by Shade Owens
“Your mother and brother are out there killing innocent women. You can help us stop them.”
His dark eyes narrowed into hateful slits. “You want me to hurt my mother?”
I swallowed hard. The last thing I wanted to do was turn Eliot against us. It was already a miracle he’d been willing to help. I had to go about this carefully.
“I would never ask you to hurt your mother,” I said. “Maybe you can talk to them. Convince them to stop this.”
I knew that would never happen, but it was the only thing I could say to calm him down.
His jaw muscles popped out and he shook his head. “No. I can’t help.”
Hearing those words was like breaking a completed puzzle apart—it stung.
“I understand,” I said, standing. What I wanted to say was, You’re a goddamn coward, but he was only human. How could anyone be asked to kill their own mother and brother? I must have been delusional believing I’d somehow convince him to fight with us.
“Anyone who can carry a weapon,” I said, my voice carrying throughout the room, “gear up. We’re going back out there.”
CHAPTER 13
The heat of our bodies filled the cavern with dense air as we marched toward the cloudy opening. Outside and in front of the mountain where beautiful handmade cabins had once been lined up were planks of burning wood lying about and thick black smoke twirling in the air.
Half of the pike barricade had also tumbled over, pieces of smoldering wood lying about sporadically.
The plan was simple: if Elektra’s arrows failed to kill Isaac, we would charge.
I turned around, trying to perform a head count of our Battlewomen. In total, we were ten or twelve, which, in my opinion, was more than enough to take down a man. Had it not been for his armor and his gigantic battle-ax and for Rainer standing by his side, I would have taken him down myself with a single arrow.
But with all his gear, it was like taking down a robot.
How were we supposed to injure him? We would have to aim for any visible skin.
In the distance, women continued to shout and cry out in pain, but the sound only came around every few seconds rather than all at once in a jumbled cacophonic orchestra. We were losing women—either that or we were winning; it was impossible to tell which.
“I see him!” Sammy said, pointing a stubby finger into the cloudiness in front of us.
Although barely visible, I saw him, too; he stomped his way through the battlefield, swinging his ax over his head and around him as he’d done right in front of me. Even if we were outnumbering them, this bastard alone would continue reducing our total population.
Beside him, Rainer’s blades sliced through the air, clear streaks appearing through the dirt. With fewer feet scattering across the battlefield, the dirty air was slowly clearing up. Now visible, women with weapons held over their heads emerged, moving one at a time toward Rainer and Isaac. Why were they charging at them one at a time? They were going to get themselves killed.
Isaac prepared himself, tightening his grip around his ax.
And then, as if perfectly timed, the arrows came raining down, their pointed heads landing hard against his plated armor. The sound of stone clinging against metal spread through the battlefield, and quickly, he turned around and slouched his shoulders to shield himself.
It was pointless. Elektra’s arrows were hitting him, but they weren’t hitting him. All they did was ricochet off his back, which was basically a giant metallic shield. How was anyone supposed to take this guy out?
The moment the arrows stopped, Isaac swung his ax again.
“I have an idea,” I said. “But I need you guys to move fast.”
Everyone nodded, including Coin and Hammer. Although I didn’t want them to be a part of this, I needed them. They both held fighting sticks close to their chests, gripping and regripping the handles.
Coin bowed her head, nostrils flared as if prepared to tear someone’s throat out with her teeth. “Just tell us what needs to be done. Can’t wait to take this son of a bitch down.”
I stared at Isaac’s swinging ax and swallowed hard. Admittedly, my idea was a bit suicidal, but I didn’t know what else to do. If we stood any chance of taking him down, we needed to disarm him.
“I’m going to charge at him,” I said, and everyone looked at me as if half of my brain had been surgically removed. “Relax,” I continued. “I’m not taking him out. I only need him to miss his swing so I can cut the ax’s head off.”
“With that sword?” Hammer asked, pointing at the weapon in my grasp.
I nodded.
Without even asking, she pulled it out of my hand, raised it up under her nose, and inspected it. She then shook her curly-haired head and dropped it into the dirt.
“Hammer—” I started.
“That sword’s edges are too dull. You’ll swing it and it’ll either bounce off or get stuck in the wood. You, with the red-handled sword—” She pointed at a small woman who looked too weak to even be carrying a sword and made a gesture that meant, Give that to me.
The woman offered me her sword without a fight.
Hammer patted me hard on the shoulder. “Don’t fuck this up.”
“Wait,” Sammy cut in. “Why can’t we go with you? Won’t distracting him work better?”
I arched an eyebrow. “Have you seen the guy? He swings that thing like it weighs no more than a feather. If we all show up at the same time, he might get worked up and start spinning around. I’ll never get to the ax if he keeps swinging it over and over again.”
It was obvious they didn’t want me risking my life to end the battle, but that was precisely what had to be done. We were out of solutions, and right now, Isaac and Rainer were the ones causing the most casualties. With them gone, maybe we stood a real chance.
Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath through my nostrils.
“You sure you’re ready?” Hammer asked.
“No,” I said, and I bolted straight toward the armor-plated Beast.
CHAPTER 14
It was like something out of an action movie—slow and calculated. Had I actually been starring in a movie, loud ominous music would have been added to the soundtrack for dramatic effect.
But this wasn’t fake, and it didn’t go as planned like some perfectly outlined script.
Just as I appeared in front of Isaac, he swung his massive weapon over his head. I didn’t stop running; instead, I charged straight for him. As the ax came swinging toward me, I dodged, a warm gust of wind hitting me in the face.
Had I not been wearing my stupid ankle shackles, I’d have probably run faster.
As he brought his weapon back to his body, I raised my sword, prepared to slice through his ax’s wooden handle. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as I had planned. In one quick swing—a movement so fast I didn’t have time to anticipate it—he elbowed me square in the face.
It was like having a cement block thrown at my head.
Crack.
I flew up in the air before falling flat on my back. The landing was less than pleasant, and a burst of air blasted out of my lungs as I hit the ground.
For the first time, I understood why cartoons often included little birdies around someone’s head after an injury. My surroundings became blurry, and all I could see were bright, pixelated dots floating in front of my eyes. My ears rang so loudly I couldn’t hear anything else.
Was he coming at me?
If I didn’t get up, everything would soon fade to black. I’d seen the way he used his ax—his kills were instant. In a panic, I felt around for my sword, dirt accumulating underneath my fingernails. It had flown right out of my hands when he’d hit me.
Where the hell was it?
Slowly, my vision began to return. Isaac was still blurry, and now, there were two of him. Why wasn’t he charging at me? Then, I realized that the second Isaac wasn’t Isaac at all.
I sat upright and reached for my cheek, immediately regretting
doing so. It felt like someone had taken a hot iron to my face; the pain was so sharp that I pulled away. He’d likely torn my cut right open and possibly even fractured my cheekbone.
“What are you doing?” came Rainer’s harsh voice.
Finally, my hearing returned.
I blinked repeatedly until the three of them came into focus: Isaac and Eliot facing each other with weapons in their hands, and Rainer throwing herself between the two of them like any concerned mother would do.
What stood out most of all, however, was that Rainer wasn’t trying to stop the fight—she was standing in front of Isaac, knowing all too well Eliot wouldn’t kill his own mother.
How could she pick a side? They were equally her sons, yet she protected Isaac over Eliot.
“Put that down, now,” she ordered.
Eliot grimaced and tightened his grip around a sword that looked like it had been forged specifically for him—it was at least four feet in length and nearly as wide as my face.
“This is not what you were trained for!” Rainer shouted.
For the first time, she looked out of control. The high ponytail atop her head swung from side to side as she shouted, her sword waving through the air in front of her. Her skin, typically an olive color, had darkened to a deep plum.
Had I known any better, I’d have thought she was threatening to kill Eliot herself.
Would she? Would she murder her own son if he got in her way?
She jabbed her sword again, nearly reaching Eliot’s bare, muscular torso. He hadn’t worn any armor, which probably meant he’d changed his mind last minute about helping us, picked up a sword, and came bolting out of Rainer’s lair. His feet, too, were bare, his large toes hidden in a pile of dirt and ash.
What was he thinking? How was he going to win against his fully armed brother?
He breathed rapidly, his chest heaving, and stared at the two of them. “This is not… not right,” he said. “You are killing women. Why, Mother? For power? Like you have spoken of since we were boys? And you…” He pointed his mighty sword above Rainer’s shoulder and at his brother’s face. “You are a coward. Look at you. You are a giant beside these women. Does that make you feel powerful, brother? Powerful like Mother?”
Although strained, his English was surprisingly good.
“Don’t make me choose,” Rainer said, eyes narrowing on her son. “Because I will.”
Eliot’s sword fell a few inches, as if a broken heart had weakened his muscles. I couldn’t imagine what he was experiencing. His own mother was basically admitting that she’d kill him if necessary.
Using my sword for support, I slowly got up. Their argument was so heated that not a single one noticed me getting back on my feet.
I stared at Isaac, prepared to attack him from behind and penetrate my sword right beneath his body armor, when Hawkins came running out into the open. Her broken hand, a mangled mess, lay flat against her chest as she ran straight toward Rainer with the Ogre stick held high above her head.
She let out a monstrous shout, her face distorting beyond recognition, and threw herself at Rainer. Together, they collapsed to the ground, a cloud of dirt engulfing them entirely.
At the same time, Isaac roared, swung his ax over his head and aimed it at his brother. But before the ax came down, Eliot charged toward his brother and tackled him to the ground. Isaac’s ax flew out of his grasp and he fell with Eliot on top of him, causing the earth beneath my feet to tremble. More dirt floated into the air as the two struggled, throwing heavy blows at each other. With bulging shoulders, Eliot tore off his brother’s metallic headpiece and gorilla skull mask, then started bashing his fists into his face.
Together, they disappeared behind an enormous brown cloud, while beside them, Rainer and Hawkins came into view. They lay there, Hawkins atop Rainer, yet no one moved.
Why weren’t they moving? I took a step toward them but stopped when I noticed Hawkins’s limp hands resting on either side of Rainer’s body. Out from her back was Rainer’s sword aimed straight at the sky.
With a grunt, Rainer pushed Hawkins off and tore her sword out of her stomach. Dark blood stuck to the blade like maple syrup on a butter knife. She didn’t bother cleaning it off; instead, she swung around in a panic, her hateful gaze fixated on her sons.
Without hesitating, she ran behind Eliot and raised her sword, prepared to sever his head.
“Eliot!” I shouted, but he was beating his brother so hard that he didn’t hear me. Was this Rainer’s doing? Was it the abuse? It was as if he’d kept a lifetime of rage bottled up inside, and now, it was coming out on his brother.
Rainer bared her teeth, about to strike the blow, when I did the only thing I could think of: I threw my sword right at her the way one does a hunting spear. The throw was awful, but it miraculously managed to hit her. She winced in pain, dropped her sword, and clutched at her hand.
Her bright eyes rolled up at me.
At first, they were animallike—ferocious and hungry for blood. But then, something changed. She pulled her face back and her lips parted as if she’d come face-to-face with a ghost.
“You,” she breathed.
The shocked look on her face didn’t last long at all. Within seconds, she was glaring at me so intensely I could have sworn hot, invisible lasers were shooting from her eyes. She reached down into the sand and grabbed two swords—hers, and the one I’d thrown at her.
Shit.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day,” she said, walking toward me.
Both swords hung by her sides, their sharp tips dragging in the soil. She walked with her head bowed forward, creating shadows over her high cheekbones. Had she not been so tan, with her black leather clothes and her tall boots, she’d have resembled an angry vampire. But with the brown and gray fur sitting over her shoulders and the metallic armor plates across her chest and forearms, she looked more like a Viking warrior.
Her nostrils twitched as she moved toward me, and I took a step back.
How was I supposed to fight her? I didn’t have a weapon. I searched the ground, prepared to pick up anything I could find when I tripped over a dead body and landed awkwardly over someone’s bloody stomach. My elbow hit something soft, causing a squishing sound, and I jumped back up onto my feet.
My knife, I remembered. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. From my belt, I pulled out my small knife and held it up near my face. This seemed to amuse her—she smirked as if I were nothing more than a two-year-old trying to defend herself with a gummy worm.
I swallowed hard, prepared to fight to the death.
CHAPTER 15
First, I saw Sammy, then Coin and Hammer. Behind them, another dozen women came running onto the battlefield with various weapons held by their sides, over their chests, and above their heads.
Clenching her jaw, Rainer turned toward them.
Although it may have been a coward’s move, I took this opportunity to charge at Rainer with my knife held firmly in my fist.
At the same time, the battlefield seemed to shrink in on us. A few nearby Northers saw my women charging and took it upon themselves to do the same. Within seconds, everyone was running toward the same spot—toward Rainer—with weapons bouncing in the air.
No matter what happened, I couldn’t lose focus on Rainer… not now. This was it… this was the end. If I killed her, the fight was over.
Sammy was at the front of the line. With eyes fixated on Rainer, she let out a hoarse scream, her tomato-red face jiggling as she ran.
At this pace, both Sammy and I would reach Rainer at the same time. Would this work to our benefit, or was Rainer trained for this?
As I prepared to throw myself at Rainer, Sammy jumped upward with a sword in both hands and swung it in a downward motion. But as she came down from her jump, Rainer stabbed one of her long, shiny swords upward, penetrating Sammy’s chest midair.
High off the adrenaline pumping through me, I couldn’t compr
ehend what had happened. The only thing on my mind was the image of me killing Rainer; and in that split second, Sammy wasn’t a friend or even a human being. She was a distraction I could use to my advantage.
Sammy’s limp and heavy body forced Rainer back a few steps, and at that precise moment, my knife came sweeping through the air, its pointed tip aimed at Rainer’s unprotected neck.
Yet she knew I was coming. With Sammy’s body still stuck on her sword, Rainer threw her right elbow out, knocking me square in the nose. My head rocked back, and warm blood trickled into my mouth, filling it with a rusty taste.
I reached for my bloody nose, took a few wobbly steps backward, and fell to the ground.
Rainer tore her sword out, the sound reminding me of an old wet rug being pulled off the ground.
Only then did it hit me.
Sammy.
She’d killed her.
She’d fucking killed her.
I wanted to scream out, but I was too disoriented. Rainer’s blow, coupled with her son’s earlier hit, was enough to give me a concussion. I blinked several times, trying to get the two Rainers in front of my face to merge into a single person.
At once, as if pressing the play button on an action-packed movie, everyone crashed into each other in front of me. Blades swung through the air, axes came crashing down, and women screamed at the top of their lungs.
I wanted to stand up and fight, but I couldn’t. Instead, my head rolled in every direction as I fought to stay alert, and I held onto my knife as if it would somehow be enough for protection. Eventually, Rainer would find her way over to me and finish what she’d started.
This time, I wouldn’t be able to stop her.
The sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking slowly faded until finally, everything went black.
CHAPTER 16
“Give her some space.”
“Get out of her way!”
“Move!”