Book 2, Chapter 113 - Walking This Path Until Darkness Falls (2/2)
He wasn’t just a meat-head. Attacking the demonhunters in Deadwood Forest proved he had smarts and could think tactically. He was also bold, and ambitious, and willing to help his brothers when it mattered most. With the right foundation, and knowledge of martial arts at such a young age, he was destined to be a celebrated military leader in the future.
Cloudhawk was a lost cause. It didn’t matter what happened to his reputation. But if Drake’s destiny was compromised, that was a shame.
Drake frowned at him. “Why are you looking at me like that? You didn’t catch something from that sissy Caspian, did you? I’m telling you, I don’t have any interest in guys.”
“Oh fuck you.”
“Uh, can you two flirt later?” Gabriel interrupted their exchange in his meek voice. “We’re going to get surrounded if we stick around.”
Cloudhawk, Gabriel, and Drake were on the move. Soon they’d rescued another ten survivors, prioritizing children and the elderly. Dark Atom spies were hardly found, but it was the people of the village that had to be eliminated, from an elysian standpoint. If these poor folk got free, than word of what happened here would get out. If others knew that soldiers were killing their own people, the consequences would be unthinkable.
They’d seen it all with their own eyes.
Hell’s Army was a secret, but if word of their existence got out it would certainly harm the domain’s reputation. Without question, these villagers would hate them forever for what they did here. It was inevitable that many would join the Dark Atom, and become seeds of a future rebellion.
What Cloudhawk and his friends was doing was the worst thing imaginable, from the point of view of elysian leadership.
But Cloudhawk never liked to get hung up over the idea of right or wrong. The ambitions of Dark Atom were no concern to him, and neither was the self-righteous standpoint of the elysians. Overarching principles were beyond him, he just bothered doing what he had to do. And as for consequences, he’d deal with them when he got to it. Cloudhawk didn’t know if he’d come to regret his decision in the long run, but he knew that he would regret it by tomorrow morning if he ignored this, and buried his head in the sand.
Doing it by himself would have been hard. A handful of soldiers could have cut his rebellion short. But now that there were three of them no one stood in their way. However much of a ruckus they made, anyone who dared stand in their way was dealt with. In the heat of it all Cloudhawk would have fought off the assistants, even the giants of Hell’s Valley themselves.
A soldier was hiding unseen in the ruins nearby, scowling at what he saw. These new bloods were trouble, but he wasn’t strong enough to handle the three of them by himself. As he was reaching for a flare to alert his brothers, a loud clap arose from behind. It sounded like a blast from a thunderstorm.
The veteran was caught off guard, and swung around to meet whatever it was with his weapon. He managed to block a handful of blows, but more than a dozen others found their mark. Without armor, he was defenseless. The soldier hit the ground, leaking blood.
Claudia walked over and, using the butt of her spear, knocked him out.
The others couldn’t have missed the ruckus, but they were surprised to find Claudia as the source. What was this self-described noble doing here, helping them? Cloudhawk looked at the soldier on the ground, covered in lacerations. “Man, they aren’t kidding when they talk about the wrath of a woman scorned. We’ve just been knocking them out, you almost killed the guy.”
“These are strong fighters, hesitate and it could be too late. Anyway, it’s not so bad. None of his wounds are lethal.” When she saw Drake’s stunned expression, she explained. “I’m not helping you, I’m protecting the innocent. What Hell’s Army is doing here is intolerable. It may be the logical choice, but I won’t accept it, and my honor won’t permit it. I know I’m doing the right thing.”
“A real avatar of justice. Let me revere you, oh mighty mistress.” Cloudhawk smirked at her. This lady was stubborn as a mule, so caught up with virtue even after all she’d seen. He wasn’t sure she was naïve or just screwed up in the head. “But you be careful, whatever your reasons. Oh, right. Let me remind you that if you kill one of a pair of friends or lovers you should kill the other one, too. It’s just polite. Let them live and – I’m speaking from experience – they will never fucking go away.”
Cloudhawk expertly threw his barbs, but now wasn’t the time for snide arguments. Claudia looked at him with a cold expression, while her tempest flower bloomed threateningly. “Are we going or not?”
Her captain threw up his hands in mock surrender. “We’re going, why wouldn’t we?”
Cloudhawk, Drake, and Gabriel were a formidable group. But, they weren’t strong enough to escape this place on their own. The instructors would surely find out and move to stop them before they could get the villagers to safety. Claudia made things far easier, especially since her seeker torque was able to pinpoint patrols for them to avoid. She gave the old men and the children a chance at escaping death.
It didn’t matter what their reasoning was. Once they decided to disobey orders, they were like grasshoppers, evading the elysian boot lest they got squished.