Chapter Fifteen:

Save Mercy for Someone Who Needs it More

Dmitri

Two weeks to the date later, I was lounging on my bed before morning practice as heavy metal pumped through a player Stefan let me borrow. I had begun to refresh my music library at local consignment shops and was enjoying it by belting out lyrics, my eyes closed as I concentrated on the song. The music was so loud that I couldn’t hear someone banging on the door, or the laughter that followed it. Finally, one of my roommates threw it open with all their might, causing it to slam against the wall violently. The sound scared me so badly that I fell backward off the bed, which made The Cavalries laugh hysterically. “Well hello there, England’s next music idol!” Stefan obnoxiously teased.

“Leave me alone!” I whined like a child, blushing wildly as I turned the music down, “What do you guys want,” I grumbled into my shirt.

“Well, we have to leave in a few, and thought Andrew would like all of his Calvary at practice.” Gwen giggled as I scrambled back onto my bed with a scowl.

“I’m aware of the time, thank you very much. Can’t I enjoy five minutes to myself?”

“Don’t leave without me!” Ramah cried, racing at maximum speed into the room as a cat to jump on the bed and sit on my chest.

“When did you two get so close!?” Gwen joked as I ruffled his fur lovingly.

“Dmitri feeds me olives; I love olives, so he and I are best friends. Plus, he lets me blow stuff up when I want to,” Ramah said, purring loudly as I scratched his chin. That got a good laugh from the group, and made me roll my eyes as I stood, hoisting the cat up onto my shoulder. He pressed his paws into my collarbone and nestled his head into my neck as we all made our way downstairs and outside to the already packed training arena.

Andrew, Cerelia, Zachary, and a few other soldiers were conversing around the dirt field, which was odd since Andrew and Cerelia were usually too busy in the morning to attend practice. Cerelia burst into giggles when she saw me carrying Ramah, and shook her head playfully as we stood in line before them. “Well, good morning, everyone…” Andrew said, standing stiffly, “I’d like to work on sword fighting today, if that’s alright?”

“Good morning your majesties, nice of you to join us.” Michael returned with a smile.

Andrew cracked a subtle smirk as Zachary nodded to the racks holding our practice swords, “Andrew would like to assess your progress thus far, so let’s ready for some sparring.”

“I want to fight Dmitri!” Michael exclaimed, wagging his eyebrows at me, “I’ve been pretty badass with a sword lately, and who better to test it out on?”

“I’m game,” I accepted his challenge, grabbing a sword from the rack. Once I got a good grip on the hilt, I began whipping it around my fingers ferociously, just to get a good feel for what condition the sword was in. It was my technique for becoming adjusted to each weapon I used, and had become involuntary to me at this point, though it did intimidate my peers quite a bit. My tactic made Michael a little uneasy, but he shook it off with a dark smile.

Michael and I positioned ourselves facing one another before Zachary blew his whistle, dancing backward to judge the fight by the benches. Michael ran right for me, spinning once before slashing his weapon through the air. I gracefully side stepped, which made him fall flat in the dirt like a cartoon. His moves were very predictable, good for someone on the opposing side, but easy for me to dodge. The other Cavalries giggled hysterically as Michael stared up at me in pure shock before scrambling up and running at me again. I calmly side stepped out of each swing, my hands behind my back as I did. I wasn’t trying to be cocky, at all, but was trying to get him to figure out that he was moving much to aggressively, and he needed to be more thoughtful in his swings.

He didn’t seem to follow along, and instead grew angry and whipped his sword fast, aiming for my head. I smoothly slid beneath the weapon before smacking my pommel into his ankle, causing him to fall. On his way down, I grabbed his shirt and pinned him to the ground, planting my foot to his chest and pointing my sword at his throat. “I win,” I said simply.

His jaw hit the floor as I laughed and held my hand out to help him up. He swayed a little, still weak from the fight, as I combed dirt off of his chest. “That was, awesome! No wonder swords are his nomination.” Stefan chuckled.

“You barely touched me?! How did you do that?! ” Michael whined.

I blankly stared forward, ignoring his comment as an odd sound filled the air. He tilted his head at me, unaware of what I was listening to, before Andrew cleared his throat and turned to Gwen and Stefan. “Alright, you two next. Dmitri, sit to the side. You’ll face Martha...?”

“Oh, hell no, I want the winner of Stefan and Gwen’s fight!” She yelped, which made everyone but me laugh. This caused their laughter to taper off awkwardly, and Zachary cut the tension by asking Michael and I to return to the dugout. I slowly sat on the bench and stuffed my hands in my pockets. The blank stare from earlier hadn’t left my face, and Michael whispered to Martha worriedly as they watched me from the opposite bench.

Meanwhile, Gwen and Stefan were skillfully fighting, evenly matched almost to an art. Zachary studied the two in wonder, but occasionally, his eyes drifted to me. Andrew and Cerelia were entirely focused on my odd demeanor, to the point that Cerelia whispered to Ramah, asking if he could force a reaction out of me. Ramah slowly stood and ghosted over to rub against my forearm, “What’s wrong?” He whispered, his gold eyes shimmering with worry. I ruffled his ears softly, slowly looking back out over the arena. When I didn’t answer, he sighed and curled up onto my lap, kneading on my pants lovingly.

The sound that bothered me before grew louder, and this time, everyone heard it. Gwen and Stefan dropped their weapons, raising an eyebrow as they turned to the tree line. “What the hell is that?” Gwen breathed seriously, which made the three of us in the dugout emerge to concentrate on where Gwen was staring at.

I ghosted to Michael’s side and protectively laid a hand on his back, my eyes flicking back and forth between each branch sporadically. I abruptly gasped, shoving him violently out of the way. He yelped as he fell backward, crashing to the ground just as an arrow cut through the trees and shot into my left shoulder. The force of the impact made me snap like a rubber band, and bounce on my back with a horrific groan of agony. “Dmitri!” Martha cried as I fell to my knees, clutching my arm with pain-filled breaths.

“Don’t you dare come over here; get your heads down, now!” I barked seriously before painfully ripping the arrow out of my shoulder, snapping it in half angrily before slinking backward, “Mike, do you think you can get him? He’s on the twelfth branch in the ninth tree, left of the rocks…” I breathed, nodding towards the tree.

“I’ve been eyeing him since he shot; can you distract him for a moment?”

“Absolutely,” I shakily stood, then quickly darted left towards the castle. The archer automatically drew another arrow, but as he pulled the bow back, Michael popped up from the dugout and flung a knife through the air skillfully. It traveled over fifty feet before it slammed into the archer’s neck, making him spit blood violently before he fell forward and collapsed to the ground. “Nice, Michael. Excellent form,” I commented in relief, while made him grin proudly at my nod of approval.

He and I slid underneath the dugout with the others; I whistled loudly, which made Gwen raise an eyebrow to me, “What are you doing?” She whispered.

Archimedes appeared from over the hillside, and raced towards the dugout on command. I made sure that there were no other archers before meeting him in the center, patting his side. “How many you think?” I asked. He stomped the ground three times, which made my eyes widen, “Hundred?” I croaked. He whipped his head as I sighed morosely, “Go scout ahead, see how many you can spot. I need as close as you can get.” He nudged my bleeding arm with a worried huff, but I shooed him away, “Stop playing games and go!” He took off down the trail with another annoyed huff as I turned to Zachary, “It seems my brother was not too fond of our argument the other day.”

“How many are we expecting?” He asked seriously.

“Three, at least. I’ll know more in a minute.”

“From a horse?” He scoffed, but the look I gave him silenced his sarcasm.

Archimedes returned within a minute or so and stomped three times, which made me tsk, “Three, eh? Alright, meet me back here ready to ride out,” I said before he took off to the stables.

“That’s amazing,” Cerelia whispered.

“We’ll praise him later; for now, please, listen carefully.” I snapped to The Cavalries, who nodded, “We’re going to go out in teams so no one gets overworked. Michael, Martha, and I will take the lead for right now. Gwen and Stefan, stay with the king and queen at all times. Mike, Martha; you are going to pick off any flankers. He’s going to stick archers all over the trees, so he thinks he has an advantage. Get them down as fast as you can. I’ll help Zachary lead our army through to take care of the ground teams.”

“When do we switch?” Stefan asked.

“I’ll come back with Mike and Martha once all of the archers are out, then bring you and Gwen out. Gwen and I will worry about hand to hand until we figure out where they’re coming from, while you do what you do best; blow shit up.” I hissed, which made him cackle demonically and clap his hands together.

“This day just got a lot more exciting!” He growled happily.

“Are you going to be ok the entire time?” Martha offered.

“In heavy combat, I can go for six to eight hours without a break. After that, I’ll need fifteen minutes recharge, max; but I don’t intend on letting this go on that long.” I looked to the sky hesitantly, “Martha, I need you to be prepared. I don’t like that sound we heard.”

She was pale as she watched the way the clouds moved unnaturally, obviously disturbed by something moving through them at a rapid pace, “I didn’t want to say anything, but I figured you noticed, too.”

“What do you think it is?” Andrew offered.

“Sounded like planes…” Martha breathed, which made the rulers turn ghost white, “I wouldn’t put it past Joshua to do some dirty shit like that. He’s broken the rules of The God’s Sent before. Looks like I’ll be much more useful after all.”

“If it is, you and Stefan are retaliating. The base is close enough that you can get there while the others hold them off. We’ll take any leverage we can get.” Andrew automatically snapped, and nodded to Zachary to get his phone so he could call his siblings.

“Sounds like a plan,” Michael said, standing and drawing two knives from his belt. He spun them around his fingertips, his eyes burning with excitement as Zachary arrived with our backup, “Let’s start popping these bastards off.”

Zachary handed us each a small ear piece, which we would use to keep in contact with Stefan and Ramah back at the castle. Michael, Martha, and I mounted our horses as Gwen and Stefan rushed the royal couple inside, who kept looking back at us worriedly. Zachary directed everyone out onto the field just before the shore, about two miles out from the castle, where, sure enough, soldiers from The West kingdom began to slink from the shadows. Three of Alexei’s Cavalry were at the head of the line, but when they saw me flanking Zachary with a demonic glare, they began to visibly shake.

“We need to be careful; Joshua sent these soldiers because he doesn’t give a shit about them. This entire attack is an attempt to weaken us, that is all, and if they die he doesn’t care. Wait for them to come at us first; I'm positive they will. Oh, try and keep one or two alive; I have a few questions for them…” I snarled.

“I like the way you think, Snake,” Zachary said before addressing our side, “On the mark!” he called as the sounds of hundreds of swords unsheathing echoed through the field.

Michael and Martha quietly whispered a plan to one another on how to take out the archers as the female Cavalry from the meeting raised her weapon, pointed it directly at me, then smiled. “You know your objective! Make your king proud!” she screamed, then took off across the field. I whistled loudly, which made Archimedes rocket straight towards her. Whatever she saw in my face made her hesitate, which was a big mistake. As soon as we met in the center, I threw my sword back and powerfully swung forward: the sound of it cutting through the air made adrenaline pump through my veins. She tried to duck, but her action resulted in my blade slicing her head clean off. Blood splatted from her open neck, and her head tumbled down the hillside until it smacked into a hay bale and fell still.

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Loud cheering erupted through the castle as I raised my bloody blade to the sky, “Leave no West Soldier standing!” I yelled triumphantly, causing our army to cheer in return and race onto the field. Michael and Martha automatically went to either the left or right and began skillfully picking off archer after archer. Zachary and I focused on the Cavalry and men on foot, who were a little lost after their leaders’ death.

The soulless monster I suppressed everyday bubbled to the surface, and the reflection of my face in my victims eyes was truly frightening. My blade whipped through men and women so fast no one could keep up with my movements. Bodies dropped instantaneously, and covered the beautiful grass of the field. The waves crashed violently on the cliffside behind us, as if nature knew of the battle taking place. The bubbling blue ocean had now become a sea of red, and not one person on that field didn’t have blood on their hands. Our side was doing good; I, unfortunately, could see a few of our men on the ground, but most were alive. Stefan was barking orders to soldiers on the backline to scoop up the fallen, and their efforts were succeeding. Slane could be heard directing where people should be put, and who needed attention first and foremost.

In the midst of our push, to Martha and I’s dismay, an air craft soared over the cliffside so that it could drop not only more soldiers, but more weapons onto the battlefield. That, was all we needed. “Martha, plane due east! Looks like we’re about to have some fun!” Stefan cheered.

“These assholes have no idea how fucked they truly are.” She retorted darkly.

“Martha, Andrew has given clearance for retaliation. Dmitri, your call as to when you want to push forward.” Ramah called, which re-centered my focus momentarily.

“Mike, Martha, I’m coming to you.” I echoed back.

When I saw an opening, I shot through the field to find Michael, who was currently slamming his knife into a man’s eye. The scream that echoed from him would have scarred a civilian for life, but Michael and I were unfazed. As his body dropped Martha joined us, her shimmering blonde hair coated with blood and sweat, though her eyes blazed with confidence. “I took down twenty-seven on the east side. Jordan and I scouted ahead, and there’s no one left that we could see.” she huffed breathlessly.

“I got twenty-two; Zachary and I just finished picking up stragglers,” Michael added.

“Great work. Let’s get you on a plane, stat,” I clapped a hand onto Martha’s shoulder with a sly smirk, “Think you can handle it, scrappy?”

“Don’t make me laugh,” she cackled in return.

“Guys, Piers and Valentine just brought six prisoners back. Now would be a good time to get the information we need.” Stefan said through our headset.

“Agreed. Let’s switch, then. Michael, you focus on helping Stefan and Martha pick out targets, and directing everyone around where the explosions will go off. Gwen and I will handle the rest,” I instructed before we rode back to the castle.

HOUR THREE

The castle was bustling with soldiers who were going back and forth between grabbing weapons, dropping off injured comrades, and tagging out for a break. Just outside the main doors, Gwen, Stefan, Piers, Valentine, and the royal couple stood before six men, who were tied at the wrists. They were covered in bruises and blood, and ripped at their ties violently while spitting venomous threats at their captors. I recognized one to be a Cavalry, which made me hiss in delight as I hopped off my horse. “Caught these bastards trying to sneak past us, but they obviously didn’t get very far,” Piers scoffed.

“Have they said anything yet?” When the six men saw me they began crying out and trying to squirm away, which surprised my comrades, but the blank expression I had worn throughout the battle only grew more stark at their reactions.

“No, no, please…! Not him, please?!” One plead with Valentine.

“You should tell us what you know, then,” he offered.

“I already told you, we don’t know anything…!” I slid my hand into my pocket and procured my knife, which made the man’s eyes widen in horror. “I…I…?!”

“Don’t you say a thing!” The Cavalry barked; his hair matted to his face with sweat that poured down his cheeks.

“I don’t necessarily have time for this, gentlemen, so let’s make everyone’s lives easier and come clean?” I grabbed the first man’s hair and ripped him forward, which made Valentine back up instinctively. The soldier screamed ballistically, twisting as I jerked his head back and turned to the Cavalry. “How many did you bring?” I snapped.

“Blow me…” he snarled in return. I shrugged, then slammed the knife into the soldier’s head. The sound of the knife crunching his skull, then piercing his brain, made everyone cringe violently. Blood shot down his nose and through his ears and mouth before his jaw flopped open, and he fell slack. I threw his body backwards and moved to the next, who yelped and tried to wiggle away. “You bastard… You fucking bastard!” the Cavalry screamed as I grabbed hold of the next one’s hair.

“Your choice?” I offered.

“Tell him… Tell him… Kyle, FUCKING TELL HIM!?” The man shrieked.

“I can’t…!” Kyle whimpered. I slammed the knife into the second’s skull, making the other four men shriek bloody murder. This one’s blood splatted my face, but I simply continued onto the third, unfazed. Kyle was shaking so violently I thought fear would kill him before I got the chance. I killed the third emotionlessly, then the fourth, then finally, I grabbed the fifth. I brought my arm back to pierce his skull, but Kyle clenched his teeth together, making me pause. “Three hundred and seven…” he whimpered.

“Why an odd number?” I asked as the fifth huffed in relief when I lowered my arm.

“That’s all we had in the castle. As soon as Joshua came to he began planning the attack.”

“How did you get into the country unnoticed?”

“Like I’d tell you!” He scoffed.

I sighed, then surveyed his outfit curiously, “You’re shoelaces are wet, yet it hasn’t rained in three days? Care to explain yourself?” I asked. Kyle stammered in horror as I turned to my shocked team members, “Gwenevere, get some men out on the coast line. They took ships around the canal, and are climbing the cliff side.”

“You fucker!” Kyle screamed as Piers cackled in delight.

“I like you, kid!” He cried, slapping my shoulder as Gwen passed and hollered for Jeremy with a maniacal cackle and carefree skip to her step.

“As for you…” I snarled, dragging the fifth soldier up to Kyle so they were sitting before one another, “Who lead the army here?”

“Your whore mother,” Kyle cackled.

I pressed my knife tip to the temple of the fifth man, who was openly sobbing in horror as I bent down beside him, “What’s your name, soldier?” I asked coldly.

“R-Ryan…” he whimpered.

“Ryan, eh? I'm sorry you’re caught in the middle of Kyle and I’s tiff; it certainly isn’t fair at all…” I psychotically twirled the knife against his forehead, making tears run down his cheeks faster, “What can you tell me, in exchange for your freedom?”

“Whatever you want!” He snapped automatically.

“Don’t you dare!” Kyle yelled.

“Butt out,” I scoffed, turning back to Ryan, “I'm going to run off a few questions. Answer them quickly, and you may make it through this alive. How many men are in your army? Who is Alexei’s current Prime Minister? What was the true purpose of his meeting? Where is Joshua planning his next attack? And, most importantly, where is he keeping Morgan and Riley?”

“We have thirty thousand or so currently, but talk of more recruitment is underway. Matthew is Prime Minister after Christopher was executed. He began to refuse all of Alexei’s plans, so he got rid of him…?”

“I see…” I breathed suspiciously, “Continue, please.”

“I don’t know why he held the meeting. Rumor has it he knew you were alive, but Riley had hid your tracks so well that no one knew for sure, so he had to find out himself. I'm just a soldier, so I don’t know anything besides my current mission. Though, with Matthew and Joshua running the show together, more and more missions have appeared,” he stammered.

“And of the royal family?” I pressed as Gwen returned, nodding to Stefan that she had sent her men out onto the water in preparation for his next attack.

“Alexei just, showed up with Morgan one day. We have no clue where she came from, but she’s been home for two months. It’s obvious he used her to bait you out. Riley hasn’t left the castle since the day you left, following some kind of agreement he had with Alexei. That’s all I know, I swear, I swear!” he sobbed.

I stood and huffed once, processing the information for a minute. Kyle was grinding his teeth in anger, while Ryan choked on breaths to try and calm himself down. “As much as this all makes sense…” I began, “there’s one teeny, tiny, detail, that isn’t doing it for me.”

“W-Which is?” He stammered.

“When did you say Christopher died?” I asked.

“Three months ago…?” He tried.

“Three months ago, eh? Because, last time I checked…” Ryan knew he was caught and began wailing hysterically. The royal couple and Cavalries were completely emotionless and did not dare interfere as I walked around Ryan in circles, wiping his comrade’s blood off on my shirt sleeve, “Christopher was present at the Cavalry Academy Graduation Ceremony for The West; he even gave the speech on live television, which was less than a month ago. That, and Matthew left The West and went to study psychology in America, which means…” I spun on my heel, poking his forehead and making him teeter slightly, “You, my friend, are a liar!” I cheered.

“PLEASE?!”

“It isn’t very dignified to cry like a child, is it, Ryan? What is Joshua’s golden rule again? Ah, yes, let me remind you…” I grabbed his hair and ripped him forward, so his head was tilted painfully upright, “Real men do not cry in the face of death; they embrace it!”

“Rot in hell, Mortimer!” He screamed as I slammed the knife through his eye. Kyle gagged violently as I twisted it hard, then ripped the knife free. Ryan’s body smacked to the floor, and blood pooled all over the beautiful concrete walkway. I hopped over his body and turned to Kyle with the same dead expression I gave the others, which made him croak a gasp.

He started automatically backpedaling away, shaking his head fast as I stormed up to him, brushing Ryan’s blood away from my eyes. “Don’t come near me… Don’t you come near me!?”

“I am through playing games with you fuckers…” I growled, grabbing him fast. I spun him onto his back and cut his hands free, which made him try to turn and lunge at me. Instead of him succeeding, I grabbed his wrist and snapped it hard, and that made his blood curtailing scream echo through the courtyard. I slammed him onto his stomach and jerked his arm back, holding him in place with my boot, “Who is his Prime Minister!?” I yelled.

“F-Fuck… you…” he huffed.

I broke his arm violently, which caused him to scream again, and pant weakly. He was on the verge of unconsciousness, but I knew how much time to give him in between breaks so I wouldn’t lose him. “If you think this is a game, Kyle, then you surely are wrong. I can do this all day, until every last bone in your weak little body is crushed to sand…”

“Some savior you are… You are just like that scum brother of yours…” he coughed.

“Damn straight I am,” I said, twisting the broken arm. He howled with tears and sweat rushing down his cheeks, “You think I was going to put years of abuse and training to waste? Oh, you are surely mistaken little boy. You innocent puppy dogs truly don’t know who the fuck you are messing with. To those in this kingdom, I am a friend. To those in The West, I am your worst nightmare come to life,” I hissed, dropping his arms.

He wheezed broken sobs, stiffly trying to pull himself up. I let him get to his knees, where he held still for a moment before hacking out some blood, “You should know who his Prime Minister is, since you’re his favorite little pet…” he whispered to my surprise.

“Joshua is his Prime Minster after all?” I hissed in disbelief.

“He beheaded Christopher two weeks ago, to prove to Alexei he was worthy. After his success in The South, Alexei was more than happy to let Joshua take the reins on all political and military affairs, but could only do so legally if he were in a position of power. You were right; Matthew is in America, and hasn’t had contact with The West in two years. I'm not even sure he knows his father is dead. Maxwell has become Alexei’s bitch; he follows him around like a lost puppy, and does whatever he says at all times. He’s in line behind Walter to become captain, should Walter die, since Joshua no longer holds the position.”

“It’s amazing how much people remember with a little persuasion,” I taunted.

Kyle cut me an evil side eye, then glanced back to the ground sadly, “Please, just get it over with…” he breathed.

“Get what over with?”

“Don’t play dumb with me?! Joshua will do far worse if I report back!”

“Sounds like a personal problem,” I said, shrugging, “Run along and report back to your master, little dog,” I chimed, waving him forward. He stiffly stood and swayed from the pain, clenched his teeth, then clutched his broken arm and stumbled towards the field.

“You’re really letting him go?” Michael scoffed.

I laughed a low, methodical giggle, “No, Michael; I like to play with my food first.”

“You’re a bloody psychopath,” Stefan joked as I took the tip of my knife and aimed it towards Kyle’s head.

“Aren’t you glad I hide it well?” I teased, then snapped my wrist. The knife whistled through the air before crunching into his skull, making him fall forward. He hit the ground with a thud, his fingertips twitching slightly. I walked over with my hands in my pockets and slammed my boot down on the knife, which finished him off, before I yanked it free and closed it. “Now then, I think we have a battle to finish?” I sang, turning to wink to my comrades, who held blood thirsty smiles as they nodded in agreement.