And she would try again.
8
BOORISH BEHAVIOR
CEDRIC
Cedric’s swordcut through the air with a sharp whistle before it connected with the bandit’s crude blade. The thief crumpled, wrapping his hands protectively around his head. “I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me. We only?—”
“You only what?” sneered Lord Church as he came out from behind the horse-drawn wagon. “Thought you’d find easy prey on the road to Luminaria?”
Hargrave and Thibault, the other guards in their traveling party, towered over three more of the bandits that had attacked their caravan, holding them at swordpoint. The fourth lay bloody on the ground next to the wagon, his eyes open and unseeing.
“On your knees, cur,” said Cedric, his sword still trained on thefirst man.
Lord Church paced closer. “You intended to rob those journeying to witness the start of the Crucible. Foolish though it was, you attackedus. Your life should be forfeit.”
The man whimpered, his eyes darting to his fallen comrade. “I’m sorry, my lord.” His shoulders were slumped, his voice resigned. He knew the fate that awaited him.
But Lord Leviathan Church was nothing if not a man who kept others guessing. A look of surprise flitted across Cedric’s face as Lord Church said, “I will, however, allow you to keep your life.” The bandit’s expression was just as bemused. “Provided you use it to pass along a message. You will warn off anyassociates”—Lord Church’s nose wrinkled—“who might be considering similar foolish plans. I willnothave the road to Luminaria thus polluted.”
The man scrambled to his feet, words tumbling from his mouth. “Yes, my lord. Of course. You are so generous—too generous. I will see it done. No others will dare attack travelers on this road, not after I speak to them. And don’t think I take your generosity for granted. This is the start of a new life for me, I swear it. You won’t?—”
His platitudes cut off abruptly, replaced by a choking sound. Cedric glanced at Lord Church, whose fingers were wrapped around the mana token hanging from his neck. The man clutched at his chest, his throat, his fingers clawing at some invisible force. He fell to the ground, his body thrashing. His face turned red. Then purple.
“My lord . . . ?” Cedric asked, his voice low.
Lord Church released his token. The man stilled, then sucked in a life-giving breath.
“Go,” Lord Church boomed.
The man ran.
“My lord?” asked Thibault, brushing a piece of ash-blond hair from his forehead. “What of the others?”
Hargrave nodded in agreement with Thibault’s question, his left hand bracing his side as he kept his sword aloft. It was pointed at the other three bandits, who wore matching expressions of wary shock. It likely wasn’t every day they saw someone wield magic with the ease and strengthof Lord Church.
Cedric frowned at the pained expression on Hargrave’s scruff-shadowed face. One of the bastards had gotten a hit in.
“How many men does it take to pass on a message?” Lord Church said, disinterested.
Thibault grinned. “Just one, my lord.”
“Just so.”
The bandits seemed to come to an understanding of what Lord Church meant at the same time, because all three of them leapt at once. Hargrave’s sword met one before he even made it to his feet. Another made it a few steps before Thibault’s blade ran him through. The third, however...
Cedric had been on the other side of the wagon when he realized the bandits were making a run for it. He hurtled toward the third bandit, but the man was fast. By the time Cedric rounded the wagon, the bandit had nearly made it to the trees.
Cedric cursed, readying himself for the chase.
A sickening crack rang out. The man collapsed mid-step, neck broken.
“You default to your physical skills, rely too heavily on your sword,” came Lord Church’s voice. He released his grip on his token once more. “You forget there is power at your fingertips to be used as well, when blade and bow alone are not enough. Take this as a lesson, Sir Thorne.”
The flush of chagrin crept onto Cedric’s face. He wanted to protest, to defend himself. He had to endeavor to conserve his mana for the Crucible, he wanted to say. But he didn’t. He just nodded.
If he was being honest, Cedric had not even considered using his magic to stop the bandit. Even if he had, he wasn’t sure he was capable of snapping a man’s neck with a thought. Such magic required immense control. It would significantly deplete his token.
