood up. Pain has its uses. It focuses the mind; sharpens the blade, so to speak. Pain alone doesn’t kill. Pain is the messenger; the screaming herald, it is not the message. Right now, standing in a ruined chalk circle, balanced on a working leg and a broken one, I was feeling very fucking focused. I had just failed to slay the murderer of my mother and I think I’d leveled a ziggurat. I’d also watched the reincarnation of my oldest friend walk out of my life for the last time. In the most fell of swoops, I’d lost everything; my world, my sense of purpose, and my best friend. Now wasn’t a good time to try to gull me.
“Who, Swann?”
He backed away. Shadows gathered around him. “You’re sick, jimma. The Paradox has you.”
Warmth grew in my gut. The fire within me wanted out, and who was I to deny it? The whole, rotten world could burn as far as I was concerned. “The Paradox of Power? I’ll show you fucking power.”
His eyes widened. “Do it,” he said. For a second I thought he was talking to me, but then someone grabbed me from behind. Sharp fangs fastened onto my neck and bit down, hard. The fire died, and the world spiraled into frozen darkness, dragging me down with it.
The End
The Spider and The Fly
Look for this exciting new novel By K.T. Davies
Due for Release in Q4 2020
Free Books
If you haven’t already read them; you can head over to my website and get two free Chronicles of Breed prequel books!
I love telling the stories of Breed’s exploits; The Best Laid Plans and A Fistful Of Rubies are available for free if you just click on the link below, or type it into your web browser.
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Author’s Note
I would like to ask that you consider leaving a me review, they really help. Obviously it would be awesome if you tell everyone how much you liked it, but even if you didn’t it’s always great to get feedback from my readers. Clicking this link (or typing it into your internet browser) will make it really easy for you: http://kdavies.net/rfhh or your Kindle app may ask you to leave a review. It would be great if you could.
Thanks
K.T.
About the Author
When I’m not writing books, I work the day job, wrangle my kids and three dogs. I play computer games, ride horses, practice medieval martial arts, grow vegetables, throw axes, and read, not at the same time, that could get messy.
I have a website here https://kdavies.net
And a Facebook page, Click Here where we can hang out, have a couple of brewskis, and talk about the good old days.
You can also find me on Twitter @KTScribbles.
Once again, thank you so much for going on a ride with me and Breed. I hope I see you again soon.
All the best,
K.T.
kdavies.net
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organisations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously
Text Copyright © 2020 by K.T. Davies
Published by Scimitar Media
www.scimitar-media.co.uk
Cover design & Original Cover Art by Scimitar Media Ltd.
With thanks to Dom Shaw.
Copyright © 2020 Scimitar Media Ltd.
Edited by - Russell Smith and Stephen Heath.
