Mud, Blood, and Magic by A. D. Krabis

Author:A. D. Krabis [Krabis, A. D.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2022-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Sam looked down on the Warrant Officer. Veserik’s eyes widened as she watched the Captain’s body fall unceremoniously from the tower. His severed head bounced off her shin before it rolled down the gentle slope of the courtyard. Silence pervaded the scene before him as he watched Veserik run a gamut of emotions.

“Gaelin!” she cried, dropping the spell she had been forming between her hands as she sprinted for the headless corpse. Sam blinked in shock, not expecting her to completely disregard the fight and run to her fallen officer. He passed a glance to Kara, who flicked a genuinely unsettled stare his way. Shrugging, he turned back into the tower, stooping to pick up Jarrus’s pistol.

Looking it over, the large, break-action revolver had several glowing runes carved into the barrel, cylinder, and frame. Taking an experimental peek down the sights, he blinked when reality shifted above the revolver, bending the light to magnify the view in a three-inch circle above the weapon.

He pressed the small lever on the side of the revolver, the top popping open. Sam was careful, and his other hand prevented the weapon from dumping the contents of its cylinder. It reminded him of several revolvers from his old world that he’d seen mostly in movies. It struck him as odd that it held eight rounds in the action, instead of the usual five or six.

Closing it back up, he slung the awkwardly-dangling rifle onto his back, picked up the bayonet, and began his trek downstairs. When he stepped through the destroyed doorway to the stairs, his eyebrows furrowed as he heard deep, woeful sobs from outside the door.

‘I… that’s not right.’ He thought, stepping pensively outside. Veserik was cradling Jarrus’s corpse to her chest, weeping against his shoulder. Ellie and Kara stood slightly away from the woman, eying her with confusion and suspicion.

Sam stepped up to Kara, leaning over to her ear.

“Something seem… odd with this?” he asked, passing a glance to the pitiful mage.

“I’ve known her for four years, Sam,” Kara said shakily. “I’ve never seen her cry. Let alone… well, this.”

Sam nodded, stepping away from her. He walked to the Warrant Officer, stopping several steps away, and dropped to one knee. She lifted her gaze up to him.

“You,” she hissed, “You ruined everything.”

“I killed a traitor to Lenit,” Sam answered gently. “He would’ve killed me just as easi-“

“Lies!” she spat, baring her teeth. “You beheaded a man on his knees!”

“Lady,” Sam groaned, “Did you not see the big fucking hole in his head? He was dead before I did that.”

“Then you sullied his corpse!” she snapped back, pulling him to her chest. “You defiled my only love!”

“I doubt you would’ve stopped trying to kill my friends without the show,” Sam responded. “Wasn’t pleasant for me, either.”

“Eat my shit, human,” she growled, moving to roll Jarrus’s body off her. Sam leapt back, well aware what an angry air-mage could do. He leveled Jarrus’s pistol at her, deciding whatever magical bullshit it had would be far more useful than his own.

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