by K. A Knight
“Two blades, no deep hits,” I instruct.
I pull my own from my leg sheaths, holding the handles with the blades pointed out as I widen my stance and look at Evan. “Watch what we do, Archel, slow it down,” I command.
He grins as he saunters over, pulling two blades out and flipping them in his hands. One minute he’s standing, relaxed, facing me, and the next he’s moving. He’s fucking fast and I have to move at the last minute. I let everything else go, just concentrating on the fight. We spin and turn, landing hit after hit on each other, but it’s an even fight. Where I’m fast, he’s smoother...stealthier. Stinging cuts line my body, but I also land multiple cuts on him, although we’re making sure to pull the hits so we don’t kill each other.
He laughs as he spins and I join in, loving being able to just let go during an even fight for once. He’s good, I’ll give him that. He feigns right and then spins left, his blade lands at my throat and he grins at me. “I win.”
“Do you?” I whisper, glancing down. He follows my gaze and sees my blade pointed at his cock.
He howls with laughter and steps back, respect in his eyes. “Always the cock, huh?”
I shrug then and sheathe my blades, looking at a gobsmacked Evan. “When I get through with you, I want you to move like that. Again,” I call.
He groans but grips his blade, and instead of just blocking, I actively move with him this time with one blade until we are parrying blows. His footsteps are unsure and stumbling, but he soon catches up, and what he lacks in finesse and technique, he makes up for in attitude. He doesn’t quit, not once, and every blow he comes back swinging.
“Again,” I demand after I disarm him.
“How did you learn to fight?” Evan asks as he rips into his meat. The fire is blazing between us, and the others are packing up while we eat a quick breakfast before getting on the road. A small cut lines his cheek, but he doesn’t seem to care. I barely notice the ones on my arms and chest from Archel.
“The hard way—from doing it. I took the strengths and styles of others and made them my own, learned from each clan’s weakness, and then used those against them.” I shrug, sipping my water.
“Weakness?” he echoes, focused.
“Yep, Berserkers are hard hitters. They come at you strong, but get inside that protection and you can take them down easily, and they don’t do well on far attacks or against speed. Scavs and Roadies are mostly stupid, they rely on weapons and can’t think a few steps ahead, so confusing them is easy. Worshippers are more reserved, get them angry.”
“Seekers?” he inquires, stumbling over the name.
“Harder. They’re controlled, smooth killing machines who are fast and good thinkers. It’s a hard fight.” I shrug. “Advice for you? Run, run as fast as you can,” I tease.
“That’s right, pretty boy, run,” Archel jokes.
“Got it, run.” Evan rolls his eyes. “So, you’re an assassin?” he questions Archel.
“The best.” Archel winks.
“Boys, please, if you’re going to measure dicks, at least let me finish eating first,” I grumble, making them all laugh.
“We all know mine is the biggest.” Dray shrugs and stands up, flicking open the button on his jeans.
“Sands below, I swear, if you pull your cock out, I’m going to cut it off and feed it to you,” I warn, narrowing my eyes on him.
He winks down at me and looks at the others who are cupping their junk protectively. “Don’t worry boys, she wouldn’t—she likes it too much,” he teases, but sits back down.
I roll my eyes again. Men. “And on that note, it’s time to go.”
I finish my water and climb to my feet, slipping into my jacket and grabbing my bandana from my pack before throwing it over my shoulder. Everyone else packs up, and I slip onto my bike and rev the engine. “Let’s ride!” I yell, hearing some people whoop as more engines roar. I grin as I cover the lower half of my face and set off through the Wastes.
About thirty minutes into our trip, I’m gunning it hard, wanting to get to Paradise as soon as possible. Only the sun glinting off metal in the road alerts me to a problem, and I quickly slow down, turning my bike sideways and almost tipping it. The others follow me, diverging from the broken, cracked road into the sand.
It’s a fucking ambush.
I slip from my bike as fast as I can, grabbing my swords and turning just as a war cry goes up. I was out in front, so only Dray and Archel are by my side, the others speeding closer as I race towards the charging scavs. I notice some Berserkers in their midst and frown. Fucking deserters who are obviously not happy with the change of leadership.
The clanging metal is drowned out by engines revving as the others race towards us. There must be at least forty scavs and Berserkers altogether, just waiting for us to pass them. They knew we were coming and laid a trap. Raising my blade, I block the downward stroke of a sword heading towards my face wielded by a Berserker. He spits at me, his nostrils flaring and eyes wide. “Fucking dead bitch walking!” he shouts.
“Not today, motherfucker,” I fire back, and break our weapons’ lock and stab downwards, impaling him. I sweep away, my back meeting Dray’s and Archel’s sides as we move together, protecting each other’s backs.
I rip open a Berserker’s cheek and he roars as he falls back, but a scav quickly takes his place. I manage to kill four and wound even more by the time I hear engines cut off and the war cry of my people. I peer through the gaps of fighting bodies to see Bern tossing people away like they’re toothpicks with Henry by his side as they fight to get to us. I scream back, pushing into the scavs and deserters.
I spin and slash, gutting men and cutting their throats, and even in the red haze of bloodlust, I remind myself who my men are so I don’t hurt them. My body is tiring, but I keep fighting, never giving up. Some of them land hits, but the blood they spill only infuriates me more. Dray stays by my side the whole time, moving with me as we decimate their ranks. I stop for a moment, panting as I hold my sword in front of me, and some of the scavs who ambushed us look around, obviously realising they’re outnumbered, and start to back away.
We chase them onto the road, but they jump into their cars and onto their bikes and peel away. Gasping, my blood-covered swords hanging at my sides, I watch as they race away into the sands.
“They will come back, they obviously want you dead,” Erik growls.
“They do, but next time we will be ready,” I snap.
I slice through the tripwire they had set up across the road and turn to face my warriors. “They thought they could kill us! They know better now!” I scream and raise my sword. They cheer and Archel grins at me, looking way too pleased. Dray is cleaning his blades, his eyes smouldering as he stares me. Evan is panting hard, his knife clutched in his hand and his eyes wide. I sheathe my swords and step closer, taking his knife and sheathing it for him.
“You did well,” I praise in a low voice.
He blinks before swallowing hard as he nods. Bern claps him on his back, sending him stumbling forward. “We will make a Berserker out of you yet!” he yells, and cheers go up again, making me smirk. Evan looks bewildered.
“The first kill is the hardest, after that it gets easier,” I offer, just as arms wrap around me and drag me back into a hard chest.
“You are a fucking masterpiece when fighting, do you know that?” Dray murmurs into my ear, making my grin grow.
I turn in his arm and kiss him hard before pulling back to gaze up at him. “We need to get to Paradise.”
“Lead the way, soulmate, we’ll follow you.”
Call Me Daddy
I spot the towering warehouses in the distance and know we’re getting close. I stop us outside of the fence to give orders. “Okay, listen up! Bern, Archel, Dray, and Evan are with me, the rest of you stay out here. Do not attack anyone, or I will kill you myself,” I say seriously, scanning my eyes over the gathered group. “Watch out for rogue Berserkers or scavs!” With that fin
al instruction, I sling my bag over my shoulder.
I hear some grumbles, but they climb off their bikes, and stretch before settling in. “Let’s go,” I call, and Bern, Dray, Archel, and Evan all head my way as I slip through the fence, and try to remember the way in without asking Evan for directions. My father gave me a map last time I was here, but it must have been lost somewhere at The Ring when Ivar took me. This place is like a maze, no wonder no one has ever found Paradise. It’s in the middle of nowhere, so unless you were really looking for it, you wouldn’t notice it. By pure luck alone I stumble upon the hidden entrance to the bunker. But now we have another problem—how the fuck do we get in?
“I’m betting they have cameras,” I murmur.
“You should flash them, that’ll get their attention,” Archel teases.
I arch an eyebrow. “Why don’t you?”
He cups his junk protectively and sighs dramatically. “Alas, I can’t, my woman would kill me.”
“She’s definitely made up, no one could put up with him,” I tell Dray loudly, just as a siren comes from the bunker doors and I hear the mechanisms of it moving. “Huh, well that was easy.”
I keep my hands away from my weapons, not wanting them to shoot first and ask questions later. But it’s especially hard when guards pour out from the partially opened door and immediately point their guns at us. Reluctantly, I hold up my hands. “I’m here to see my father!” I shout to be heard over their yelling.
“Don’t move!” a few of them shout, and I roll my eyes.
“Do we look like we’re moving? No. Now lower your fucking weapons, I’m starting to get annoyed.”
“Stand down!” comes a stern order from inside the bunker. I smirk as I watch my father hurry outside, pushing through the men to get to me. He stops just before them, staring at me in confusion.
“Taza—Worth, what are you doing here?” He frowns, looking at the men behind me before his eyes once again focus on me. I feel nothing…my real father is dead, and this man is still just a stranger.
“I need your help.” It pains me to say it, but I swallow my fucking pride. I would do anything for my men.
“Why would we help you, savage?” A man pushes through the crowd to stand shoulder to shoulder with my father. He’s more muscle than skin, his face is all hard lines, and he has short grey hair, and clothing pressed within an inch of its life with the nametag “Captain” proudly embroidered on the pocket.
“Because if you don’t help me, I have an army of pissed off savages outside your gates just waiting for a fight. It would be a shame if we had to take what I need by force. And I will if I have to, that’s not a threat, just the truth. You’re in my way of getting to my men, so I suggest you let us in and give me what I fucking need before I lose my temper. And for the last fucking time, lower your guns before I get really annoyed.”
Dray and Archel snigger, and I hear Evan sigh as he steps up next to me. “She speaks the truth, Captain.”
“You’re with them now, the savages?” the captain scoffs.
Evan stands straighter. “She saved my life. If that makes me a savage lover, I guess that’s what I am.” He shrugs and I grin over at him before replacing it with a glare, aiming it at my father and his men. I take a step closer and their weapons, which they were starting to lower, rise up and focus back on me.
“I have lost people I love, I have faced down a fucking mad king, and I have been tortured, raped, and almost killed. Yet I’m still standing, I’m the fucking Queen of the Berserkers, and those savages as you call them? We rule the fucking Wastes. I suggest you choose your next words very carefully, because I’m losing my patience.”
“Worth, that won’t be necessary, will it, Captain?” my father asks.
I look into the captain’s eyes and see nothing but spite, hate, and death there. This man is one to watch, he doesn’t give a fuck about Paradise, he only likes the power. I step closer to him, ignoring the guns that follow my movement. “I’ve killed men like you for less, so I suggest you show some fucking respect. I know you, and I know your type. I can see it in your eyes. You call us savages, but I’m betting you have crossed lines that we never would just to keep your power. Push me, Captain, I dare you. I’ll teach you why they call me the Champion.”
He scowls, his face reddening, and I grin. “Oh, that hurt, didn’t it? You don’t like women, especially strong ones. I wonder…” I take another step closer, almost touching him now. “If I started looking into it, how many women have you hurt inside these walls that were made to protect them?”
“Too many,” Archel says darkly. I don’t look away from the captain, sensing he’s about to explode. “I know that for a fact. I’ve seen the aftermath of what his men do to women. I won’t kill you here and now, that honour rests with my woman for what you all did to her.” I blink in surprise and glance over at Archel to see his face cold and so full of fury that even I wouldn’t mess with him. What did they do to his woman? I debate killing the captain, but I can read between the lines. Whatever he did to her, Archel is right, she deserves to be the one doing the killing. So, I step back and wink at the man.
“Don’t worry, I’m not your death, she will be.” His eyes widen then, flashing with fear, and I know he hurt that woman. Archel’s woman. Shit. Blood is going to rain from the fucking sky. I wouldn’t mess with the assassin and especially not someone he so clearly loves. He will gut this place for revenge, and I’m betting his woman will be at his side, because he would only love a strong fighter. I turn, giving the captain my back and nod at Archel.
“After we’re done, get your woman, get your revenge.”
A genuine smile forms on his face. “You’ll like her, Worth. She’s a stubborn bitch, hell of a fighter too.”
“What’s her name?” I inquire, purposely ignoring the angry captain, his unsure men, and my father, showing them how little respect and worry I put into them. Instead, I trust Dray to watch my back. He’s staring at the captain with death in his eyes.
“Piper,” Archel answers, and Evan’s head swivels his way, his eyes widening in shock.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he yells, frozen to his spot.
I look between them. That name seems familiar…oh shit.
Well, this should be fun.
“What’s it to you, Doc?” Archel teases.
“Piper, my fucking Pip? You know where she is?” Evan screams, pulling out his dagger and advancing on Archel.
Sighing, I slip between them, pressing my hands on each of their chests. “No killing, not yet. Plus, there’s enough love to go around.” I grin then and I hear Dray laugh.
“You know her?” Archel queries, his voice deadly. “You let her get hurt? Attacked?”
“Attacked? They told me she was dead! I didn’t believe them...” His voice trails off, and his face goes pale as he realises what Archel said. “They-they hurt her?”
Archel watches Evan in sympathy, some of his anger dissipating. “They did more than that. When I found her, she was nearly dead, yet she still tried to fight me off. I saved her, took her somewhere safe where they would never find her.”
“Is she—” Evan starts and then swallows, tears gathering in his eyes.
“She’s alive, stronger than ever. She can shoot a mean bow. When I left, she was on her way to leading her own Clan. She protected them from an eater attack. Has nightmares, though, real bad ones.”
Evan growls, grinding his teeth. “She always did, she would only ever sleep if I was there. Fuck!” he screams, clutching his head. “She alive, she’s alive, Pip—” Hearing the panic in his voice, I reach out and grip his shoulders, forcing him to look at me. When he finally meets my gaze, I see a broken man. His eyes are distraught and filled with tears, his face wild.
“Do not do anything stupid. We’ll get what we need, and then and only then do we get revenge,” I growl.
Evan looks over my shoulder. “You’re sure it was people from here who attacked her?”
Fuck.
I look over at my father, who’s frowning and trying to listen to the conversation.
“I need to see her. Worth, I have to—”
“No,” Archel snaps, his tone sombre.
“What did you fucking say?” Evan rumbles lowly. I sigh at the look in his eyes, he’s hoping for a fight.
“I won’t compromise her safety. That place is her home, her fucking sanctuary. How do I know you didn’t hurt her too? I will kill you and all of them before I let anyone near her again,” Archel warns coolly, his tone so calm that even I question if I want to be in the middle of them.
I look to Dray for some help, but he just grins maniacally at me as he tosses his blade up and down, before catching it and throwing it again.
“Fuck, okay. We don’t have time for this. Wait…” I narrow my eyes on Archel. “Is that why you agreed to come so quickly?”
He winks at me. “Don’t worry, queenie, I wasn’t going to kill them…just hurt them, kidnap them, and offer them to her as a gift.”
“How romantic,” I retort with a snort.
“You—agggh!” Evan throws his hands in the air and I slip from between them. They’ll have to deal with their love triangle another time. Right now? I need to get serious so I can get my men back.
“Both of you stay out here and get your shit sorted. We have a fucking war coming, so we don’t have time for this crap. Oh, and no killing each other. If we don’t come out in two hours, get our warriors and storm this fucking place,” I order, then glance at Dray. “Come on.”
I throw Evan and Archel one last narrow-eyed look to see them staring each other down, before I turn back to the Paradise people. “Let us in.”
My father nods, stepping aside and gesturing towards the door. As I stride past him, the captain leans down and hisses in my ear, “Your daddy won’t always be here to protect you.”