Curse Breaker (2)

15

Casimir keeps a firm grip on my arm as the deserters bolt past us, Elex leading the onslaught. It takes them less than a few seconds to burst through the trees and into the marketplace, taking the guards by surprise as they swing around, reaching for their weapons.

"What're you doing?" I hiss at Casimir.

"Waiting for an opening." His eyes dart from spot to spot, taking in all the action. "Get Cadence and get out. That's what we said."

I follow his gaze. The action moves too fast for me to pull apart. Amongst the chaos, some of the guards pull forward the villagers, taking them as hostage.

"What about everybody else?"

He turns to look at me then, only for a split second. "They're not my priority."

I want to argue, to protect the people I grew up with, my village, but as I turn back and search desperately for Cadence amongst the fighting, all protests dry up in my mouth.

We can't save everyone.

"There," Casimir raises a slender finger to direct my gaze to the left. "There she is."

His grip on my wrist tightens, keeping me from budging even as I register a guard dragging a cluster of villagers away, Cadence and Raven amongst the crowd. Casimir pulls me up by my wrist, guiding us around the back of the marketplace, following along behind the group.

Screams echo off the cobblestones, clanging metal striking the air as we soldier on, nobody taking notice of us slipping beneath the patches of moonlight even as the fights bleed into the trees. I try to ignore the screams of children, the sounds of bodies pummeling the earth, and keep my eyes trained on a scrambling and screaming Cadence as she's dragged around the corner.

We pick up the pace.

They're here because of you, a voice says. I try to shove it away, but it only gets louder.

Wind thrashes against the bare skin at my wrists, bitterly cold as we creep to the edge of the forest line, Casimir raising an arm to halt me from moving forward. I try to shove past.

"Move, they're taking her--"

My sentence gets cut off with a whack to the chest, sending me catapulting backwards. I manage to catch myself before falling, putting a hand to my chest where Casimir whacked me as I stumble into a tree.

An arrow sits lodged into the tree behind where I'd been standing. Casimir and I meet eyes, now a couple of metres from each other. My heart hammers as I stare from the arrow to him, the reality of the situation settling in. That trunk could've been my head.

I open my mouth to call out to him, to urge him to follow, before I catch a glimpse of movement over his shoulder. A glint of metal in the darkness.

"Cas, look out!"

He ducks just as a machete glides into the space he'd been standing. I brandish my dagger in front of me, pressing my back to the tree and lowering my stance as the guard emerges from the shadows, his eyes locking on me.

Casimir frees his sword, coming up to meet the machete, the moonlight glinting in their blades.

I lurch towards them, but Casimir's voice stops me. "Go!" He shoves the guard off him. "Get Cadence!" The guard shoves back to his feet, attempting to strike Casimir in the chest with a near miss. "I'll be right behind you!"

The split-second feels like an hour as I stare at him, torn between following after Cadence and staying to help Casimir.

Stay together, we'd promised.