Soul Relenter (Soul Saga #3) (31 page)

Mitan rose to his feet and pulled his blade from his scabbard. His finally dropped his smile at her insult and gripped the pommel of his sword. “That back talk won’t last long, Accacia.” He edged closer to her and she waited for him to make the first move. He swung
his blade down on her with all the strength he could muster but Accacia moved away from the blow and ran out the door, entering the wide room at the top of the stairs. She knew she was going to need more room if she planned to evade his brutal force. Accacia hoped she could engage him until help arrived, if any of her comrades had survived.

The c
ommander followed her into the room. “You can only run for so long, Accacia. My blade will slice your body eventually. It’s inevitable.” He ran to her and she turned out of the way, raising her sword to block his attack. The strength of his body was no match for her and she could only hold his blade back for a mere second. She stepped back and ducked out of the way of his next assault. Accacia stabbed her blade into him whenever she could and the element of the blade cut through the armor but didn’t penetrate the skin. She knew her only chance of success was aiming for head and neck, both of which were tall out of her reach.

Mitan swung his blade at her feet
and she jumped over his sword, evading the cut to her legs. While she was in the air, Mitan punched her with the force of his arm and Accacia felt his hand collide into her chest, landing hard against her sternum. She was thrown back across the floor. Her body slid over the tile, pushing her far away from him. Accacia was thankful for the distance. The blow had knocked the wind out of her. She had never been hit like that—ever. Accacia felt the blinding pain course through her body. Initially, she couldn’t breathe, and when she sucked the air into her lungs she couldn’t get any oxygen. The area around her chest screamed in agony as she lied there. She knew her body was broken. She couldn’t look down at her armor, fearing the sight would cause her to give up completely. The pain was more excruciating than any other experience she had and she couldn’t concentrate. She thought of her loved ones fighting in the city and she raised herself up against the screams of agony in her body, knowing she had to save her people. Accacia wouldn’t stop until they were safe. She refused to give in.

Mitan smiled at her. He didn’t pursue
her and she was thankful for the momentary reprieve. “Surrender,” was all he said. Accacia shook her head but didn’t say anything. “You’re a stupid girl.” He ran to her again and she jumped to her feet, moving out of the way just in time to avoid the point of his blade. She kicked his knee with her boot but it had no effect on his armor. It hurt her more than it hurt him. Accacia scrambled to her feet and blocked his sword. He reached out to hit her again but she moved out of the way, saving her life. Accacia thought her lungs would collapse if he landed another blow. She could barely breathe as it was. Accacia lunged out of the way of another attack and headed closer to the railing of the balcony. Mitan was a giant with his bulging arms and vast chest, and Accacia feared every swing of his blade was going to be the killing strike that claimed her body. Her heart pumped sporadically as she evaded him, and she never felt more frightened than she did in that moment. Mitan lunged at her again but she jumped on the railing, out of his reach, and threw herself toward him, swinging her blade at his neck as she was in the air. Accacia knew she missed her aim because she felt her body collide into the ground. She felt her eyes blacken from the impact and she tried to get up but was unable to find the strength or the will. Accacia was in more agony than she had ever been in. For the first time, she wanted it to end. Aleco’s face formed in her mind and she recalled the words he had yelled to her during their training session on a winter afternoon.
Don’t you dare give up!
Accacia breathed in through her lungs and ignored the pain of her collapsed chest. She knew she had to get up. Accacia could feel the commander coming toward her, smiling no doubt, and she had to move. She had too many people depending on her to let herself be killed. She knew Zyle would take his own life if she didn’t survive.

Accacia rolled out of the way and got to her feet. She felt dizzy for a moment and
knew the back of her head was bleeding. A headache pounded behind her eyes and she felt weak, like she wasn’t in full possession of her body. She forced herself to concentrate, knowing Aleco would be furious with her for dying.

“You’
re stronger than you let on,” he said as he walked toward her. He flicked his blade around his wrist in a dance, showing his adroitness in battle. “But you’re also dumber. End this now and save yourself the pain. You can barely stand, dear.”

“I hope the v
oid takes you after I kill you.” The thought of her dying loved ones fueled her need for victory. She never thought she would become a warrior but she had done that because she wouldn’t accept failure—and Accacia wouldn’t accept it now. For the first time, she engaged him, aiming to kill, and she swung her blade at his face but he stepped back from the course of the blade. He swung his sword at her outstretched arm and cut the skin along her arm, slicing through her cloak and armor with the strength of his body. Accacia felt the sting as the blade tore her skin. The blood dripped down her arm. The cut was deep and the blood poured like an upturned pale of water. Her arm was almost useless. She was less convinced of her success with every second.

She moved out of his way as he l
unged at her again, and she inched closer to the stairway, running out of places to escape his blade. He pursued her and she dashed out of the way of his assault, but he tripped her feet and she fell to the floor. He grabbed her by the neck and held her above the ground. Her feet were dangling feet above the surface. Then he held her over the balcony twenty feet over the ground.

Accacia gasped as she flailed helplessly under his clenched fist. She felt her brain flicker in and out of consciousness as her mind was depleted of oxygen. Mitan said he wouldn’t kill he
r but now she doubted his words. He seemed intent on murdering her. She gasped again but he only tightened his hold around her throat, restricting her oxygen completely and inflicting excruciating pain on her body. Accacia felt her mind fall into the abyss. She knew this would be the end of the battle is she didn’t do something. Accacia would either die or wake up naked in a bedchamber. The thought was more than she could stand. With one last effort, she pressed her boots against the beam of the rail and pushed with all the strength she could. Accacia felt herself fall backwards, and his hand loosen around her throat as they were both pulled from the balcony. Accacia gasped for breath as she felt herself falling, realizing that they were both flying to their deaths. She grabbed Mitan and positioned herself on top of him just before they collided with the marble of the floor.

Accacia felt her bo
dy slam into his as they fell into the earth. The world spun in her mind for a moment and she regained her composure as she sucked the oxygen into her body. Accacia was lost for an instant, unsure what had just transpired. It was like waking up from a dream that she couldn’t recall. She looked at Mitan below her and the past flooded back to her. She crawled away from him and reached for her sword, stumbling as she located it on the ground. She tried to lift it but she couldn’t, too weak from the loss of blood. She forced the air into her lungs and abandoned the sword, feeling the damaged skin of her neck with her fingers. She could tell how bruised her throat was just by touching it. She tried to breathe but the pain in her chest was too much. If Mitan rose, she wouldn’t be able to fight him. She was too weak to resist. Accacia forced herself to concentrate. She could attend to her wounds later. She pressed her hands against the tile but they slipped from the blood draining from the wound of her arm. Accacia finally got to her feet and walked to the window. There was a pile of curtains on the floor. She took the rope from under the material and returned to Mitan. She examined his body and realized he was still breathing. He somehow survived the fall twenty feet down. She tied his hands behind his back and secured him.

She was feeling weaker by the moment. Accacia didn’t know how lo
ng she could keep up her energy. She felt like she could collapse at any moment. The vertigo flooded her mind and she felt dizzy for a moment, sensing the effects of the loss of blood. The strength of her body was waning with every passing moment and her soul was severing its connection to her body, preparing to be transported to the Soul Binders. She reached into her pack and withdrew a thin piece of cloth, securing it around the deep cut in her arm. She forced some seeds into her mouth along with the protein plant from Suaden, needing the sustenance. Accacia wanted to look under her shirt and assess the damage to her chest but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She knew it was bad. Accacia doubted she would survive her injuries. The blood still dripped from the back of her head. She knew she needed to stop the resistance of the soldiers in Paso Robles to spare her people. She had to keep going.

Accacia secured
more rope around Mitan’s body, ensuring he wouldn’t attack her when he awoke. She knew she wouldn’t survive if he broke his bonds. She poured water onto his face and tried to wake him. He was bleeding from a cut to the back of the head, but other than that, he had no life-threatening injuries from what Accacia could see from the surface. She was certain his internal injuries were severe.

He opened his eyes and moaned loudly, becoming aware of the excruciating pain as his mind unclouded. Mitan jerked sudde
nly but stopped when he realized his arms were paralyzed. Accacia sucked on the end of a plant leaf from the Continent, a remedy in Orgoom Forest that numbed the most severe pain. “Get up,” she commanded him. She stopped her own agony from creeping into her voice. Accacia didn’t want to him to know how injured and weak she was. “I will give you something for the pain if you obey me.”

Mitan looked at her with a look of hate. He studied her features for a moment and realized how injured she was.
              “I was hoping you were dead.”

“The feeling is mutual.” She dangled the plant in front of him, enticing him with the vegetative supplement. “I said get up.”

Mitan sat up and closed his eyes. Accacia reached for her blade as he rose to his feet and she pointed it at him. The commander leaned his body to one side, avoiding the pain of the other leg. He looked at her. “You look like hell.”

Accacia ignored him. “Let’s go.” She pushed him up the stairs with the point of her sword in his back. They both
progressed up the stairs slowly. They were both in mortal agony. Accacia could feel her heart fail with every step she took. She knew she wasn’t going to survive. Her last act would be to reinstate order within the realm before she fell over and died. They walked up the stairs and crossed the threshold to the balcony in front of the fortress. They walked outside and looked out into the city, hearing the sound of battle a few streets away. Accacia was hidden from view behind his massive size. She pointed the blade into his back until it drew blood. She had no pity for him. “Tell your men to step down, and I will take the pain away.” Mitan said nothing for a moment. She kicked him in the back and he leaned over in pain. Accacia could only imagine how much agony he was experiencing. The man had just fallen off a balcony. “Now do it.”

“Fine,” Mitan hissed. “Ring the bell,” he said as he nodded to the tower bells. Accacia did as he commanded and pulled on the strings. The bells chimed loudly up above and hurt Accacia’s ears. They played long after she released the string. She stood behind
him and waited for the soldiers to respond to his summons. Accacia saw them advance through the dark. Many of them were bloody from the battle, and others were supporting their comrades on their shoulders. She saw them carry some of the dead back to the palace. Accacia felt her heart tug in sympathy but she forced it back. She had no idea how own her kin had faired. When the hundreds of soldiers stood in the square before them, the commander spoke. “Lay down your weapons and surrender yourself to the attackers. They have taken over the city.” Mitan breathed deeply before he continued on, forcing back the pain from his body. “Our captors will not harm you if you surrender. Do so now. Spread the word.”

Accacia leaned into him and whispered in his ear. She could barely force the words out. “Tell them to bring the leader to the palace immediately. You wish to speak to them.”

Mitan repeated her words and dismissed the soldiers. They dashed off into the night to stop the battles that were taking place over the city. Accacia brought him back inside and returned to the balcony. He fell down and leaned his body against the rail, and Accacia tied his wrist to the beams that lined the balcony surrounding the staircase. “I did as you commanded,”
Mitan growled at her. Accacia was too weak to respond. She opened her pack and withdrew the plant, shoving it into his mouth.

Accacia felt her body give out. T
his was it. She fell back on the floor and felt her mind fall into the abyss of no return. She had saved her kin and protected her people, ensuring that the battle had been won. She knew her soul would be imprisoned but she knew Aleco and Zyle would commit themselves to releasing her from the Soul Binders and save her immortality. She thought of her loved ones as she closed her eyes, hoping she would see them again someday.

Paso Robles

27

Zyle and Aleco charged through the streets, Roxian and Laura following close behind them. They clashed their swords against the blades of the soldier’s while they progressed forward, trying to reach Accacia on the other side of the province. Laura was just as worried about her niece as were the two men. She was her only family left in the world.