Traitors Unseen by Dave Dobson

Author:Dave Dobson [Dobson, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Indie Author Project
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

17

LEADER HOSING

Along with the heat came a wave of despair. And then a wave of panic. Here I was, perhaps the closest person to Jeroch, at the moment he was killed or maimed. I wanted nothing more than to flee, but instead I forced myself to look around the corner. Smoke filled the street, and bodies lay sprawled up in front of me along with fragments of mortar, brick, and timber. The wooden parts of the buildings ahead were ablaze. A man stumbled out of a house and stood coughing in the street, looking around the scene. Beyond him, the road turned to the left, and I could not see what lay in that direction.

I took a few steps forward. I saw two of the guards on the ground, rolling about, struggling to get up. Not dead, then, at least. But the others lay still. I couldn’t make out if Jeroch was among them or not. I didn’t know what could have caused the blast. No oils or alchemical fire that I knew of would detonate to that extent. It must have been magic, or some chemical I’d never seen before.

The man who had emerged from the house looked up at me and raised a hand. In greeting, or to request help? I didn’t know. I weighed my options. I decided I would not look guilty, or as guilty, if I tried to help now, and the Prelate might need help. It was the right thing to do. I waved back at the man and moved down the street towards the flames.

After only a few steps, I heard the twang of a crossbow, and the man, still looking toward me, was struck in the side, the bolt coming from the left, where I couldn’t see. He fell to the ground. I didn’t know if his attacker was an overzealous guard defending the scene, or someone else, perhaps with a worse motive, trying to finish off the victims. I hugged the wall and moved forward more. I had no defense against crossbows, but at least I might be able to bear witness to what was happening and be of some use. My training kept me moving forward even as the deeper, animal part of my mind urged me back, away from danger.

One of the guards raised a hand toward the left, and a bolt struck him as well, in the neck. He writhed in the street and then was still. It was terrible to watch. My back against the left wall, I eased myself forward, watching, listening, trying to move quietly.

“We need to get out of here.” A man’s voice, harsh, angry.

“The guards will be here soon. We’re too close to the market.” A woman.

And then a third voice spoke, one I knew well. Crenn. “We need to make sure he’s dead. The guards too. Anyone who might have seen us. Then we can leave.”

There was some scrabbling and scraping. I reached the corner of the building ahead. One more step and I’d be in view.

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