Excerpt
Micol’s
blood ran cold. He closed his eyes, concentrating on taking deep breaths. Please
don’t let them see us, he prayed to Loss. Please, let them pass by. It’s
not supposed to end like this. Please.
Another man stepped into view.
Then a third. Their conversation continued, but Micol couldn’t focus on the
words. He was too busy listening to the growing sounds of movement around them.
The pounding boots and squelching mud hinted at a larger force than the three
men who had already passed, although he could only guess at how much larger.
At least a half dozen more came
into view, most of them near Asoka’s hiding place. The three who’d led the way
were nearly out of sight; Micol could barely see their torches through the
thick trees. To his left, a glint of light caught his eyes. When he followed it
to its source, he nearly collapsed.
Silvery-blue armor covered the
woman from head to toe, flowing around her like water. Every inch of skin was
covered, leaving only a pair of thin slits for her eyes. She was close enough
to Micol to touch. His entire body began to shake, demanding action.
He couldn’t be still anymore. His
every fiber screamed one word: escape. He had to get out, but there was
nowhere to go. The beating of his heart raged thunderous in his ears until it
felt like the sound alone would betray him. Cold sweat beaded on his fevered
skin. The aspect’s head swung in his direction.
Micol tried to bolt from the tree
– away from the aspect – but she reacted faster than he would have thought
possible. Her hand snapped out, stopping his momentum and taking the pair of
them to the ground. He managed to twist in time to see her liberating a rusted
dagger from its sheath.
From out of sight, he heard the
groan of a bowstring. The aspect’s dagger plunged toward his chest, but before
it could strike the tip of an arrow spiked through one of the slits in her
helm. Its force pushed her off him, and Micol took his chance. He was on his
feet in an instant, running away from the group of soldiers.
He met Asoka’s wide-eyed stare;
the other boy still held his bow in a ready position. Time stood still for a
solitary moment before Micol broke the contact.
Bodies thudded; wood cracked from
out of Micol’s view. “Got him!” he heard someone say. “He doesn’t look like an
assassin to me.”
Micol kept running. He heard the
footsteps of several men behind him, but he didn’t dare stop to check their
progress.
“Get the other one!” someone else
shouted.
“Over there! He’s headed toward
the undergrowth!”
Micol fell into a row of dense
bushes, forcing himself through. Branches and thorns tore at his skin and
clothes, but he paid them little mind. The men chasing him reached the bushes a
moment after he broke through the other side.
His days on the streets of Vicrum
came back to him, lessons born from a thousand beatings doled out by those
older and larger.There was always someone faster, someone stronger. But Micol
had had one advantage: he was willing to go further. A path ahead promised easy
escape, but instead of heading for it he plunged deeper into the undergrowth.
A thick root tripped Micol,
sending him toppling head-over-heels down a stream bed. He hissed as a flare of
pain shot up from his ankle; he inched toward the running water, but a sound
came a moment later that stopped him cold.
“Micol!” a distant voice cried.
Asoka’s voice. “Help! Please help me!” The pitiful cry was like an icy knife
plunged into his lungs.
He didn’t make
it out, Micol
thought. I didn’t even stop to think about helping him escape. He rose
to his knees, taking stock of the situation. He’d lost his bow when the aspect
had taken him, which left the small hunting knife on his belt as his only
weapon.
“Help! Oh, aspects, please!”
Micol knew what he was supposed
to do. The stories soldiers shared were full of such scenarios; if he had been
the hero in one of those stories, he would have drawn his knife and carved a
path of blood back to his friend to save him. The men searching for him were
getting close, and he knew he had to make his decision soon.
A sound like an axe hitting a
tree echoed through the forest, sending a morbid shiver down Micol’s spine. He
summoned all of his courage, but it wasn’t enough. He turned back to the stream
and jumped in, letting the water carry him away.
.png)
.jpg)
