AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t know what kind of training Reapers usually had, but Winifred could definitely fight. She was smooth, skilled, and fast with that sword, and whatever power the blade possessed also made her incredibly strong. But Vic was strong too, and the talking sword easily blocked all of Winifred’s hard, heavy, hammering blows.
The only disconcerting thing was that Vic kept talking through the whole fight. Somehow, despite the fact my hand was clamped around the sword’s hilt, and thus over his mouth, he still found a way to keep talking. His lips tickled the spider-rune scar in my palm time and time again, which was weird enough, but his shouted encouragements made the sensations stranger still. I didn’t hear all his muffled words, but I got the gist of what he was saying.
“. . . take her down . . . kill Winifred . . . defeat this Reaper scum . . .”
I grinned. The sword was even more bloodthirsty than I was. So nice to meet a kindred spirit, even if that spirit was encased in metal.
Clash-clash-clang!
Winifred and I broke apart after a furious exchange, and she studied me with dark, narrowed eyes.
“You really are an assassin,” she accused, as if I hadn’t made it crystal clear who and what I was all along. “You should come work for me, for the Reapers. I’ll make it worth your while.” Winifred jerked her head to the side. “See those crates over there? They contain hundreds of thousands of dollars in mythological artifacts. Help me get them off this train, and I’ll cut you in on the deal—”
Brayden let out a bloodcurdling scream, drowning out the rest of her offer. I knew that sound. I’d heard it more times than I could remember. Gwen had hit something vital, and Brayden was well on his way to being dead.
Winifred glanced over at her brother. Instead of worry, dread, or fear, an annoyed look creased her face, and she huffed out an exasperated breath, as if Brayden couldn’t even die right. For a moment, I thought she might go over and try to help him, but instead, she faced me again.
“You can have a bigger cut now,” she said. “All you have to do is help me eliminate Nike’s Champion.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Your brother just got killed, and you’re still offering to make a deal with me?”
“Brayden was always a thorn in my side, always thinking that he ran things, when I did all the planning.” Winifred’s eyes glittered with anger. “The only reason we even lost the artifacts in the first place was that Brayden and the rest of those Reaper losers just had to sneak out and go out partying at a casino. I told Brayden time and time again that we all had to stay at the cabin and lie low until the Protectorate heat died down and I had a buyer lined up for the artifacts. But he didn’t listen, which is why I’m on this bloody tourist train in the first place, instead of already counting my money. Well, now that he’s gone, I don’t have to worry about his stupid mistakes constantly tripping me up anymore.”
More anger filled her eyes, although her expression quickly turned cold and calculating. “But I can always use a good fighter like you, Gin. So help me kill the girl, and you can have Brayden’s cut of the money after I sell the artifacts.”
A laugh bubbled up out of my lips. “Sugar, a few weeks ago, I gave away fifty million dollars to charity. A couple hundred grand in lousy antiques isn’t going to tempt me.”
“You’re making a mistake. My offer is genuine.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is,” I replied. “Just like I’m sure you would stick that fancy bronze sword in my back the second you got the chance. Especially since you didn’t bat an eye at your baby brother getting killed. Not much for family, are you?”
Winifred shrugged. “Family is useful—until it’s not.”
And that was one of the many, many differences between the two of us. Because if I’d just seen Bria get cut down, I would have been doing everything in my power to kill the person who’d killed my baby sister. Not trying to make a deal with an enemy to save my own skin and make a few bucks on the side. Vic was right. Winifred really was Reaper scum.
The train jerked yet again, catching me off guard. I staggered to the side, and Winifred saw an opening. She charged forward and lifted her sword high, ready to bring it down and finally end me once and for all.
This time, instead of fighting the train’s helter-skelter motion, I went along with it, dropping to my knees and ducking Winifred’s swing. Her sword whistled through the air where my chest had been a moment before. The train jerked again, and for the second time, I went with the momentum, letting it pick me up and set me back onto my feet.
Then I followed the surging motion all the way over to Winifred—and buried Vic’s blade in her stomach.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” the sword crowed, his lips moving underneath my palm again. “Way to go, Spider assassin lady!”
I grimaced at the oddly ticklish sensation and yanked the sword out of Winifred’s stomach. She reached out and tried to grab one of the shelves, but her hand slipped off the metal, her legs buckled, and she slid down to the floor.
She didn’t move after that.
Once I was sure that Winifred was well on her way to bleeding out, I stepped over her body and hurried to the back of the car, where Gwen and Brayden were sprawled on the floor, both of them deathly still.
“Gwen?” I asked. “Gwen! Are you okay?”
She grunted, lifted her head, and shoved Brayden away. He landed on his back, his sightless eyes staring up at nothing. Blood stained his arms, along with one of his legs, and a larger patch of it was centered right over his heart. Another grin stretched across my face. Nice. I couldn’t have done a better job of killing him myself.
Gwen slowly sat up. Her brown hair was a tangled, frizzy mess, and a purplish bruise was already forming on her temple, but she seemed to be okay.
I leaned down and held out my arm. She hesitated a moment, then grabbed my hand. I pulled her up, and we stood there, locked together.
Gwen stared at me, her violet eyes big and bright and glowing with even more magic than what the Reapers’ weapons had possessed. But even more disconcerting was the look on her face, like she was peering deep, deep down into my heart and seeing everything I had ever done, thought, felt, and experienced.
