Page 56 of The Freedom You Seek
“No need to hope. Those backwater men don’t know what’s good for them and will follow us.”
“So, we’ll fight them?”
“Of course. Let’s hurry. I want to pick a good place for us to be ambushed.”
“Anything I should know beforehand?”
By now, I’d already come up with a plan that considered all angles, especially the one that Ireas hated violence with a passion. “No need for you to get involved. As soon as I confront whoever is coming for us, you’ll take the horses and make your way back to camp. If someone tried to follow you—let’s just say they wouldn’t get far.”
“Are you sure you want to do this alone, Dion?”
The way Ireas’ eyebrows knitted together in concern made me chuckle. “Neither I nor the villagers will need a healer after this little skirmish, but I would be pissed if one of our horses gets lost or injured.”
“How will you make it back to camp, then?”
“Don’t worry about it. You know how I travel when I’m alone.”
“Hmm.”
“Seriously. Besides, we’re indeed being followed. Guess this place is as good as any.” This remote spot was deserted to the point that it basically reeked of misery, and all that was missing was some dead vegetation tumbling across the sandy path, to be honest.
I dismounted and handed Ireas the reins of my horse. He sent a long, contemplating look my way, ignoring my outreached hand. “You’re going to—”
“Kill them? Of course.”
Ireas sighed, and his eyes darted around. He couldn’t meet mine, then shook his head a little before finally seizing my reins. I ignored his obvious disapproval as he accepted my decision without further discussion. If he didn’t want this life to break him in the long run, he would have to toughen up for sure.
“It’s better that way. Greed is a major motivator for people caught in dead-end places like the one that this village is. If I allow them to walk away, we’ll soon have the whole place pursuing us.”
Our conversation was cut short when the men following us finally caught up. I gave Ireas a slight nod of encouragement and turned around as the villagers dismounted.Four men in total had gotten up this morning and had decided, without even knowing it yet, that today would be a good day to die. Currently, they all passed their reins to the youngest of them. Well, he had to perish too.
“Hey, you’re Timenth Cantor, right?” The man who opened his ugly mouth first was muscular, but definitely not a fighter. His hand wasn’t even on his weapon yet. Neither was mine, but for a totally different reason—it wasn’t necessary.
If the men observed me, all they’d see was some unarmed male sneering at them. To the casual onlooker, I might have given an impression of being harmless and of being an easy prey, but that was only the picture I wanted to display. There was no better way to taunt your enemies than to be cocky. Let them think they’d have an easy encounter. It would be the last mistake they’d ever make in their lives.
I continued my observations. None of them would even come close to standing a chance against me, not even all of them combined, not even if I blinded myself and tied myself to a tree. During unconsciousness. I already knew so much as it was easy to conclude that all of them were farmers, used to manual labor, but nothing more.
“In the flesh. Why do you ask?” I canted my head and watched them with the detachment of a nobleman watching peasants—as if they were cattle. And in the end, they were little more than that.
I wanted to toy with them for a while before making them regret coming after us. My fingers had been itching for a good fight for the last few weeks, and even though these men were no challenge, I was looking forward toteaching them a lesson, however useless it would be for them. “And more importantly, why should I care?”
“You’re wanted. Or rather, your bitch is, and you by association. So, surrender!” Spittle flew from Farmer One’s mouth while Farmer Two stared greedily at our horses.
I narrowed my eyes, angrily showed him my teeth, and snarled, “Nobody callsmy wifea bitch and lives to tell the tale.”
Behind me, Ireas chuckled in amusement. I glared at him and motioned for him to leave because if he didn’t hurry up, he would surely be caught in the crossfire and then would be forced to join me. Since he wouldn’t like what I had planned for one bit, I hoped he’d make haste and just disappear.
Finally, he understood the message I’d been trying to convey, saluted, and left me alone with the farmers, his face contorted with discontent. Was his aversion to bloodshed rooted in his personality, or did it have something to do with his vocation? Deciding to ask him later, I turned my attention back to the villagers.
Lucky for them, no one tried any funny business with Ireas, and they just let him leave. With him and the horses out of the way, I grinned at the bunch of farmers. But my smirk froze on my face and turned to utter wrath when one of the vermin addressed me again.
“Maybe I’ll test her after we’re done with you and the rest of your men. Where are they, by the way? Ahh, I bet pretty boy is racing to them for help? They’ll never get here in time and will only find your cold, dead corpse beforedying themselves. Afterward, we’ll take turns with the bitch the merchant wants before collecting our bounty.”
Fire was racing through my veins, igniting me in the process. Farmer Three obviously had the biggest death wish, and I had to rein myself in not to charge at him instantly.
Outwardly calm but burning on the inside, I watched him approach me, his hand finally on his weapon, or at least on the poor excuse for one.
“Let me inform you of something: she’s wanted because she defended herself against a man who tried to rape her. And I’ve sworn to myself that she’ll never find herself in another situation where she has to make such a choice.” I casually approached the men and stopped a few paces in front of them, staring intently at Farmer Three. All of them looked unfazed, and I was sure that they still believed that I was unarmed and defenseless. Cute.“Shewas devastated about taking a life. But, you know what?Idon’t have such compunctions.” It was time to play.