Read Online The Wizard Killer - Season One: A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Serial by Adam Dreece - Free Book Online
Authors: Adam Dreece
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They’ve found us.
“Scourge!” I yell to the group, but it doesn’t help. By the time anyone understands what’s going on, I’m sent flying into a column.
This Scourge’s acolyte isn’t a rookie. He issues his commands quickly and clearly, and then moves as a blur of blue and silver.
My world’s spinning. If I had any weapons, they’re gone. There’s a boot keeping my head down and a blade touching my back. The taste of blood and dirt helps keep me awake. I gaze out helplessly at the slummers.
One by one, they’re cut down, until only a mother and little daughter are left. I remember having watched the mother run her finger along the inside of her dinner bowl and hold it out for the girl to lick.
As the daughter is pulled away, the mother throws a soldier to the ground. Despite her petite frame and lack of formal training, she puts up a good fight until three of them are on her. The acolyte laughs and takes an interest. My stomach turns as I suspect what’s coming. I’m tempted to look away, but I can’t, it feels like I’d be abandoning her. I try to stand but the boot and blade remind me that I’m not going anywhere.
The acolyte waves away the soldier who is holding the daughter. The kid wisely just stands there. Some points of light circle around her. Probably floating lanterns.
With a sharp gesture and whispered word, the acolyte forces the girl to her knees, and with another, makes her lean forward, head out. The acolyte is so wasteful with his mana, I can feel the residue on my face from here.
He walks over to the girl, paralyzed with fear and held in place by his will, and raises a hand above her neck. I remember the first time I’d seen an acolyte behead someone with their hand, it’d sent a bolt of fear through me. They love doing this to the stunted. Yes, that’s what they’re called. Those who can’t touch the world of magic and mana. There are the Wizards, the acolytes, the adepts, the wesleks, and the stunted.
I’ve heard a million screams, but never one like the one that which erupts out of this mother. It’s the scream of the powerless trying to shake something loose in the universe, trying to shock Fate into giving them a chance.
Her face contorts and her body twists. She manages to knock one of the soldiers backwards, and then to my surprise, she sends another flying one several feet. Limply, the woman hobbles forward. I notice the shadow of only one arm at her side, and as she comes into the light, I see the other one’s curled up to her chest. She bends down and grabs a stone.
“What did you just do?” asks the acolyte, speaking for the two of us. I can tell by the look on his face that she didn’t just throw those soldiers, she must have done something else to them.
The mother pulls her arm back and when she lets the stone go, there’s a boom. The acolyte falls forward, light shining through a fist-sized hole through his chest. The daughter collapses to the ground in tears.
The mother clumsily dashes for her daughter and then skids to a stop, resting on all fours. Half of her body seems dark, and only one eye’s shining in the light. Her nose is raised in the air. What’s she doing? The soldiers don’t know what to make of her or the death of their leader. She turns about, sniffing and then glares hungrily at a particular soldier. I can tell by his uniform that he’s an adept, able to enhance his skills with mana. It’s a massacre. I barely get out of there, the only one alive.
“Leecher…” I whisper as I pass out and the world slips away.
My head hits the floor with a wallop. The leecher bartender leaps over the bar, kicking me accidentally on her way towards the door. She’s yelling something, but I can’t make sense of it.
Staring at the ceiling, I feel weak and drained. What could have made her leave? Then I hear the screech of the carnu. Yig, they’ve tracked me down.
All I can manage is to roll my head a bit to the left and
“Scourge!” I yell to the group, but it doesn’t help. By the time anyone understands what’s going on, I’m sent flying into a column.
This Scourge’s acolyte isn’t a rookie. He issues his commands quickly and clearly, and then moves as a blur of blue and silver.
My world’s spinning. If I had any weapons, they’re gone. There’s a boot keeping my head down and a blade touching my back. The taste of blood and dirt helps keep me awake. I gaze out helplessly at the slummers.
One by one, they’re cut down, until only a mother and little daughter are left. I remember having watched the mother run her finger along the inside of her dinner bowl and hold it out for the girl to lick.
As the daughter is pulled away, the mother throws a soldier to the ground. Despite her petite frame and lack of formal training, she puts up a good fight until three of them are on her. The acolyte laughs and takes an interest. My stomach turns as I suspect what’s coming. I’m tempted to look away, but I can’t, it feels like I’d be abandoning her. I try to stand but the boot and blade remind me that I’m not going anywhere.
The acolyte waves away the soldier who is holding the daughter. The kid wisely just stands there. Some points of light circle around her. Probably floating lanterns.
With a sharp gesture and whispered word, the acolyte forces the girl to her knees, and with another, makes her lean forward, head out. The acolyte is so wasteful with his mana, I can feel the residue on my face from here.
He walks over to the girl, paralyzed with fear and held in place by his will, and raises a hand above her neck. I remember the first time I’d seen an acolyte behead someone with their hand, it’d sent a bolt of fear through me. They love doing this to the stunted. Yes, that’s what they’re called. Those who can’t touch the world of magic and mana. There are the Wizards, the acolytes, the adepts, the wesleks, and the stunted.
I’ve heard a million screams, but never one like the one that which erupts out of this mother. It’s the scream of the powerless trying to shake something loose in the universe, trying to shock Fate into giving them a chance.
Her face contorts and her body twists. She manages to knock one of the soldiers backwards, and then to my surprise, she sends another flying one several feet. Limply, the woman hobbles forward. I notice the shadow of only one arm at her side, and as she comes into the light, I see the other one’s curled up to her chest. She bends down and grabs a stone.
“What did you just do?” asks the acolyte, speaking for the two of us. I can tell by the look on his face that she didn’t just throw those soldiers, she must have done something else to them.
The mother pulls her arm back and when she lets the stone go, there’s a boom. The acolyte falls forward, light shining through a fist-sized hole through his chest. The daughter collapses to the ground in tears.
The mother clumsily dashes for her daughter and then skids to a stop, resting on all fours. Half of her body seems dark, and only one eye’s shining in the light. Her nose is raised in the air. What’s she doing? The soldiers don’t know what to make of her or the death of their leader. She turns about, sniffing and then glares hungrily at a particular soldier. I can tell by his uniform that he’s an adept, able to enhance his skills with mana. It’s a massacre. I barely get out of there, the only one alive.
“Leecher…” I whisper as I pass out and the world slips away.
My head hits the floor with a wallop. The leecher bartender leaps over the bar, kicking me accidentally on her way towards the door. She’s yelling something, but I can’t make sense of it.
Staring at the ceiling, I feel weak and drained. What could have made her leave? Then I hear the screech of the carnu. Yig, they’ve tracked me down.
All I can manage is to roll my head a bit to the left and
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