The Heretic by Nathan R Allen

Author:Nathan R Allen [Allen, Nathan R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sharpened Stylus Publishing
Published: 2024-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 32

Standing Vigil

Everette: 6 Years Ago

Explosions and yelling chased Everette’s squad. His order to station additional insurgents around the docks had been an excessive precaution, but now he doubted they would have been able to retreat without the backup.

Warehouse doors slammed shut behind him as the backup soldiers defended their rear.

Everette swore to himself. This was supposed to be a simple snatch-and-grab, not a scalding battlefield!

The nine remaining members of his squad panted as they scurried up and across rusted catwalks. Below them, an unfinished hull stretched out like the skeletal carcass of a massive sea creature.

Wooden beams and ribbing creaked as if the ship already felt the rolling touch of the waves. Red light from the Lodestar Tower spilled in through grimy windows and the gaps in the massive bay doors.

A final boom echoed behind them, and then the noise of conflict ceased. Everette paused and turned back. He listened intently to the coalescing silence. Had any of the insurgents been able to make it out? Or had they all perished buying a few more moments for the mission?

The half-strength squad continued running, leaving Everette behind. He amplified the strength going into his hearing and focused. The rolling crunch of armored feet and the groan of something heavy being wheeled reached his ears. They didn’t have much time.

In three quick bursts, Everette was back with his soldiers, running alongside the group.

“How did they find us?” Ribble gasped out between labored breaths.

“We should have taken out the courier after breaking through the checkpoint,” Hefty said as the captive bounced on his shoulder. “Kid probably warned the Venerit.”

“Couldn’t be,” Everette said as he pivoted and started running backward. “Even gold ribbon messages don’t travel that fast.” He squinted at the bay doors to the group’s rear, waiting for them to open. “Something else went wrong, and we can talk about it after we make it to the boat.”

The boat, the bay, the water in general was the safe zone. So far, the church hadn’t figured out an effective way to send their forces into Avinyón’s crashing waves. It was the one place that was truly Rowin’s domain.

The group turned at the end of the scaffolding and thundered up the steps that were more ladder than stairs. The hostage was jostled indelicately, and there was a clear dong as the unconscious man’s forehead bounced solidly off the railing. Everette winced; the church’s master runewright would wake with a number of bumps and bruises.

Everette was the last one up, and he vaulted the stairs five at a time. A few more levels, and they would reach the cargo crane, a makeshift bridge to a small but fast sloop.

They were close.

A brilliant flash tore through the center of his insurgents. Two men were consumed in the blast and changed to charred husks before they hit the ground. Venerit gold-trimmed robes billowed in front of them after appearing out of nowhere. Without hesitation, Hefty shifted the captive on his shoulder and leveled his crossbow onehanded at their attacker.

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