Page 3 of House of Serpents and Slaves

The screams grew louder, punctuated by the clash of metal on metal. My heart pounded in my chest as I gripped my wooden practice sword tightly. It wouldn't be much use against real weapons, but it was better than nothing.

"We can't just sit here," I hissed. "We need to find Mater and Pater."

Septimus shook his head. "Your parents aren't even in the village, remember? And Tarus told us to stay put."

"Since when do you care what Tarus says?" I snapped.

Before Septimus could reply, Tarus came sprinting back towards us, his face pale with shock.

"It's not the Talfen," he gasped. "It's... they're not dark elves, they're... I don't understand, Livia. It's Imperial soldiers. They're attacking the village!"

My blood ran cold. "What? That can't be right. Why would our own soldiers attack us?"

Tarus shook his head, his eyes wild with fear. "I don't know, but they're killing everyone. We have to run. Now!"

I looked up at my normally stalwart big brother, confused at the expression on his face. He looked utterly distraught, and Septimus looked frozen in shock. Slipping out past Tarus, I darted around the corner to see for myself what had got him so shaken.

What I saw made my heart stop. The village was under attack, but not by raiders. The invaders were soldiers, dressed in the white and bronze armour of the empire. But they were not there to protect the village. They were destroying it. Buildings were onfire, and the air was thick with smoke. People were running in every direction, screaming and crying. Dead bodies littered the streets, and soldiers were dragging villagers out of their homes and killing them.

I felt sick to my stomach. This was not what I had expected at all. I had always been taught that the empire was there to protect us, to keep us safe from raiders and other threats. But now, it seemed like they were the ones doing the attacking.

I turned back to Tarus and Septimus, who were still standing behind the wall, staring at the chaos in shock. "We have to hide, Tarus," I said, my voice shaking.

He nodded, and looked at Septimus. "Come on, we need to get to the river. Both of you, stay close."

We began to make our way towards the river, trying to stay hidden as we moved. By the time we reached the other side of the village, I was in tears, and Tarus’ and Septimus’ faces were white. My stomach churned as I watched the brutality unfold before my eyes. Houses were set on fire, possessions were being looted and people were being dragged out of their homes and slain. Septimus seized my arm in a crushing grip.

"Don't look," he hissed under his breath, though his eyes were hollow with grief. He tugged me along following Tarus, skirting the edge of the village towards the river. A spark of hope flared in me as I spotted the glimmer of the sun on the surface of the river from our hiding place behind one of the storerooms on the edge of the village, but as we started out towards it, there was a yell from behind us.

"Livia, run!" hissed Septimus, shoving me forward. I didn't stop to look around, but ran for the river as fast as I could, my feet pounding over the dirt as the sounds of chaos echoed behind me. I skidded to a stop at the riverbank, and turned, breathing hard to look for Tarus.

He hadn't run when I had. Instead, he stood between me and the soldier that had spotted us, his wooden blade turning restlessly between his fingers, as the man advanced, the sun glinting off his bronze sword. Septimus stood with him.

"Tarus!" I screamed.

"Livia, run! Get out of here!" Tarus yelled, not turning around. He lunged forward to meet the soldier, swords clashing in a flurry of movement. "Septimus, take her and go!" he yelled, blocking a vicious strike. "I'll hold him off. Keep her safe!"

Septimus looked at me, then back at the soldier, clearly torn.

Tarus brought his blade down again and again, blocking the soldier’s thrusts, and then he landed a blow, cracking his heavy wooden sword around the soldier’s head. The soldier stepped back, his iron helmet having deflected most of the force of the blow, but clearly surprised by the fact Tarus had broken through his defences.

Tarus stepped back, reaching out and grabbing Septimus’ tunic. He dragged him close, and muttered something I couldn’t hear, before thrusting Septimus away, just as the soldier came back at them with a slash that barely missed Septimus’ shoulder.

Septimus stood only a moment longer, looking at Tarus, before he turned and ran towards me. He grabbed my free hand, and dragged me to the side, around my brother and his opponent, heading for the river again.

“No!” I yelled, digging in my heels and trying to wrench my hand from his. “No, I won’t leave Tarus!”

"We have to go!" Septimus shouted, yanking me forward.

I struggled against his grip, tears blurring my vision as I watched Tarus fend off the soldier's attacks. My brother's movements were desperate, his wooden sword no match for the soldier's steel blade.

"Let me go!" I screamed, clawing at Septimus' hand. "We can't leave him!"

Septimus' face was grim as he dragged me towards the river. "If we stay, we all die. Tarus is buying us time to escape."

I hesitated, torn between obeying my brother and abandoning him to face this threat alone. In that brief moment of indecision, another two soldiers emerged from a nearby alleyway, one seizing me from behind. I struggled against his iron grip, but it was no use. My sword clattered to the ground, out of reach. The other smashed the pommel of his sword against Septimus’ temple and he crumpled to the ground in front of me.

My brother risked a glance over his shoulder and paled. He disengaged from his opponent, whirling around to charge at the soldier holding me captive. But he was too late.

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