Chasing Graves 03 - Breaking Chaos by Ben Galley

Author:Ben Galley [Galley, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, fantasy
Publisher: BenGalley.com
Published: 2019-05-06T22:00:00+00:00

Ani watched the blood pooling around her black boots. Temsa’s head lay in his own crotch, staring up at her with shock in his eyes. There had been a moment where she still felt him looking back at her, while his mouth gasped like a fresh fish on a monger’s stall. Those eyes stared through her now. To another world.

Movement. With a snarl, she twitched her stray locks aside and stared at Danib. His sword was now in his hands, but between the eye-holes in his visor, she saw a look blanker than she had ever seen. There was a pause, and then the blade rested again.

Ani didn’t want to admit how glad she was about that.

She thumbed the warm blood sliding over her knuckles. She was barely tired, but still breathless. She couldn’t quite remember swinging the axe, but she remembered the snap that had drove her to it. She could not have endured another word from that lying, scheming, putrid mouth. A mouth from which she had never known a kind thing to fall. And even in his last moments, Temsa had put it to work, wheedling a way to save his skin.

‘My, my,’ said one of the sisters. Ani didn’t care which one. Caltro Basalt was staring at her with a mixture of shock and happiness. She rested her wet axe on the marble and raised her chin.

‘That’s saved you a job, I imagine,’ Ani said.

‘We have clearly misjudged you, Miss Jexebel. We thought you had little aspiration for anything except severing heads,’ said the sister.

‘Which you do expertly, it must be said,’ said the other.

Ani snorted. ‘I think you’ve judged me well enough. I have no aspirations for any of this. Temsa paid me well enough to fight for him, but in the end, not well enough to die for him. I’d rather leave you all to it and walk out of this tower with clean hands.’

The sisters took a step forwards, almost as one body. Caltro poked his head over their shoulders. Both ghosts wore a smile.

‘And no interests in the Church, Miss Jexebel? Your axe could have plenty more work.’

Ani shook her head, sure as she had ever been, and fighting the urge to spit on their robes. Of all times, now was the time for restraint. ‘A tavern is what Temsa should have stuck with, and I think that’ll do just fine for me. I want a quiet life, if that’s such a thing in this fucking city. I want no part of this. And you can keep your smart-mouthed locksmith for all I care.’

The pause was heavily pregnant. Ani raised her axe to hold it below its double blade, blood still dripping from its notched edges. ‘Well, have we a deal? Or does my axe need to do some more work?’

At the foot of the dais, Danib tensed.

Her heart beat like a battle drum as she turned the copper edge of the axe towards them. Her eyes crept to Danib again, hoping he wouldn’t move any further.

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