Violent Souls (Blood City Chronicles, Book 1)

I ignore her and start to lead them out of Oakwood. As we’re walking back, I can hear a little girl screaming. I shouldn’t look. Just leave. But now I can’t. I stop and look at a brown house with a pembe navale in front. Drake is there, with a young girl pinned to the ground under him. His blade is pressed against her cheek. The two kids he brought with him have a strong glow to them and splatters of blood on their skin. The girl has her eyes closed. He’s petting her hair. He’s pressing the knife into her. He’s growling through his teeth as he does it. Spit is dripping from his bottom lip onto her. He stops. He jumps up. He’s screaming and holding his thigh. 

I throw the flaming piece of furniture, which was dripping with the remnants of cargast bomb, to the side. I help the girl up. Jessi and Jonas kill the kids, as I instructed. I put the girl on my shoulders and start to leave with her. At first, I feel a bite, or what feels like a giant needle tearing through my back. I look down and see the sharpened and polished beadomece sticking out of the left side of my stomach. There’s a loud humming in my ear. Colors all fade out…then everything goes black. Like a computer monitor being shut off. 

Then, like the snap of a finger, I’m standing with the girl on my shoulders again. No blade through me. The last few moments are swirling in my head like a dream. I turn around. Jonas is attacking Drake. Terror Girl is swaying back and forth, frothing at the mouth. Gods, I hope no one sees her.

Drake is too powerful for Jonas and quickly overwhelms him. I pull my sidepiece out to wound him, but his cell phone has the new baec view. He twirls around, holding Jonas in front as a shield, and puts the blade to his throat. 

(I can’t kill another assassin if he isn’t attacking me. And I can’t claim it’s because he killed me a couple of minutes ago.)

“What the fuck just happened?” he yells.

“Nothing, Drake, let my charge go. You have no contract on him or me.”

“What the fuck just happened? Why is she a fucking cargast!”

“Drake you need—”

He shakes his head. “Wait, wait.” He points his sword at me. “You’re dead; I just killed you.”

“What sense does that make?”

“You’re dead and then, I’m back here.” He’s thinking hard. It’s not pretty. And honestly, he’s so distracted…Why hasn’t Jonas es—

Jonas heel-kicks Drake in the groin. I pick the kid back up. Jonas is dragging his sister. And we all head for the exit. Out of the ether, Pigo pops in front of me. His face is smudged with ash and dirt, his hair, a bright yellow, is singed at the ends. Unfortunately for him, he startles me.

“Hey, Sas—”

I nail him with the butt of my gun, right on his nose. Bit over the top. To be fair…I did just die. Probably could have just said move. Too late for that now.

Holding his nose, I can hear the word “Why!?” trailing us as we leave Oakwood. It’s probably the first time I’ve heard that question from a bonger at one of these.