“Hopkins was a disease” Ezra replied.
“He was not made from Hopkins” the older man replied. “He was made from that one”.
Ezra turned and could see Hopkins recruiter Tenkay chained to the wall, the man had seen better days and looked unconscious. This must have been what Alex was talking about before he died, anyone who underwent Hopkins experiment must have been able to make their own cult.
“I consider our deal complete” Ezra replied as Celeste was unchained. The other knight returned with the two blood swords, Trum Barron would have been a worthy opponent. Ezra was a little sad he did not get the chance to fight the man, at least his friend died a warrior’s death. Ezra strapped the Blood swords on his back and half carried Celeste up the stairs, outside he could feel twenty or so men and they were agitated. Ezra sighed and lowered Celeste to the ground and decided to leave his blade on his hip and would use Barron’s weapons. Ezra was not big on fighting with two swords but with his power he didn't need to be. Ezra walked out the door, dodged to the left, swiped to the right, ducked and then twisted. Ten arrows slammed into the door as he pointed his blade.
“Any man not wishing to die should leave right now” Ezra replied. “Next arrow comes my way I will kill you all. I don’t take prisoners or excuses, you will die”.
“We can't let you just leave you abomination” came a voice.
“Then fire on me again” Ezra replied. “You will find out this dog has teeth”.
CHAPTER 11
“You look a lot better” Ezra said looking at Celeste. Ezra had taken Celeste from Ramy over two months ago using horses he took from the Temple along with a sizable amount of gold. The Knights just wanted him gone especially after he killed the citizens outside who fired on him again. Ezra was not sure where he stood now, he was a good guy at first but after slaughtering so many Knights and citizens he doubted he could be called that now. Losing Alex was tough on him, coming to terms with his actions had been even tougher. But at least Celeste was safe, Ezra had traveled non stop for a couple of weeks until he reached Kass. The Fale were here but in shakier numbers than the stronghold they had in Ramy. Ezra found no problem getting into the city or finding a small apartment to rent above a butcher’s shop. He had kept Celeste there until she was fully healed, life on the road was harsh and did not allow her to get enough rest. The small apartment was not as spacious as it could be but she had a bed to lie down in and always had food. Her hair was coming back, it was still very short compared to most women but at least she wasn’t bald anymore. Ezra had bought her a wig he had seen, it was close to her natural hair color and she could wear it if she wanted. When Hopkins was alive Celeste had no issue walking around bald, now though she would.
When Celeste underwent the process, she said her mind was changed somehow. It was so subtle that she did not realize she went from believing Hopkins could help her avenge her grandfather to just believing in Hopkins. His every word was like a command everyone wanted to follow, to make him happy gave the Turned their own happiness. When he died the spell was broken, Celeste said it she still felt sad that he died but it wasn’t all consuming. Over the next few days after his death she became herself again and could really see how much she changed. Celeste hadn’t thought about her grandfather’s death during the short time she was given the gift, the only thing that mattered is what Hopkins wanted. Ezra hoped this would be the day she was finally ready to face the public, since they had come to the apartment she hadn’t left except to answer calls of nature.
“Thank you” Celeste replied as she finished eating her stew.
“Celeste it is time I got back on my mission” Ezra replied. “We are not safe here anyway, if any of the Unarmored happened to stumble across this place they would know you for what you are”.
“I have been thinking the same” Celeste replied. “I am sorry I have not been much company. What has been happening with the war?”
“I have found out some information” Ezra said hesitantly. “But you cannot go running off to do anything about it”.
“What have you learned?” Celeste asked sitting straighter.
“The Fale started running into problems” Ezra replied. “They pushed deep inside of Azard but are losing more men than they ever have. Even if they take the capital they would be in no shape to do anything other than plant a banner saying they won. If any powerful Kingdom like Rax or Farion are paying attention, the Fale could find themselves utterly crushed”.
“Why have they been losing so many?” Celeste asked.
“The Fale have been successful with help from their allies from the Kingdom of Sully” Ezra replied. “We know them as the Sullied, the Sullied had an ulterior motive to their joining the battle. They want to either assimilate or kill Unarmored, as you are aware they mostly care about the latter. Many Unarmored have been killed but then again so has many Sullied. Many Sullied are trying to lay siege to a mountain compound but they are finding the fight tougher than they expected, all paths leading to the compound were blocked. The Sullied have to climb a mountain to get to the small area in the center where the council seat is. They were first sending Fale soldiers but most of them were being cut down by a man with a bow”.
“My father” Celeste said as she stood up.
“I don’t know” Ezra admitted. “What I do know is that most of the Sullied are there. There are only two Unarmored in Kass besides me and you, but one of them shines brighter than any I have seen before in power level”.
“The girl you were talking about?” Celeste asked.
“I think so” Ezra replied. “They say she can read minds, input thoughts and has three tendrils. She can make the weak minded fight for her and her skill can make them as formidable as any Unarmored”.
“We have to save my father” Celeste said.
“How?” Ezra asked. “Alex was the smart one”.
“I have a way” Celeste replied. “If I can kill this Sullied girl, I want your promise that you will come help”.
“How do you plan on doing that?” Ezra asked.
“By making more Unarmored” Celeste replied. “I can make my own army and send them to fight the girl”.
“What if she manages to take control of them?” Ezra asked.
“I don’t think she would be able to” Celeste replied. “Part of the selection process was having strong opinions, just saying Hopkins was great wasn’t enough. You had to believe it. Why are you staring at me that way?”
“Because you said Hopkins” Ezra replied. “You didn’t call him the Honorable Alan Hopkins”.
“It is out of my system” Celeste replied. “As far as the fight with the Sullied goes though, the attack is just a ruse. The arrow I will fire from my bow when I think I have her in my sights is also a ruse. What isn’t a ruse is your attack, you should be able to sneak in and do many things to disrupt the enemy”.
“And how do you plan on making more of these Unarmored?” Ezra asked. “I know most of the technique, I am wondering where you would find the people at?”
“That is the easy part” Celeste replied. “There are plenty of people angry with the Fale, some have sons or fathers that have died in the war. It is also not uncommon for a Fale soldier to have his way with someone’s daughter, plenty of men and women will try for the chance. If that all fails for some reason, then any criminal would love the chance. I don’t think I will have any problem finding people, I just need to get out there and try”.
“I hope everything is as easy as you are making it seem” Ezra replied.
“I know the underworld” Celeste replied. “I know it as well as you know your farms. I can find the people, the only problem is that I won't be able to create a lot of them to fight. I plan on stopping at at two and sending them at the Unarmored”.
“Alex told me a little about your gift” Ezra replied. “From what I heard you were on the weaker end of being Unarmored. If Hopkins was hard liquor, you would be considered watered down. The people you cr
eate may not be able to hold off the Unarmored. I only know her name is Mary but she has the most power I have ever seen”.
“Doesn’t matter” Celeste replied. “All that means is that I have to find someone decent in fighting to begin with or someone who can surprise her guards. I told you Ezra, I got this. I want to get it over with so I can help out my family”.
“So you are going to go out then?” Ezra asked.
“I am going to go out” Celeste replied.
~
“Something is not right, we have to run” Ezra said as he suddenly got a bad feeling. “There is another Unarmored in the area I haven't felt before, something about his aura isn’t right. I can't explain it but we will have to get Mary another time”.
“What do you mean it isn’t right?” Celeste asked. “We have set this up, the time is now”.
“The power I am feeling is both powerful and weak and it is coming from the same Unarmored” Ezra began. “Mary has to know we are out here already, she should have been able to sense you and the other two. Tell Derrick and Royster to fall back, we will regroup somewhere else”.
Celeste whistled and Ezra was happy to see the men stop approaching the building Mary was in and start heading back towards Celeste. As soon as they got there Ezra felt Mary move towards the door along with two other Unarmored. The door opened and a man wearing red came out first, it was completely dark outside but the light from the building reflected off of his clothes. A real small petite woman came out next, she was also wearing red and looked in Ezra’s direction. Ezra had his aura hidden so he was sure she didn’t feel him, she most likely was looking at Celeste.
“You decided you didn’t want to play with me little Unamored?” Mary said in a light mocking voice. “What a shame, I brought a new friend that would love to meet you”.
A man stepped out of the building next, Mary went up to his waist and he was wearing full plate armor and a helm that just covered the lower half of his face. Ezra felt his heart race, he had never seen the man but there was no doubt about who this was.
“It’s Telrin Fallow!” Royster said loudly. “Run!”
Ezra hopped on his horse along with the rest and raced away. Ezra could feel the three Sullied begin to move, they were soon on their way with six other men. From the speed they were using it was obvious they were on horseback.
“Telrin Fallow is following” Ezra replied. “We need to split up”.
“What do you mean split up?” Royster whined. “He will kill us for sure, he can sense where we are”.
“I know” Ezra replied. “But he can't sense where I am”.
“If you think we are going to let you abandon Celeste to protect yourself it is not going to happen” Derrick snapped.
“I want to double back and start picking them off” Ezra replied. “If you all split up, then maybe they will as well. I can start picking them off while you ride, the Warlord is in full plate. His mount won't be able to run for long and he will most likely go after you Celeste”.
“Why me?” Celeste asked afraid.
“Because you shine brighter than the rest of them” Ezra replied. “The other two will split to go after these two. Royster has the slowest horse, I can go after his pursuer first. If we can beat them then both of us will go after Derrick. I think all three of us will have a chance to face the Warlord, especially with your help. If we can kill Telrin then your family will be safe”.
“If they aren’t dead already” Celeste replied. “Why would Telrin Fallow be here unless he has already taken the mountain”.
“Don’t think like that” Ezra replied. “Besides, even if that was true you could at least get your revenge”.
Celeste nodded and rode out the gate, she would keep traveling down the main road in an effort to outrun her pursuers, Derrick took off towards the east gate and Royster decided to stay in the city, he went west and climbed on top of the tallest building in the area, a three story inn. Ezra waited for the Warlord to catch up, like he thought the enemy split into three teams. Derrick would have a hard time, Mary and her group were after him and her horse looked faster than his. It could have been because Mary was so small but in less than an hour Derrick would find himself in a fight, a fight Ezra doubted he could win.
Derrick and Royster were street toughs that Celeste found the same night she had first went out. They had attempted to rob or rape her but soon found that she was better with a knife than they were. Celeste asked them if they would like to be Unarmored, like any thug looking for an unfair advantage they agreed. In their line of work they were bound to come across someone better at fighting. It took Celeste two weeks to make them Unarmored, then another two weeks for Ezra to test their abilities and decide on a plan to get Mary. During the two weeks Ezra discovered that they could only keep their tendril going for a little over half a minute before they would need to reattach it with each reattachment lasting almost ten fewer seconds. Their opponent had to be no more than ten feet away so knocking arrows out of the sky was out of the question. The biggest issue was that they couldn’t fight very well, they were just thugs who used violence. They had no skill with the daggers, knives, swords or anything else, it was most likely Mary didn’t either but she had six men with her. Derrick had a better chance than he would have without the gift though, Ezra was happy the fanaticism that Hopkins followers showed was weaker by at least half. Ezra waited at the base of the building Royster was on when a horseman came into the area. Ezra took out the blades that used to belong to Barron, they had performed well although they did not have the power his blade did. They were easier to wield and weighed less, Ezra had cut down over twenty men with the blades and found it almost easy. The Unarmored man stood in front of Ezra, it was pitch black were they at an if it wasn’t for Ezra’s gift he wondered if he would have seen his enemy.
“I got him Royster” Ezra called out.
“You sure?” Royster said from up on the building.
“Yes” Ezra replied. “Climb down and try to help out Derrick”.
“You are awfully sure of yourself” the Unarmored said as he got off his mount. Someone from the inn opened the door as light shined on the two. “Wait a minute, its you!”
Ezra charged into the battle with his swords waving, his opponent was skilled but not overly so. Ezra had cut the man twice in his off arm in the first few seconds as the door to the inn closed. Ezra used his gift to fake a blow to his opponent’s midsection as he really gave a reverse swing to the man’s neck. Pain erupted in Ezra as his enemy fell, every time he killed an Unarmored he noticed the pain and thought how he could have died if he would have tried killing Hopkins. If he cut down one of his minions the pain that followed would be just enough for someone else to kill him.
“Did that man know you?” Royster said from on top of his horse. “I heard him recognize you”.
“It was probably the swords” Ezra replied. “Let’s go help Derrick, he can't fight off Mary and six men”.
Ezra got on his horse and the pair rode out, Celeste should have been outpacing Telrin since she had the swifter horse. Hopefully Telrin was not smart enough to seek help or Celeste would be in trouble. Ezra went out the east gate and searched with his power, he could find Mary and her group easily and they were gaining on Derrick. Mary surprised Ezra by splitting her forces, four men turned around and were now headed back their way.
“We are going to have company in about an hour” Ezra said as he looked over at Royster. “The woman split her forces”.
“I only want to hurry so we can go after Celeste” Royster replied.
“Hopefully we can” Ezra replied. “Can you fight?”
“I am still fresh” Royster said as he kept riding.
Ezra could see the men had stopped riding and were setting up an ambush. Mary probably told them that the Unarmored that was coming probably couldn’t use his magic to find them. Ezra though could see one man had hidden off to the side of the road. He probably had a crossbow or something an
d was looking to take them by surprise. The trap probably would have worked on regular people, three men were blocking the road a little ways away from the hidden archer. Those three would intimidate any pursuer to turn around. In the case of an Unarmored, the Unarmored would probably focus only on the three ahead and would miss the archer. The overwhelming majority of Unarmored only had one tendril, Mary probably thought she left enough men to handle things. Ezra rode his horse directly into the bushes where the archer was hidden. The horse trampled the man a little as Ezra lept off and went towards the other three men. Ezra could feel Royster go after the man who Ezra trampled, Royster should be able to take his opponent.
“You ready to die for the girl?” Ezra said as as he pulled out his two swords.
“Those are Trum Barron’s swords” a man with a blond beard said. “You are his murderer?”
“The other Unarmored you sent is dead” Ezra began. “Mary will be as well”.
“So you claim” one of the men said and charged. Ezra crouched inside of the blow and drove the tip of his sword under the man’s chin and into his brain. Ezra was already moving towards the other two before the man hit the ground.
“I’m leaving” the man with the blond beard said as he tossed down his weapon.
“Traitor” the other man said as he raised his sword. Before he could attack Ezra closed distance and swung, Mary’s loyal guard never saw the blow that killed him.
“Get out of here” Ezra said and gestured back towards town. Ezra watched the man get on his horse and ride out. Mary probably could feel him leave and would be curious as to why since she could still feel Royster in the area.
“That fool” Ezra said as he could feel Derrick stop. Derrick had his crossbow but that wouldn’t matter against Mary. Ezra felt one of her men die, the other man closed in on Derrick and after a short battle killed Celeste’s man.
The Blood Blade Page 11