Page 28 of Gladiator's Captive
Chapter Fourteen
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Serena
Rager moved like his body wasn’t made of flesh and bones but air and lightning. My vision held on to the smallest details as Rager ducked the jab of the deadly prod, bending over backwards on his heels. Even the slightest touch from the high-powered weapon would bring death. Rager moved, almost too fast for the naked eye to see. The first hit of his fist was to the guard’s groin, immediately followed by another, this time to the side of the guard’s knee.
The sound of the joint breaking was loud in the enclosed space, as was the guard’s howl of pain. Rager lost no time. The next heartbeat, he was on his feet, his hand closing around the handle of the prod.
Then the guard’s howl of pain turned into a gurgle as the prod dug into his neck, the ungodly amount of energy passing through his vital organs, liquefying them instantly. He was dead before he hit the ground.
In the next instant, Rager stood over the guard’s body, the prod in one hand. His eyes were glowing with rage and his entire body was tense. There was no fear in his expression, no doubt. His was the face of a man who had fought hundreds of times for his life, a man who had stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale.
“Don’t move!” The guard at my back pulled on my hair even harder, raising the prod in front of him with a trembling arm. “If you move another muscle, I’ll kill her.”
But Rager didn’t listen. He just stared at the last living guard with those eyes full of a hatred that burned, moved forward, deliberately slowly, fully aware of the effect he had. At my back, the guard shook uncontrollably, fear oozing from every pore in his body, acrid and foul-smelling.
“I said stop,” the guard repeated, his voice high-pitched, verging on panic. “I will kill her, I swear to you.”
“And then what?” Rager’s eyes never wavered, his voice not betraying any feeling. Any fear. “If you kill her, then what else will you do to prevent me from disemboweling you and stringing you up with your own tripe?”
The image was so shocking, so violent, the guard soiled himself at my back. The feeling of hot wetness transpired my dress, the stench of urine adding to the guard’s already foul smell.
“And even if I let her go, what tells me you won’t kill me right away?” The guard’s voice was heavy with repressed sobs now, despair permeating every word. “I know who you are. What you are. You’re going to kill me anyway.”
The corner of Rager’s lips lifted in a feral grin and this was the scariest thing I had ever seen in my life.
“All you can be sure is that if a single hair on her head is harmed, I will make your death one to remember. A death worthy of the Breath of Death.”
This was when the guard lost it. He shoved me forward, hard. I screamed as the ground met my outstretched hands, falling with all my weight. Pain exploded in my body, but I barely registered it. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins like a poison, relinquishing the fear and the pain to the remote corners of my mind. I pushed on my hands frantically, turning around in time to see Rager discarding the prod to the ground. The guard had totally lost his cool by then, swinging his prod back and forth, his eyes wide and crazed.
“Stay away,” the guard screamed as Rager moved forward, his face pulled with murderous intent, his fingers outstretched like weapons.
“You should have let her go when I gave you a chance.” Rager spoke like he could taste the words. “I told you you would regret it. It’s too late now.”
The guard yelled, wildly attacking Rager with the prod. Rager moved with an agile grace, dodging each blow easily. Then, after one more wild swing of the prod, Rager gripped the guard’s arm. A sickening sound of bones breaking preceded the scream of the guard. Rager threw the prod away, sending it to roll in a corner. Then Rager jumped, landing just behind the guard. He gripped the man’s head between large hands and in one mighty twist, the guard’s screams died, his head twisting all the way back in the most sickening vision I had ever seen. The body fell to the ground in a pile of now useless flesh under my horrified eyes.
Time stopped as absolute silence filled the garage. My eyes went from the bodies on the ground to the Muharib warrior standing just a few feet away from me.
