My blade keened towards Vill’s exposed neck. He parried, grappled me.
“This ends today,” I whispered.
“Indeed it does,” he hissed, shoving me back.
Vill advanced—fast, slashing at my head. I closed hard.
We went off script: Forearm guards thudded. Blades whirled overhead, severing the puppet strings—all but one. My ankle remained bound.
I shoved Vill away. “Run!”
The puppeteer yanked. I hung suspended by one leg.
Vill stopped. “I’m not leaving you!”
A flashing blade severed my knee joint—I clattered to the floor. “What did you just do?”
Vill hoisted me up. “I’ll carve you another leg! Let’s go!”
About the author:
Marc A. Criley avidly read fantasy and science fiction for forty years before finally deciding to try his hand at writing. He and his wife “manage” a menagerie of cats at their home in the North Alabama hills. Marc maintains a blog at kickin-the-darkness.com and makes a lot of noise on Mastodon as @MarcC@wandering.shop and Post.news as @MarcC.
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