Read Online New World Ashes by Jennifer Wilson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jennifer Wilson
Ads: Link
ceilings. A clap of thunder made from hundreds of voices.
“And what do you trust in?
“The Sanctuary!”
“And how do you fight for it?”
My ears began to ring so loudly I didn’t even hear the response, but I read it on the girl’s lips.
TO THE DEATH!
My palms felt slick, while my throat went dry. I could feel the muscles in my neck spasming as I tried to swallow. To the death…
This wasn’t just another fight in which I could break an arm or render someone unconscious. The Minister meant for me to kill the child or to succumb and let her kill me. Which we both knew would never happen, or at least it couldn’t happen… could it?
Before my mind could fully process the lethality of the situation, the tiny girl was advancing. Her blows were calculated and surprisingly fast. The child fought better then most others twice her age. I backed away, losing my ground as I parried her advances. I was trying to think, to figure some way out of this, but I couldn’t focus. If I let the child win I would lose everything. I would never see Triven or Mouse again and I would be turning this little girl into a murderer, for what? To appease my demented grandfather? To ease my own conscience?
I lashed out twice unconsciously. My survival instincts were clawing their way to the surface. The girl fell back cradling her head before resuming her stance. She spat out a mouthful of blood and began advancing again muttering, “For The Sanctuary.”
I could hear Fandrin laugh from somewhere nearby and my vision went red. Someone had to make him pay for this. I had to live, if just to see that he died.
I remembered moving toward the girl, closing my eyes so I didn’t have to look at her face—at Mouse’s face—but I didn’t remember any of my actions after that. It was as if someone else took over my body and I let it happen. It wasn’t until I heard the clatter of the knife at my feet and the call to “Finish it,” that I felt the blood on my hands. My eyes fell to the floor. A small body lay at my feet. It was like watching the world from the end of a long tunnel. My breathing was angry and ragged, while the girl’s was shallow. I stared at the black handled knife that lay between my feet. My fingers slid together, her blood slick against my skin. This was the point where every other fight had stopped. The point when they carried away their comrade and placed another before me to break. But it was different this time. There would be no reset, no going back. The knife at my feet proved that.
I had promised Triven I would survive for him, promised that I wouldn’t abandon him and Mouse, but at what cost? Could he forgive me for this? My whole life had been about nothing but survival. Seventeen years of doing anything it took to survive, but was this worth it? If I killed a child for my own selfish motives I would be no better than my grandfather… My head snapped up and I met the old man’s eyes.
That was it.
That was what he wanted all along. To prove how much I was like him. To prove I would do whatever it took to survive. Just like he had taught me all those years ago. He wanted to prove to me that surviving for what I thought was right, was more important than the lives of others. He wanted me to see that I was the same as him, that I was still of his blood.
For one spectacular moment I fantasized about throwing the knife into his skull, but there were at least forty guns pointed at me and as my vision swam I could not guarantee actually hitting my target. I stared back down at the knife again and then at the child.
I smiled to myself. He was right about one thing. One life was not as important as the cause. Please forgive me . I silently pleaded to Triven and Mouse.
I stooped for the knife, swiftly snatching it up and with a mighty thrust aimed the blade directly at my own heart.
8. SHATTERED
“NO! ” THE MINISTER’S cry could be heard above the ensuing chaos, but it barely reached my
“And what do you trust in?
“The Sanctuary!”
“And how do you fight for it?”
My ears began to ring so loudly I didn’t even hear the response, but I read it on the girl’s lips.
TO THE DEATH!
My palms felt slick, while my throat went dry. I could feel the muscles in my neck spasming as I tried to swallow. To the death…
This wasn’t just another fight in which I could break an arm or render someone unconscious. The Minister meant for me to kill the child or to succumb and let her kill me. Which we both knew would never happen, or at least it couldn’t happen… could it?
Before my mind could fully process the lethality of the situation, the tiny girl was advancing. Her blows were calculated and surprisingly fast. The child fought better then most others twice her age. I backed away, losing my ground as I parried her advances. I was trying to think, to figure some way out of this, but I couldn’t focus. If I let the child win I would lose everything. I would never see Triven or Mouse again and I would be turning this little girl into a murderer, for what? To appease my demented grandfather? To ease my own conscience?
I lashed out twice unconsciously. My survival instincts were clawing their way to the surface. The girl fell back cradling her head before resuming her stance. She spat out a mouthful of blood and began advancing again muttering, “For The Sanctuary.”
I could hear Fandrin laugh from somewhere nearby and my vision went red. Someone had to make him pay for this. I had to live, if just to see that he died.
I remembered moving toward the girl, closing my eyes so I didn’t have to look at her face—at Mouse’s face—but I didn’t remember any of my actions after that. It was as if someone else took over my body and I let it happen. It wasn’t until I heard the clatter of the knife at my feet and the call to “Finish it,” that I felt the blood on my hands. My eyes fell to the floor. A small body lay at my feet. It was like watching the world from the end of a long tunnel. My breathing was angry and ragged, while the girl’s was shallow. I stared at the black handled knife that lay between my feet. My fingers slid together, her blood slick against my skin. This was the point where every other fight had stopped. The point when they carried away their comrade and placed another before me to break. But it was different this time. There would be no reset, no going back. The knife at my feet proved that.
I had promised Triven I would survive for him, promised that I wouldn’t abandon him and Mouse, but at what cost? Could he forgive me for this? My whole life had been about nothing but survival. Seventeen years of doing anything it took to survive, but was this worth it? If I killed a child for my own selfish motives I would be no better than my grandfather… My head snapped up and I met the old man’s eyes.
That was it.
That was what he wanted all along. To prove how much I was like him. To prove I would do whatever it took to survive. Just like he had taught me all those years ago. He wanted to prove to me that surviving for what I thought was right, was more important than the lives of others. He wanted me to see that I was the same as him, that I was still of his blood.
For one spectacular moment I fantasized about throwing the knife into his skull, but there were at least forty guns pointed at me and as my vision swam I could not guarantee actually hitting my target. I stared back down at the knife again and then at the child.
I smiled to myself. He was right about one thing. One life was not as important as the cause. Please forgive me . I silently pleaded to Triven and Mouse.
I stooped for the knife, swiftly snatching it up and with a mighty thrust aimed the blade directly at my own heart.
8. SHATTERED
“NO! ” THE MINISTER’S cry could be heard above the ensuing chaos, but it barely reached my
Similar Books
