Page 63 of Bound By Darkness

“No more arguing!” Eilish shouts. “Now is not the time!”

We’re surrounded by Variant’s men. There are six of them on the rooftop with us and countless more on the ground below. And there are no more rooftops on which to land.

“Fuck!” I yell as I take the soldier nearest me with my blade. He drops, but where one falls, three more appear. They climb up the side of the dilapidated hovel on which we’re standing and face us with desperation in their eyes. Part of the roof has already caved in and I can see a hive of Variant’s men infiltrating the house below us.

An endless sea of Variant’s forces swarm from all directions. I fight them off as best I can, but I’m overpowered.

“Dragan, what do we do?” Eilish cries from beside me. I glance down at her to see her eyes wide with fear.

“We keep,” I start but at the feel of a slight pain in my left thigh, I glance down to see what appears to be a dart sticking out of my leg. A poison dart.

Fuck.

Reaching down, I yank the offending thing out of me, but the poison has already leached into my bloodstream. I already feel woozy and lightheaded. Eilish cries out as soldiers surround us and my sword is unceremoniously thrust from my hand. I feel her being ripped away from me but there’s nothing I can do. The poison forces me to my knees. The scenery surrounding me begins to blur. I have to shake my head to keep my wits, but they’re fading fast. A foot slams into my neck as my face crashes into the roof beneath me. Shingles scrape my cheek. Someone claps spell-crafted cuffs onto my wrists after pulling them behind my back.

My vision goes black.

I fight against the sleep that seeks to lull me into oblivion.

The last thing I hear before losing myself to the shadows is the sound of Eilish’s panicked cries.

The End