Page 130 of War

The horseman utterly ignores me, but when I start to struggle, his grip becomes unyielding. I might as well be pinned in by a steel band.

War makes a clicking noise with his tongue, and Deimos begins to speed up until we’re hurtling forward at a gallop. My dark brown hair is whipping behind me, and the dagger holstered at my hip is bumping into my thigh over and over again.

“What are you doing—?” I’ve no sooner asked it then I start to see a couple figures come out of the darkness, weapons gripped in their hands as they stare at us. It takes a little longer to notice the uniforms in the darkness.

The Egyptian military.

One of them nocks an arrow into his bow, pointing it at us. “Stop and state your business,” he orders. The other soldier beside him likewise raises his bow.

War reaches behind his back, and I hear the ominous zing as he pulls his sword from its scabbard.

“Don’t, War,” I say, staring at the men as they begin to shout. “Please don’t.”

He ignores me.

In the next instant, an arrow comes whizzing by my face, so close I hear the hiss of it cutting through air.

All the while, War keeps galloping onward, heading straight towards the uniformed men. He leans to the side of his saddle, his enormous sword gripped in his hand. Another arrow whizzes by, this one hitting the horseman in the chest. I hiss in a breath.

And then War’s upon the men. He swings his sword, cutting a soldier down like he was swatting away a fly. I swallow my scream, even as I feel a few droplets of blood hit me.

The other Egyptian soldier turns on his heel and runs, shouting at the top of his lungs, “The horseman is here! War is here!”

I struggle against the warlord all over again, trying to get away.

“Stop it, Miriam,” he orders.

Um,fuck that.

“If I let you down now, the civilians will attack you—so might my riders if they don’t recognize you.”

That makes a certain amount of sense. I mean, when you’re at the front of the army entering a town to raid, the only person you have to avoid killing is the horseman himself. Everyone else is fair game.

War runs down another soldier, cleaving his head from his shoulders.

He’s not going to stop. He won’t ever stop.

I start fighting him in earnest, even as the shouts carry down the city and more uniformed men come running in our direction.

“Miriam.”

“Let mego.”

He doesn’t want to, I can feel it in his stubborn grip. Especially not now when people are starting to wander out of their houses and the Egyptian military unit is mobilizing.

“Damnit, Miriam.” He sheathes his sword. “I cannot protect you if you’re fighting me.”

I swivel around. “You can’t protect me at all right now.” As if to enunciate my point, another arrow whizzes by.

His eyes widen a little as he realizes probably for the first time that yeah, I might be right.

“You don’t get both me and your precious battle,” I say.

His jaw clenches, his eyes stormy.

Behind us, I hear an otherworldly sort of howling rise up.

I glance over War’s shoulder in time to see his phobos riders storming into the city, whooping and howling like animals as they descend.