The man spun towards Roryn; his face twisted in anger. “Hey!” he shouted before realizing who he yelled at. His eyes flicked toward the marshal symbol on Roryn’s breast before going wide. He blanched.
Roryn was sure the boy was about to piss himself. “Have you seen Marshal Manik?”
“Uh, sir. Uh. I haven’t…” The soldier’s voice trailed off to an incomprehensible murmur.
Roryn considered ordering him to leave the city and return to camp. He was barely more than a boy no older than seventeen, face still marked with acne. What business did a boy have in the death and destruction of an entire city?
With a growl, Roryn pushed him away. The boy stumbled but kept his feet, hurrying after the others in his squad.
Roryn turned a circle in the middle of the street, his eyes burning from the smoke. Soldiers appeared from buildings, then disappeared again around a corner or into another doorway. It felt like the god of chaos himself had descended on this little town.
There was no way he’d be able to find Galub. Frustration and anger rose in Roryn.
A high, piercing scream brought his head around just in time to see a woman burst from the front door of an inn, The Lame Pony—one of the few buildings not yet set alight. Her dark, curly hair, once pinned up at the back of her head, hung in wild strains around her face. Her blue and white dress was torn at the bodice. She held it together as she ran past Roryn, her feet bare.
A soldier burst from the inn a few moments behind her, his sword in one hand and holding his loose breeches up with the other. Spotting his prey crossing the street, he gave a wolf-like howl and ran after her.
Roryn sidestepped into the man’s path.
“Move, you shit-stained…uh.” The insult died a quick death when he saw Roryn’s marshal marks. “Uh…”
“Have you seen Marshal Manik?” Roryn asked coolly.
“I…uh, no…uh, sir.”
“You are aware rape is not permitted in the Kithean army, correct, soldier?”
“Uh…” His excitement, clearly visible through his breeches, wilted and died as quickly as his insult had.
Rape, along with other atrocities, was indeed outlawed but never strictly enforced during the sacking of a city. There wasn’t any way to enforce it during that kind of chaos. Everybody knew it from the commanders down to the lowest foot soldier.
“And you realize the penalty for rape is death?” Roryn asked.
“I…” The soldier’s eyes flicked to the sword he held in his hand.
Roryn’s stroke was smooth. Economical. His sword sliced cleanly through the soldier’s throat, nearly severing his head from his body. The soldier collapsed to the dirty street.
Looking back toward the inn, Roryn found another soldier standing in the doorway, staring at him with wide eyes. He must have noticed Roryn’s rank a lot quicker than the others because he bent over to pull up his breeches—which had been around his ankles—and retreated back inside.
The further Roryn went into the city, the more crowded the city got with soldiers. The more brutal the violence became. People were dragged from homes and shops. Families. Men. Women. Young. Old. It didn’t matter. They were pulled into the streets and executed—either throats slit or heads cut off.
The massacre spurred Roryn on. The shops and grubby little houses closer to the city walls gave way to nicer houses, some of which had more than one level. Still, every soldier he stopped to inquire about Galub’s whereabouts had no clue until one, a captain, pointed toward a large house down the street.
Roryn practically ran. He ignored the sheer violence going on around him and focused his mind on putting an end to it as fast as possible.
A City in Shadows
Out March 26th, 2020
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Thanks so much for reading!
-Scott
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The year Scott was born was like any other, though a commemorative quarter was produced to celebrate his arrival (or so he assumes). He grew up in a place in America that’s a little too hot and now lives in a place in America that’s a little too cold. Growing up, he hated reading anything that didn’t have cool drawings of muscular men wearing spandex punching other muscular men wearing spandex. That is until he found a book that transported him to a world full of knights, elves, dragons, and gods. In the time that followed, he’s devoured many worlds.
A few years ago, he found a violent world where magic was real and true heroes were scarce. One man rose up from the Dust to rescue his family. Little did he know his actions would have dire consequences for the entire world. Scott felt this man’s story must be told.
Check his website for information about all his books.
http://www.munboy.com
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