“Oh really?” he cackled. “You can’t kill me, girl. None of you can.”
She gritted her teeth and leapt toward him, aiming to crush the side of his head. But Issavan anticipated the attack and acted first. The knife flashed in the firelight as it whipped across Emmaris’ throat, sending blood gushing from the wound. Then he shoved the body forward, straight into Lil’s path. She was bowled backwards, twisting away to crash into the wall and becoming pinned under the dead weight.
A scream of horror tore from her throat and she heaved the scholar’s body off her, feeling the warm blood soaking the front of her own clothes now. She gained her feet, wobbled, then set off at a run after the fleeing Emperor. As he squeezed through the door, he yelled, “Guards!” Did the man have soldiers lurking in every corner of his labyrinth of a castle? Paranoid, and yet disgustingly clever, this man was. Still, it would be a moment before they reached the room. She could catch him before then. She sprinted through the doorway, reaching for him before he could reach the next door, when abruptly the ground rushed up to meet her. Her feet were swept out from beneath her, her truncheon knocked from her hand. Gasping breath ripped through her burning lungs. She rolled instinctively, but before she could gain her feet again, she was shoved back down.
“Not so fast, lass!” Her attackers hovered over her, three soldiers with weapons bared. The first had straddled her, holding down her shoulders. She bucked and kicked, but to no avail. “What would you have us do, my Lord?”
28-Sep-2008 22:52:03
