by Dan Decker
The woman hissed. “Unhand me.” The man refused and pushed her further back from Nelion. Several hooded figures came forward at his beckoning and took hold of her before he let go. She struggled against their grasp, her face a picture of rage and pain.
The man returned as he held up his knife and twisted it so that it reflected the light of the lantern. The others, both from the group and those that wore masks had ceased all conversation and were looking at Nelion.
Beads of sweat trickled down Nelion’s back, the room felt stuffy. The man had foiled her plan to learn something of use. She wished for some of that sycanon root that General Rahid had talked about earlier. She wasn’t in enough pain yet to use it, but it would have been nice to know it was an option.
NO! she thought. There was a way out of this, until she found it, she would endure the pain.
The man frowned. “Let’s begin. Who are you?”
So, Nelion’s hunch had been correct. The woman had been bluffing. It was a small victory, but she took it and let it buoy her up. It was time to wait until another opportunity presented itself. When Nelion didn’t answer, he struck her with a fist. “That’s a warning.”
Nelion blinked back the tears and shook her head, trying not to think of the bruises that were developing. By the time this was all over, she wouldn’t recognize herself in the mirror. She repressed another snort of black amusement; if she ever saw a mirror again.
The man repeated the question, but Nelion refused to answer. The next blow had more force and pushed her to the floor, taking the chair with her. As he lifted her and the chair back upright, she noticed one of the masked people talking to another in the group, but she was unable to make out what they were saying.
“You try my patience,” the man said.
The hooded figure that had been talking approached her tormentor and whispered something into her ear. A surprised look crossed his face. “Are you Nelion? The daughter of Lieutenant General Mien Torez?”
Clenching her teeth, Nelion didn’t respond.
“Looks like we got ourselves a high profile kidnapping here,” the man said, backhanding Nelion this time. “That’s my last warning.” He looked back at the group. “Perhaps we could use her for ransom instead of dumping her body.” The woman growled at that, but one of the people holding her elbowed her in the stomach.
Nelion felt dizzy and one of her eyes was beginning to swell shut. She was surprised that she wasn’t bleeding yet, but the way the man held the knife told her that wouldn’t last long.
“No more games,” Nelion said, surprised at how tranquil and distant her voice sounded. “I’ve seen your faces. Why leave me alive?”
The man smiled. “You act like the daughter of Mien. You are correct, we will kill you, but you can keep your mother from coming to harm. All you have to do is answer some questions about Semal, and we won’t touch her.” If they came after her mother, they’d have a few surprises of their own. Her mother still practiced with that sword of hers every morning. Sometimes in the evening too.
If Nelion hadn’t quit Korew army, her skill wouldn’t be rusty and she might have avoided this mess. The thought made her mouth tighten. It always came back to the Hunwei. She’d left because she didn’t want to die for something that she didn’t believe in and now she was minutes away from that happening anyway.
Was it possible everybody was deceived, or perhaps was the evidence she was looking for all around her in the first place? Could it not be argued that their way of life was so ingrained towards preparing against the Hunwei’s return, that there was no way this could all have happened if it was based on a lie?
The man let his words sink in before continuing. “What was Semal looking for in the Paroke archives?”
When Nelion didn’t answer, the man took the knife and touched the tip to the outside of her forearm. He pressed the blade until it punctured her skin and looked up at her with a smile. His precision reminded Nelion of a surgeon as he sliced down her arm with a slow and steady hand.
The pain wasn’t as bad as watching the blood drip down her arm. She started to shake. After several deep breaths that cleared her mind, she could hold still again. It wasn’t a deep cut, she wondered how many it would take before the loss of blood would become an issue.
“Are you ready to talk?”
Nelion didn’t answer.
The man sighed, punctured her arm, and made another cut parallel to the first. The man was on the third when there was a commotion at the door.
Nelion looked up in time to see soldiers rush into the room. A handful of the masked people by the door were cut down. Several of the unmasked figures brought up their hoods and tried to put on their masks. One took a sword in the chest while another lost his head, his mask clattering to the floor.
Nelion kicked the man that was torturing her in the groin and felt a swell of satisfaction when he cried out, even though the sound was lost amid the confusion of the room. She kicked him again, harder with as much leverage as she could manage and almost toppled over. He hunched over in pain just as a soldier rammed a sword into his gut.
Relief flooded into Nelion, as she witnessed the situation change within a matter of minutes. Adar’s soldiers had found her.
It wasn’t until the action had died down in the room that Nelion realized the soldiers belonged to Paroke army, not Napael. When General Helam Morgol entered the room a few moments later, he only had eyes for the woman that had been beating Nelion.
“At last, we come to this Elaire,” the General said. “Our agreement protects you no longer.”
BLOOD OF THE REDD GUARD
The complete novel will be published November 17, 2015. Click here to learn where you can purchase it. Also, the links to all the parts are below if you want to read them as they are published instead of waiting for the entire novel. Follow Dan Decker's blog to be notified of the next release.
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Two
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Three
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Four
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Books by Dan Decker
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Blood of the Redd Guard (Complete Novel)
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Two
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Three
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Four
War of the Fathers (Complete Novel)
War of the Fathers - Part One
War of the Fathers - Part Two
War of the Fathers - Part Three
Thrillers
Black Brick (Complete Novel)
Black Brick - Part One
Black Brick - Part Two
Black Brick - Part Three
Black Brick - Part Four
Author’s Note
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About the Author
Dan Decker lives in Utah with his family. He has a law degree and spends as much time as he can outdoors. You can learn more about upcoming novels at dandeckerbooks.com.
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