Chapter 76: Graveyard of Sins (1) [Bonus]

After Maks gave her his best puppy-dog eyes, Amaya tossed him the book and said:

"My room is at the end of the hall on the right... I expect it back in three to four hours."

Maks cheered as he caught the book.

"Yes!"

Wasting no time, Maks rolled onto his bed, kicked off his shoes, and began reading.

Zayn smiled, then said:

"I guess I’ll read mine now, too. Once we’ve all read it, we can figure out where to go from there. If there’s somewhere to go at all."

Amaya smiled.

"Good idea."

Then, she leaned in, pressed her thigh against his, and whispered in his ear:

"There’s still a little more I’d love to talk about, alone..."

Pulling away, Amaya winked, pushed herself off the bed, slung the satchel’s strap over her shoulder, and headed for the door.

Zayn didn’t respond.

Giggling, she waved and slipped out.

"See you tomorrow."

Zayn returned the gesture with an unenthused wave as his gaze dropped to the plain cover of his book.

’I’m not really in the mood to read...’

But maybe the book could take his mind off the tragedy.

It seemed to be working for Maks, who lay on his stomach, kicking his feet as he read.

Zayn traced a finger over the title, then pried the book open. There was no title page, prologue, or foreword; it simply began.

’I guess it is a diary.’

***

An army nearly five hundred strong stood along the narrow dirt road leading into an unnamed town. The five men at the front wore shingled metal armor and ornate helmets that displayed their status.

They were knights from a kingdom the girl didn’t know.

The girl had been innocently chasing bugs near the forest’s edge when the men emerged from the dense trees and drew their weapons on her.

She’d run.

She’d run as fast and as far as her little legs could carry her, but she stood little chance against the mounted knights. She’d been surrounded and snatched up before she’d even made it halfway to the town.

She was placed atop a knight’s horse and forced to ride with him as the soldiers filed into neat lines behind their commanders, taking their positions along the dirt road.

The man who’d captured her bellowed:

"Hear me: surrender or die!"

Then, he dismounted and hauled the girl down with him, throwing her onto the dirt before slicing her calves so she couldn’t run.

He would have sliced her ankles, but he didn’t want to cripple her ability to work and lower her value.

After all, these men were not conducting a simple territorial conquest. The girl would later learn they had come to enslave everyone and raze the entire town.

However...

The townspeople, bearing pitchforks, rakes, and scythes, gathered at the edge of the village and faced the army before them, outnumbered nearly four to one.

They shouted over one another:

"Rot in hell!"

"Stand strong!"

"Cowards!"

Perhaps it was because they knew their peaceful lives were at an end and would rather die with honor that day than live as slaves.

Even when the knight held his blade to the young girl’s neck, the townspeople did not waver. Not a single one called for surrender.

Not even the girl’s parents.

The girl heard the man curse under his breath.

"So be it..."

Tears blurring her vision, she looked into his eyes as he drew his arm back...

Then she watched his head separate cleanly from his neck amid a spray of blood.

His body swayed, threatening to fall onto her, but a rock the size of the girl slammed into its chest, hurling it away.

Suddenly, soldiers were being hurled left and right, struck by invisible blades.

The soldiers cried out.

"Witch! It’s a witch!"

"There are three of them!"

"Run!"

The remaining knights shouted back, seemingly unconcerned that their leader had just been beheaded:

"No, you fools! Capture them! Anyone who retreats will be executed."

The soldiers exchanged uneasy looks before deciding to obey, more fearful of whatever lord they served than the ’witches.’

Looking back toward the town, the girl watched as three women who’d stepped out from the crowd approached the army.

The woman at the front flung her hands wildly left and right, sending out blade after blade of wind.

The woman on the right hurled rocks.

The woman on the left held up her hand against the barrage of incoming arrows, blocking them with a translucent golden shield.

The battle that followed was fierce, pitting nearly five hundred soldiers against only three women. But in the end, the women emerged victorious. A few soldiers managed to flee, but most were slaughtered by the sorceresses.

Only after the army had been defeated did the three women begin coughing violently, two of them falling to their knees.

The townspeople rushed toward them, and so did the girl. But she reached them first.

The girl ran up to the woman who had wielded the wind and hugged her leg.

"Thank you!"

The woman looked down at the young girl in horror.

"No..."

The crowd surrounded the four of them, shouting:

"Witches!"

"To think we had heathens among us!"

"Release her!"

"Are you mad? She’s a witch too!"

The mob continued screaming as it slowly closed in. The woman who controlled the wind raised her hand, threatening to kill any who approached.

That was enough to keep them at bay at first. But then they changed tactics.

The townspeople began throwing stones, swords, and arrows — anything they could seize from the ground — at the four.

The barrier wielder tried to block them all, but before long, she thrust up her hand and produced nothing.

It seemed she could no longer use her powers. And if the other two could still use theirs, they were nearing their limits as well.

The last thing the girl remembered was the woman whose leg she had hugged looking down and punching her, then swiping her hand to send a thin slash of wind across her face.