by Todd, E. L.
The house creaked as the wall slammed into it and she knew the structure of the building wouldn’t stand the weight of the stone walkway. She released her grip and fell to the lower roof then dropped to the ground. She sprinted away from the falling house and was out of the way before both the wall and the house collapsed into the street, making an impassable wall fifteen feet into the air. Clouds of dust billowed from the site of the crash and rose into the sky, blocking the view of the gleaming stars in the summer evening.
Accacia felt the panic course through her body. She was trapped on this side of the wall. The rest of the city was in her direction but her kinsmen and her companions were restricted to the other side of the mass of rubble. They could climb over the barrier but it would take hours. It would be quicker to find another way through the winding streets of Paso Robles. Accacia prayed her life partner was safe, that he survived the fall of the wall. She couldn’t even contemplate his death without fainting on the spot. Aleco’s face rose into her mind and she felt her heart squeeze. The loss of Aleco was more than she could bear. Accacia forced the thought from her mind. There was nothing she could do about it now.
Accacia ran up the street and leaned into the side of the wall, hiding her body in shadow. The city had sunken into an eerie silence after the collapse of the wall. The guards were listening for the sound of any survivors. She continued up the street, heading toward the palace in the corner of the city, the one she had seen on top of the gated walls. Accacia didn’t have a plan and she wasn’t sure what to do next. Aleco’s expectations for the siege of the city had fallen far below his hope. Accacia feared they wouldn’t survive the encounter, let alone escape with the prisoners and return to Orgoom Forest in a timely fashion. She sprinted up the street and avoided the detection of the guards. Their attention was focused on the collapsed wall at the western gate of the city. They assumed everyone was dead. Accacia hoped they were wrong. As she passed by the houses and buildings on either side of the street, she saw men and women dressed in filthy rags walk away from the shadows of their tents, looking down the street to identify the source of the commotion. Accacia pitied the look of fear on their faces but she knew she couldn’t assuage their fright now. She couldn’t even control her own.
The number of guards increased as she approached the palace of Paso Robles. They were standing in front of the keep, directing groups to head to the western wall and kill the traitors who had attacked their city. Accacia unsheathed her green sword as she approached them out of the darkness. She knew there was a commander of the city, a man who orchestrated the guards and the events of the province he supervised. She hoped by capturing or killing him she would be able to take control of the realm.
The guards noticed her appearance as she stepped into the light of the torches. They pulled their steel blades from their scabbards and turned to her, ready to engage the singular opponent. Most of them wore no armor, unprepared for an uprising on their city. Accacia was outnumbered at least twenty to one. She wasn’t frightened of the odds. She withdrew her guild blade from her belt, holding both swords in her hands. Accacia was thankful Laura had forced her to become proficient with both palms. It would ensure her survival in the upcoming fight.
One man approached her with his hand raised. “Step down and surrender,” he commanded. “Give it up.” He stepped toward her but did not attack. The soldier was tall with thick muscles covering his body. His brown eyes blended into the darkness of the night. Only the shine of the torches was reflected in his eyes, glinting in the light of the flames. He tried to see the face of the intruder, determine any features he could, but it was useless in the blackness. The burning torches along the walls suddenly extinguished and left Accacia and the soldiers standing in the darkness, unable to see more than a few feet ahead of them. The flames of the torches had been extinguished by a sudden breeze of wind, and Accacia felt her heart relax. Aleco was alive. The Nature Priest must have called upon his power of elemental control through the connection with the Lorunien Tree and manipulated the air, blowing out all the lights of the city, giving the Asquithians an even greater chance of annihilating the soldiers. The man flinched at the sudden lack of light but he stood his ground. “Who is foolish enough to attack one of the largest cities on the Continent?”
Accacia walked toward him and stared at the worried expression on his face. His neck muscles were strained under the tension of his frame. His veins were throbbing in the skin, coursing with the adrenaline swirling through his body. Accacia pitied him. She didn’t want to kill him. “If you surrender I will spare your life and set you free. I will not imprison you or torture you. Please lower your weapons.”
The guard flinched at the voice of the aggressor. It was feminine; beautiful and strong and contained a commanding air. The stress of his body melted away at the revelation. It was a woman. He shook his head. “I really have no interest in killing a woman, but I will if you force me to. Lower your weapons and come to me.”
Accacia sighed. “I apologize in advance.” She raised both of her swords and charged him. Before he could react, she stabbed him through the chest, penetrating his ribs and severing his heart in half. She moved away from him with no emotion. “Who’s next?” she asked. The guards attacked her, unafraid of the savage way she had executed their comrade, and she directed her blades for their necks. Two of them attacked her at the same time, but she blocked their strikes with both of her blades. She kicked the man to her right in the knee, breaking the kneecap, and he buckled to the floor in agony. She killed the man to her left with the swipe of her sword then stabbed her blade deep into the neck of the already compromised man. Accacia moved forward to the next guard and killed him without blinking. The last two men dropped their swords and fell to their knees, hands in the air.
“Please spare me,” one man begged. “I surrender. I surrender.” Accacia lowered her weapon and turned away, looking for rope or string to restrain their hands. She bent over to grab the thick rope she found on the side of the street when she heard the audible swish of a steel blade through the air. She had almost been decapitated. If she hadn’t kneeled down at that precise moment she would have been killed. Anger coursed through Accacia’s body. She had offered the men mercy and in exchange they tried to kill her, taking advantage of her empathy. She kicked her leg out behind her and the man toppled to the ground. She grabbed her sword from her belt and stabbed him through the stomach, the most painful wound she could administer. The man cried in agony as she savagely pulled the blade from his entails, spraying blood into the sky. He grabbed his severed stomach and felt the blood gushing from the wound. Accacia wiped her sword on his arm, cleansing the blade from bits of flesh. “Please?” the man whispered. Blood seeped from his mouth and dripped down his lips, making his words inaudible. Accacia knew what he was asking. He wanted her to end it quickly, as painless as possible. She stared at him for a moment and felt the empathy leave her body. She had no pity for him. Accacia walked away.
The pulse of her heart slowed as she progressed away from the dying man, knowing her soul and mind had changed irrevocably. The anger in her body consumed her entire composition, and Accacia felt herself separate into two entities; a woman and a killer. She couldn’t even recognize herself for her actions but she was too far gone to think about it further. This was war; death was imminent.
Accacia advanced to other man who had surrendered. He was exactly where she left him. His hands were still in the air and he remained on his knees. His eyes widened in surprise as she approached him. She wasn’t carrying any rope. “I—surrendered,” he said with a shaky voice, anticipating her next move. He could see the anger in her stretched lips and the lack of emotion in her eyes. He was so frightened he was shaking uncontrollably as he stared up at her. “I have not moved against you. I surrender.”
“Mercy has never been granted to me! And you will see none either.” She raised her blade and severed his head cleanly from his shoulders, letting his body fall to the cobbled
streets. His corpse released a river of blood in the road and it formed a pull of liquid at her feet. Accacia walked away without looking back. She entered the palace and crept through the dim hallways in the tower. It appeared to be deserted. The soldiers were sent to the battle front to oppose the attack on the city, leaving the keep unprotected. Accacia listened for voices as she advanced through the stone fortress. It was barren of any decoration and lacked furniture of any sort. It was more of a battle station than a palace of renowned quality. Accacia rose up the wooden stairs in the center of the room and reached the next landing, leading to a wide space that branched into three different directions. Wooden doors lined the walls, leading where, Accacia had no idea. The Asquithian Queen feared she may never find the Commander in this large keep. Accacia heard the sound of voices and she turned to the left, looking for the source of the sound. A door was slightly ajar and the light of the fire illuminated the cracks below the frame of the entryway. She pushed the door open and entered with her sword held at the ready.
Zyle felt his stomach rise into his chest when he saw the wall fall down. He was rooted to the spot, unable to look away as Accacia ran across the walkway on top of the wall, disappearing from his sight. Someone grabbed him by the hand and dragged him away, pulling him away from the collapse of the stones; they were about to crush him. Zyle was pushed up against the building in the square, out of the way of the crumbling building. The ground shook at the impact and clouds of dust filled the air. Zyle coughed the particles from his lungs and wiped the dirt from his eyes.
“Are you alright?”
Zyle looked at the person next to him. They were still holding his arm. When Zyle could see a few inches ahead of him, he recognized Roxian. Her hair had fallen loose from her clip, and her once beautiful face was smudged with dirt. She looked at him with fear in her eyes. She was concerned that he had lost his mind. He stood idle and did nothing as the wall fell on him.
Zyle jerked his arm away, pulling her grip loose. He looked at the pile of rubble to the right of their location where the stone fortress and the house had fallen. It reached high into the sky and dust still floated into the air from the collision. The entire way was blocked. The path to the outside of the city was open, but the street into the heart of the city was closed, leaving only the path to the left, the opposite way of Accacia. Zyle didn’t respond to her question. He dashed to the mound of stone and rocks and tried to find a way across. He didn’t know what happened to Accacia. He prayed she wasn’t injured and unable to protect herself from more soldiers. He feared they would slaughter her before she could raise her sword, too weak from the fall. Zyle imagined the soldiers doing things far worse than killing her and his heart raced in alarm. He had to go after her.
Aleco was just as concerned. He studied the pile of rocks before him and could see no way to pass through the wreckage. Even if they could find a handhold, the rock could crumble beneath them and swallow them into a crevasse, suffocating them to death. He had seen Accacia jump on the house before the wall collapsed and move out of the way. Aleco would have chased after her but he knew he couldn’t cross the street without being crushed under the stone. He prayed she would survive whatever she faced. Aleco felt his body shake at the thought of her being killed. If she died, he didn’t know if he could continue this war. The only fuel left would be his desire to free her soul. The idea of never seeing her again—even arguing with her—made him tremble. Aleco turned away from the wall and looked at the slaughter before them. Most of the soldiers had been executed or crushed under the weight of the fallen structure and the remaining men were being killed by the Asquithians. Most of the guildsmen and the Asquithians had survived, but a large number of them had perished. Aleco looked for Laura, Accacia’s aunt, but couldn’t find her in the crowd, but he heard her voice directing orders to the Asquithians under her command. Aleco saw Zyle frantically look for a crossing in the rubble and Aleco grabbed him by the shoulder. “The way is blocked—we can’t cross.”
Zyle shook his hand away. “I must reach her.”
“We have to find another way. We can navigate to the border of the city then cut through the middle, going back around to the other side.” Zyle ignored him and tried to find a handhold. He wasn’t listening. “It’ll be faster and we’ll have more men. This is our only option.”
“I’m not leaving Accacia.”
“And what do you think I’m doing? Abandoning her?” Aleco felt his anger rise to the surface. Zyle was too distressed to think clearly. Aleco grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. “Get your act together, Zyle. You are wasting our time by acting this way. More importantly, you are wasting Accacia’s time. We will travel around and meet her on the other side. I am just as concerned for her as you are. Now, let’s move.” Aleco released his hold and walked away. He entered the throng of people and addressed them. “Let’s move into the city. We will accept no prisoners nor grant any mercy. No one escapes Paso Robles alive.” Aleco led them away and down the path to their left.
Pragmatism fell upon Zyle’s shoulders and he realized Aleco was right. He followed Aleco into the crowd and they pressed further into the city. They would only be separated for a short time and then they would be reunited. He prayed that Accacia would survive whatever she faced. He didn’t know what he would do if she didn’t.
Paso Robles
26
Accacia walked into the room and saw a man sitting in a chair, facing the open doorway. He looked away from the soldier he was addressing and stared at Accacia, who entered the chamber with her green warrior sword held aloft. The flames of the large hearth lit up the room and crept into the folds of Accacia’s hood, highlighting her features in the darkness.
The man didn’t stir when she entered. He didn’t reach for his sword or rise from his chair; he didn’t move at all. Only his eyes glanced to her face when she approached. The commander was surprised that the intruder was a woman, but he hid the look of shock from his features. “It seems that we are not alone.”
The soldier before him turned around and pulled his blade from his scabbard, prepared to engage her. Accacia gripped the hilt of her sword and tightened her bearings on the weightless blade that was given to her when she attained her status as a warrior. The commander hadn’t moved from his seated position but she knew how powerful he was just by looking at him. He was a large man, larger than any other she had seen. The lines between his muscles were stuffed with more muscles than she had thought possible. Even under his heavy armor she could see his massive size and girth. She estimated he was almost seven feet tall. A taller man she had never seen. Accacia felt her palm sweat under her grasp. She had to change her grip every few seconds so the sword wouldn’t slide from her greasy palm. The soldier stepped toward Accacia but the Commander held him back with his words. “Leave her be. We do not treat our guests that way.” The Commander leaned forward in his seat and Accacia felt frightened. He was getting bigger by the second. There was no possibility of Accacia defeating him in battle. If her speed wasn’t enough to move away from his powerful blow, he would kill her at the first landing of his sword—or even his fist. “Tell me who you are and what you want.”
Accacia knew she was being toyed with. The man wanted to play with his food before he ate it, making it taste better. “My name is Accacia,” she said. There was no reason to hide her name since he wouldn’t live to convey her identity to someone else. Accacia was determined to kill him. “Surrender your resistance to me and my men. We want the slaves of Paso Robles. After that, we will leave you in peace.”
The man’s neck was twice the size of her head. He smiled at her words, clearly amused by the ridiculous request, and he shook his head slightly. He placed his elbow on the arm rest of the chair and rested his fingers against his cheek as if he was fighting off boredom. “And If I grant your request, how will that benefit you? The king will commit every soldier in his army to your destruction. I suggest you surrender so that can be avoided.”
“You would tell him anyway.”
He smiled at her, and she was disturbed by the sight. “I could keep a secret—for you.” His grin widened at her irritated reaction. Her thin lips were pressed in a scowl and her eyes lit up in a blaze. “I am very understanding and—gentle. Step down now and no harm will befall you.”
“I’m not interested.” Accacia’s response had a double meaning.
“Then what do you expect, Accacia? Do you actually think you will kill me?”
“Not if you surrender,” she said as she crept farther into the room. She needed to be certain she had enough room to slice his throat. “Tell your men to lower their weapons and no harm will befall you.”
The commander shook his head. “Now it is my turn not to be interested.”
Accacia stared at him but said nothing. She hoped he would back down but she knew it was unlikely. He could crush her with his bare hands alone. Accacia felt the fear course through her body. The thought of dying alone frightened her. Her aunt’s words came back into her mind and gave her courage. Buck up, now!
The soldier addressed the commander without removing his gaze from Accacia. “What are your instructions, Mitan?”
The commander nodded to Accacia. His fingers were still pressed against his chin and he leaned farther back into his chair, ready to watch the entertainment. “Kill her.”
Accacia swirled her blade around in a flash and engaged him before Mitan finished his last word. The soldier parried the blow and slashed at Accacia but he missed his mark. Accacia moved out of the way and aimed her blade into his stomach. The man darted away and charged her against the wall. She ducked out of his oncoming attack then shoved her blade into his thigh, up towards his torso. Accacia severed one of the largest arteries. The soldier fell back to the floor.