The Black Death (A Medieval Action/Romance)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Her mother and sister’s screams filled her ears.

Colt’s eyes watching her with betrayal burned her eyelids.

The feel of his warm blood running down her cold arm.

Izzie’s eyes fluttered open to gaze back upon Colt’s decapitated head; the title of ‘leader’ coursed through her veins but the thing that made her smile was the knowledge that she had completed her task.

She had killed the man responsible for her family’s death; for the destruction of her village and hundreds of others like it.

Gazing at Colt’s head; the skin was turning a dark ashen; the hair simply dangled and his eyelids were half-closed.

His neck was torn in two with flies buzzing in and around his orifices; the tip of the spear piercing through his skull; mouth open.

But she could not stay there forever as betrayal was lapping at her heels in the form of Prince Asher; he was lobbying for the control of the Kingdom to slip back into his grasp after his father’s death but Izzie was damned if she was going to let thousands of innocents fall into evil grasp once more.

“Was that absolutely necessary?” The familiar voice asked softly; his footsteps of uncertainty for the past ten minutes behind the door had alerted her to his presence.

“The men need to know who is in charge and what will happen should anyone step out of line,” Izzie tilted her head and gazed up at the head which accompanied many others aboard the city wall, “And besides,” she turned to face Drystan, “It brings me to heights knowing he is enduring as much hell in the afterlife as he should have endured here. His death was too quick for my likening,”

Drystan seemed upset by her answer; “He caused you much pain,” His brows furrowed as he seemed to search her being for something.

He could never understand how much.

Izzie didn’t crack under his gaze; she needed to be the strong leader her men were looking towards; they needed familiarity and guidance through the transition.

A transition which would see them put towards better use.

“I must go and speak with my men,” Izzie turned and headed towards the door.

“Your men?” Drystan asked with shock behind her and Izzie stopped where she stood, “This was all just some power-play to get control of the army!?”

Izzie gritted her teeth and looked out into the distance where new adventures awaited her. Adventures she would wish to discover with Drystan but, alas, it was a place she could not go.

Or a place she did not deserve to go.

“What did you think was going to happen?” Izzie whipped around to face him with fictional anger, “That we could all go running off into the forest again?”

Drystan said nothing but she could see him harden against her onslaught.

“I joined this quest with the promise of a pardon from the King himself so I could go about freely,” Izzie recalled the deal every one of them had made with Brandon, “But now the King is dead; his son is no worse than his treacherous deluded father and my crimes are worse than ever.”

“I thought-” Drystan started when he stepped forward, his arm outstretched towards her.

Izzie flinched away from his grasp when he simply cupped her freshly washed face with his rough palm and it seemed to sear into her.