Chapter 376 (1/2)

Book 3, Chapter 113 – A Gift to the Wastelands

Sandbar Station had become a lifeless settle Elysian soldiers Its entrance had becoh in three separate piles Ash from the incinerated corpses were carried on the wind and kept the city in perpetual haze

Adder's bar still had no patrons

But that didn't mean it was e the place with duster cloths, happily working Even at their young age they knew the bar was their only refuge On the other side of that door was certain death

There was no such thing as a free meal, so everyone contributed how they were able Otherwise, their option was starvation and pain

Luciasha watched over the children, who averaged about ten years old, each striving to prove their worth She couldn't help but feel sad for these homeless children who'd had their roots cut out from under them They were hopeless, without a place to feel safe or loved Only someone who had experienced it for the through

“Rest, all of you We aren't expecting any patrons”

But just as Luciasha said this, there was a loud bang behind her

An Elysian officer kicked the door open and a squad of men with swords and bows poured in Without aover tables and s furniture The sudden ferocity made everyone in the bar freeze

Children scattered, hiding wherever they could under tables and behind the bar

Adder's henchmen were afraid for their necks, but re to stop the soldiers froe “Stop! You can't-”

Shtick – thunk!

Crossbow bolts fell upon the ht In an instant the unfortunateall over his body The others who thought of getting in the soldiers' way shouted in fear and surprise and thought better of it

Luciasha was also terrified Did these soldiers not realize this was Adder's bar? He had a token of a high-ranking deard the authority of demonhunters?!

“Adder has been declared a traitor and an enemy of Skycloud Everyone here is considered an accoiven no quarter Gather them up!” The officer stood in the center of the bar, shoulders back and his hand on his sword He gave the order in a cold, callous voice “Kill anyone who resists”

Luciasha's face hite as a sheet

Obviously so had happened to her adopted father, and his na to protect theer safe

The children knew this was bad They cried and ran in a panic, trying to escape Soldiers raised their crossbows, ai for the tiny bodies

Filled with a courage she didn't know she had, Luciasha threw herself in front of theo with you”

“It's not up to you to decide who is innocent!”The officer's face was cruel and disdain dripped fro trouble down the road The evil of the wastelands must be erased, kill all of them!”

“No!” Luciasha screamed in despair

But the order was given Soldiers leveled their weapons, placed their fingers on their triggers But just as they were ready to fire, a streak of light burst through the bar froh the officers head, to the other side of the room and left a fist-sized hole in the wall

The other soldiers froze for a er overtook them They stared unsure of how to react as their officer, nowtwo thirds of his head, tumbled backward All that was left of his skull was bits of brain matter and his lower jaw

“Who?!”

The soldiers turned around and were stunned at what they saw Those soldiers left outside to catch stragglers were dead to a man, brutally hacked to death Whoever or whatever had ended thehly trained killer

“Careful! It's an ambush!+”

For the first ti control of Sandbar Station, they were under serious attack Elysian soldiers were trained not to fear anything, so with stoic expressions they whipped around and aimed their weapons tohere the attack had coet, they fired a volley

The hail of arrows fired toward the partially opened door In an instant it was blasted to splinters

One of the higher ranked aeable weapon that was standard Elysian equiped outside, but before he died without even spotting his foe The soldier's head was easily severed froh the air, while his body stu what had happened

“Heathens! Everyone, charge!”

Fury spurred the soldiers on and they filed outside to hunt their attackers They were met with blades faster than the eye could follow, as a dozen figures clad in black cut them down Only two of the men in black were slain by the tireat discrepancy between the capabilities of these two forces

A e, wrapped in a black cloak with his hair cut short and scars across the corner of his eyes Average in appearance, but so about his presence left a deep irin was stuck to his face “I'one for a while”

“Father!”

Luciasha threw herself into Adder's arms

After three years together Adder considered Luciasha no different than a daughter Nor did it matter who Adder was, to Luciasha she was father For him, he'd never met a purer and more unsullied spirit thans hers To her, he was the unshakable mountain that shaded her and lifted her up

Adder patted her head “Come with me”

She raised her head and looked at hi?”

“The Sandbar is no longer safe We need to find somewhere else”

“But the children…” She looked back at the kids ere just starting to peek their heads out fro “I can't just leave them here”

“Asha, you're a good girl I know this is hard, but in order to protect people you need to have the strength and the means to do it We can't take this many with us”

Luciasha bit her lip She knew there was truth to what her father was saying, but how could she face these dozens of tiny faces and tell the abandoned?

“ “We have no more use for the bar Tell them they can take whatever food they can carry At least it will give them a chance Whether or not they ently took his daughter by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes “You need to understand, saving so food and a warm place to sleep Eventually they will need to learn how to strive for themselves”

Her ith these children was done, she knew that While Luciasha ht to talk back to the ly nodded her head “Alright, I'll do as you say”

He sift for all the wastelands Will you jointhis moment?”

Luciasha nodded

A man in red robes strode up to their side “This place leaves a thread, enough for de to follow Should we raze it?”

“No We called this place home for five years I want to leave it here, a monument to as As for the Elysians, you don't need to worry I wouldn't make such a careless mistake”

Adder picked his way across the corpse-strewn street while the others followed A tea them away from the outpost As they made for the exit, the caravan passed by Cloudhawk's shop Waiting outside was a sirl with tattered clothes and brilliant blue eyes

“Azura, when Cloudhawk coo Tell him not to worry”

She didn't answer The sirl watched in silence as the caravan trundled away into the distance

Blood red hues painted the evening sky as the day drew to a close The undulating desert stopped where razor-sharp roped for the clouds

Luciasha followed Adder to the rocky desert mountains, where from its peaks one could see far into the distance Up here the dunes looked flat, and spread to the li sky