Book 3, Chapter 13 - Killing A Way Ou (1/2)

Autumn couldn’t believe her eyes. How could a soldier with these sorts of abilities exist? From shooting moving targets with perfect accuracy, to leaping from one raging ox to another, it all happened in seconds. In the time it would take to spit a curse, twenty bandits lay dead or broken.

‘Brilliant’ didn’t begin to describe what he did.

Not only were Cloudhawk’s attacks ruthlessly efficient, they were also clean. Like war was bred into his bones. He moved like it was instinct, killed like it was natural.

In Autumn’s tribe, their strongest warrior had been her late father. However, at his strongest her father didn’t even come close to this young man. He was only a few years older than she. How had he even learned all of this? It was nothing short of incredible. What’s more, he had the powers of a demonhunter like her mother, and was capable of extraordinary feats.

Incredible! Absolutely amazing!

Autumn felt a jolt run through her body. She knew he was no pushover, but the strength Cloudhawk put on display just now far outstripped her wildest expectations. If she could convince him to come back to her tribe, maybe he could save them.

Cloudhawk dragged the bandit leader into the cramped buggy, giving him a few sharp punches for good measure. The beating left the man bloody, but bandits were a tough breed. In fact the rugged man wasn’t cowed yet and tried to fight back. He wrenched an arm back and pulled a hunting knife from his belt, then tried to bury it in Cloudhawk’s abdomen.

The Warden’s reaction was to hack at each of the man’s shoulders. Both of the bandit’s arms were dislocated.

In the same moment, a hail of arrows and throwing axes were coming their way. Cloudhawk didn’t have the time to block them all, and one ax caught the buggy’s door. It shattered the metal and caused debris to fire out every which way. Another ax lodged into one of the buggy’s tires and got lost in the rubber, while an arrow pierced the gas tank. Precious fuel gushed from the hole like an open wound.

One of the arrows was aimed right for the back of Autumn’s head. Cloudhawk wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled.

She felt a burning sensation and something rubbed against her cheek. Before she knew what was happening, Autumn’s face was buried in Cloudhawk’s chest. She could hear his heart thudding in his chest. Pressed so close and draped over her, she felt safe.

“You’re dead meat!” The bandit leader’s face was a mess of dirt and blood. He glared at Cloudhawk in pain and savage defiance, and though his arms were useless he yelled arrogant taunts. “Blackfiend wants this one, and no one stands between Blackfiend and his prey. You’re gonna die, and be left out here to rot!”

The man was mad, and completely unafraid of what Cloudhawk would do.

He was a burly man, all knotted muscle and bulging veins. His one eye was hidden behind red eye patch, and a nest of unkempt red hair sat like a flame atop his head. With the insane expression twisting his face, the Highwaymen would not easily be forgotten.

But it wasn’t his expression that affected Cloudhawk. It was the eye patch – something about them called up an old memory. Three years ago! In the borderlands. Was this the same man that tried to rob the Bloomnettle company? He was still alive, out here terrorizing the borderlands all these years later.

Wait! That wasn’t right…

The Highwaymen were a savage gang, but they weren’t ignorant. The first time they met, the bandits had backed off when they knew Cloudhawk had the powers of a demonhunter. Three years was long enough to change a man, but not long enough to change someone so dramatically.

“I’ll say it again,” Cloudhawk hollered over the roar of the engine. “Tell them to stand down!”

A sinister fire burned behind Cloudhawk’s eyes. The bandit felt a tremendous pressure settle on his mind, shattering his will. A fear the likes of which he’d never known consumed him. The one-eyed bandit leader’s face twisted hideously. This was an assault on the psyche of a victim, and especially for those much weaker than Cloudhawk, it was difficult to resist. Even after losing the use of his arms, the Highwayman would not capitulate, so the Warden had to try another way.

Veins bulged in the man’s head and eyes. His armored vest almost seemed to stretch as he struggled with every fiber of his being. The bandit was no match, but still he struggled until blood poured from his every orifice. He slumped, unconscious, beside Autumn.

Cloudhawk cursed and took his place back in the driver seat. His foot stomped hard on the accelerator, despite the damage to its tank and tire. “Hold on to him! We have to get free!”

The other Highwaymen were not fazed in the least by their leader’s condition. Throwing axes tumbled toward them like a meteor shower.

The bandits were formidable. Axes thrown from their bulging arms could easily split a man’s head in two. Cloudhawk relied on Oddball to watch the incoming attacks, and as they got closer he had no choice but to have his friend join the fray. A streak of golden light darted out, first knocking an axe aside then fiercely beating its wings. Dagger-like pinions were cast out toward their targets.

Four bandits were thrown from their mounts.