by Ijaz, Usman
“IRIS!” the man screamed, a raw and desperate edge to his voice .
Connor’s gaze shifted from where Iris lay breathing in shallow gasps to Adrian’s stunned face, and back again. The gun dropped from his hand, and he didn’t pay it the slightest mind as he began to walk towards where Adrian stood with Iris at his feet.
Connor knelt beside her, wincing at the sight of blood around her mouth. Her small face stared up at him, surrounded by her shoulder-length wave of black hair.
"You ... lied," she croaked, and coughed blood. Her tilted green eyes stared at him accusingly.
"I didn't," Connor said, and found that he was in tears. “I really did think of you as a friend.”
"I never had ... a ... friend," she spoke in a weak whisper. "Only ... Amon." Tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she spoke the other assassin’s name.
"I'm sorry," Connor whispered. He was aware of Adrian kneeling beside him and trying to comfort him, but it all seemed far away.
"Thought ... perhaps you ... were ..."
"I am," Connor told her, pleading with her to believe him. "I am."
Iris smiled weakly, no less beautiful for the blood around her mouth. “Good -- goodbye, Con….”
Connor stared into Iris's glazed eyes, penetrating the dull sky above. He saw the tears running down those smooth cheeks, and lost himself.
He wept as he held her head in his arms.
6
“IRIS!”
Amon watched in disbelief as the girl was sent flying back. She hit the stone railing and collapsed to the ground. For a few moments he forgot the Legionnaire before him, and simply stared towards his daughter. She was breathing shallowly, and he knew her then to be dead. He felt a cold anger ignite within him as he watched the life leave her with every breath. He let out a harsh cry and kicked the Legionnaire savagely, sending him sprawling.
“You sons of whores!” Amon spat at him, kicking him further. They would all die now, he decided. To hell with his orders to simply catch the Ascillian boy. He would cut up the bastard before him and slit the throats of the two little runts and hang them from their necks over the bridge, and he would tear the girl’s face right off. He would cover this entire bridge with their blood.
He would slaughter them all for killing his daughter.
7
I'm sorry. Hamar ... Owain ... Michael ... I'm sorry. I tried.
The thought came to Alexis clearly amidst the pain. He lay on the ground, and in his failing vision he saw the dim outline of the assassin standing over him against a sky that was somewhat brighter than all else around him. He closed his eyes and felt at peace, as if all his worries had been washed away with the blood that his wounds bled. There was silence all around him. Blessed silence after the gunshots. Alexis could only guess at what had been the result of those shots, and pray that the boys were all right. He could feel the presence of the assassin striding towards him, and knew that the approaching footsteps meant his death. He lay his head back, too weak to struggle, and drifted further from the pain amidst the silence.
And then the silence was broken by a single loud crack.
Alexis opened his eyes and saw the dim shape of the assassin stagger forward. Another loud crack caused the assassin to jerk around and to collapse to the ground beside him.
Alexis stared in numb amazement at where the assassin had been standing. He saw a small form there, holding his gun and pointing it at the man lying beside him.
“There has been enough misery this day,” Leah said. Her voice sounded choked.
Alexis turned his head and looked at the man lying beside him. He closed his eyes. It’s over. God, please let it be over.
8
Adrian made his way to where Alexis and Leah were on legs that felt as weak as willow reeds. He led Connor with one hand on his arm. The sun had set, no more than a thin lining in the distance that would diminish within a moment, and dusk had rolled over the world. Leah helped Alexis to his feet, handing him his weapons. For a moment they stood there together, looking around at the aftermath of the brief fight. Then they turned and limped away.
None of them spoke as they hobbled across the bridge, Adrian and Connor assisting one another and Leah lending support to Alexis with one arm around his shoulders. Adrian looked back once, at the two corpses that still lay there, black robes fluttering in the rising wind, and then returned his gaze before him.
The city surrounded them, and he thought: We’re safe.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this story. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series, The Dark Half, due out in the fall.