Duplicity Ch. 09

Something in Sean cracked in that moment. Something he would never be able to get back. Broken. His head was spinning and he felt his reality slip away. All he felt was pure rage.

Suddenly he overpowered Arshad before he realized what was happening. He swiftly grabbed the sword from his very hand and pierced his stomach. Arshad surprised eyes widened and groaned as he fell to the ground on his knees. Sean wielded the sword with such force that when he struck; he instantly severed his head.

"You're a natural." Haseem said in appreciation. He knew Sean would react this way and let him. It was only a matter of time. Arshad talked too much anyway.

"Now, there is much to be done."

Sean looked at the man as if he'd lost his mind. "I will never follow you."

Haseem let out a crooked grin. "You say that now. But all you need is a little reconditioning. It's all been planned out. After we're done with you, you won't even recognize yourself."

That same rage from before coursed through his veins. He clenched his teeth and charged Haseem like a bull. But suddenly Sean felt a prick in his neck and stumbled heavily to the ground. He landed a few inches away from Khatira's angelic face.

Everything around him grew hazy and heavy.

His last thought before slipping away was Khatira's lush midnight hair and how it smelled of chai.

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Here are some meanings of people's names:

Khatira- "desire"

Haseem- "decisive one"

Arshad- "path to righteousness, rightly guided" (Ironic huh?)

Emir- "general or commander"

**So we're pretty much at a little more than a half way point in the story. This chapter was really hard to write. What do you think, will Sean be able to overcome everything he's been through??