Daughter of Treason Ch. 04

A deep wound on her left arm made her drop the rapier, and he was about to follow it up with a more critical slash at the torso when, from behind, a feminine arm grabbed him by his open mouth and pulled. While not the most elegant tactic, where the jaw goes, the head follows, and Kei took the opportunity.

The knife sunk into his chest, but she missed the heart.

The man swung back and hit the woman hard. Kei managed to reclaim her dagger, but she was fighting with her right and therefore off hand; it was all she could do to defend herself. But the man was having trouble breathing; he slowed and eventually made another error: he overextended on a thrust, and Kei brought her own blade down on his wrist. He dropped his knife, and Kei finished it with a quick stab to the throat.

Panting with pain and exertion, she took in the room. Several terrified and worn-looking women were huddled in the corner in various states of undress, and in the center of the room was, it seemed, and entire backpack full of ademantium ingots. The room, filled with cushions, resembled a harem of some ancient Islandportian Sheik. Kei had no doubt the effect was intentional, and wasted no time in gathering the metal bricks and slipping them into her own pack. Next, she turned to the women. "Come on, we have to leave, the others will be along soon." When they didn't move, she grabbed the hand of the nearest one.

The scream was piercing, and Kei flinched before her wound sent out a wave of pain. If it didn't hurt more, she likely would have muffled the woman, but instead she clutched her side and winced while the woman scrambled away. As the scream trailed off into a whimper, all Kei could think to say was an emphatic, "Bitches!" She was trying to save them; couldn't they see she was trying to save them? She tried again on another woman, the bruised blonde who had attacked the man, and when she, too started to scream, Kei lost her patience.

It wasn't a hard slap, but Kei followed it up by pulling the woman in close by the hair and growling, "If you want to live, you will come with me. I may not want to kill you, but they will, and I'll be damned if I get your blood on my hands."

The taller woman looked so thoroughly cowed that Kei pushed her away in frustration but, to her surprise, the blonde did not scream. Kei was considering trying something similar on the others when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Snatching up her rapier, she moved to the door, beckoning. "Come on," she called, but only the blonde shakily followed; the others continued to stare with wide eyes, uncomprehending.

With a disgusted sigh, Kei slipped into the hall, retracing her steps to her original point of entry. She had a close call when some men stormed past, heading for the Harem Room, but she managed to drag the woman into a side hall in time. When she reached the window, there was a man standing guard who was quickly dispatched with a thrust to the neck. Sheathing her rapier, she grabbed the rope with her right hand but was unable to descend without the use of her left.

Gritting her teeth, she slid down and was forced into a roll at the bottom to break her fall, causing pain to shoot through her side again. She was surprised, therefore, when she felt a gentle hand on her arm easing her up; the blonde had followed suit, and was trying to help.

Shaking off the assistance, Kei ran for the wall, managed to hook one hand on the top, but once more was unable to proceed without her left. Again she was surprised to feel a hand under her foot, lifting her up. The woman was giving Kei a boost! Her eyes still were wide with fear, but now they held something else, too: determination. After a few moments of struggle, she managed to swing one leg over the wall.

At that moment, a shout rang out; one of the rats was in the window they had just come from, and began clumsily descending. The woman, having boosted Kei up far enough, started trying to mimic her. Unfortunately, though she tried several times, without Kei's training and experience, she could only scramble ineffectually at the wall. The man's boots hit ground, and he began running towards the two women. Reaching down, Kei grasped the blonde's wrist and, while she still had momentum, fell backwards over the wall, taking the woman with her.

They landed in a painful heap, but after a second the gentle but insistent tug reminded Kei that this was no time to rest. Still, she rose only slowly; her activity had only torn her wounds further. Despite this, she knew there was no time to waste; though battered and bleeding, with fading adrenaline Kei set out for home, and the two slipped into the night.

Author's Note:

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