Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #17 August 2015 | Page 14

and eventually they earned the job of serving girls at
the tavern. It was not an ideal position, but it allowed
them to survive.

bruised face. Their gazes met, and Arwyn thought she
could almost hear her friend’s thoughts: Don’t let them
hurt us.

No, she’d never had to kill before. But she had
no desire to be a victim of these men’s filthy desires.
To watch them beat her and Emmy whenever they
chose to protect themselves. She may be ignorant
of what happened between lovers, but she was
not entirely clueless of the consequences of rape.
Whatever drove these men to suddenly spread out and
conquer half the continent, she didn’t care. She just
wanted to live.

“Wrong.” Arwyn took the blade and swung
it, striking his neck. Blood gushed and he fell
voicelessly; her move had been so unexpected that he
never had a chance to scream. The soldiers blurted out
a curse as they drew back in shock. Clearly none had
expected her to react so. “Emmy!”

If living meant killing?

“Try me,” she challenged, her sword hand no
longer trembling.

“You don’t have the guts.”

Before the soldiers could react, Emmy ran over
to her. Arwyn grabbed her hand and drew her into the
kitchen, and out the back door. Dishes scattered as
they shoved their way through. The head chef cursed
them as they collided and pushed past one of his
minions.

“Keep running!”
To be continued...

Arwyn looked over at Emmy. Her friend
managed to rise to her feet, still clutching at her

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