Page 49 of The Eye of the Fifth
Piercing screams began, marrying an anguished chorus of pain.
Gedeon could do nothing but stare.
All of this death, all of this pain…for duty.
Sekun grabbed the front of his furs. ‘You’re a traitor, Gedeon. A spineless piece of filth. I’ve always known it, even if mother has always worshipped the hallowed ground you walk on.’ He was a male triumphant. ‘She won’t now.’
Multiple figures appeared in the smoking sky, each of their wings spread wide as they rode on the wind. One of them dove through the black smoke, bow nocked with a thin, deadly arrow aimed right for Sekun’s heart.
‘Move!’ Gedeon shouted, shoving him to the side.
The arrow flew true but instead of hitting Sekun, it lodged under Gedeon’s shoulder, ripping through skin, sinew and bone. By some chance, it just missed his right lung. He staggered back and growled against the pain, opening his streaming eyes to see a white-haired Eternal warrior high above themdrawing ever closer, her wings beating furiously as she nocked another arrow, a promise raging over her features that the next one would not miss.
Sekun recovered himself and grabbed Gedeon, leaping them away from the city the same way they’d come up, though with significantly less time to rest in between each leap. By the time they reached the shore where the ship stood waiting, Sekun was as magically drained as Gedeon.
‘They’ll follow,’ gasped Gedeon as he ripped the arrow from his shoulder and threw it to the ground. Blood flowed easily from thepuncture, soaking the clothes beneath the furs as he followed Sekun to the ship.
‘Go, you useless shits,’ Sekun spat at the crew awaiting them on the deck, who jumped to action, immediately readying the sails and setting them back out onto the Birlissus. By the time the Eternals made it down the mountain, even carried by powerful wings, they would be long gone.
Gedeon slid against the side of the ship, pressing a heavy hand to the wound in an attempt to slow the flow of blood. It ought to have been healing faster than it was, but the skin was stitching back together surprisingly slowly. The arrow tip had been dipped in some sort of poison; he could feel it searing his skin.
Sekun crouched in front of him. His face was drained of colour, and despite the cold, sweat trickled down the side of his face. Feverish from the excessive use of magic. Still, he leered at Gedeon as though he were the happiest male alive.
Gedeon said through shallow breaths, ‘This was wrong, Sekun. I would have followed her to the ends of the world. But this… this was wrong. She was wrong this time.’
‘Your righteousness will be the death of you.’
‘Do it, then!’ Gedeon demanded. ‘Kill me and be done with it.’
‘No,’ Sekun said slowly. ‘No, you don’t die today. You will look our mother in the eye and tell her that you failed. You will tell her that you betrayed her trust. And I will gladly watch her realise that her faith in you has always been misplaced. I will watch and I will smile as she decides what to do with her traitor son.’
Gedeon barked a humourless laugh. ‘What is it you seek, Sekun? Glory? Our mother’s love? Your desperation to be recognised is pathetic.’
Sekun’s iron fist collided with the side of Gedeon’s face. He was too weakened to block it, even if he had seen it coming. Blinking stars from his eyes, he prodded his tongue at his bottom lip, now split and seeping blood into his mouth and down his chin.
Sekun flexed his fist, watching the motion. ‘I have wanted to do that for a long time,’ he said quietly, his eyes alive with barely controlled thrill. ‘A very, very long time.’
‘I do hope it was satisfying,’ said Gedeon thickly. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
With a growing smile, Sekun turned to face him. ‘Oh, it was. See you at home, traitor.’
Sekun’s foot swung toward his head, and Gedeon knew no more.
Chapter Fourteen
Revelations
???
Avaldale, Vrethian.
Kyra.
Naal Westerra was waiting for Kyra on the docks of Avaldale’s port. The colours of the setting sun cast her body into a silhouette. An ethereal being from her silver-haired head to her leather covered toes.
The strangest thing was that her wings had entirely disappeared.
The Air Warden wrapped up her conversation with the disgruntled looking sailor to her side as she saw her approach. ‘There you are,’ she said. ‘I was just explaining to Captain Damar that an extra cabin will be required for our journey back north.’
