The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) Read Online Free Page A

a better place.”
    “And if the world looks like this,” Bastion said, stretching his hands out toward the Delilah buildings, “that’s not a bad thing.” They were indeed magnificent to behold. Vibrant colors splashed along the walls in meticulous detail. Tapestries and banners that were placed along doorways and windows for decoration and not function or advertisement. The people were always dressed handsomely in their best attire, and though every man and woman could be deemed a warrior in their own right, they still wore suits and dresses that looked like something out of a Victorian novel. Their appearance and display of culture was old-fashioned but their ideas were advanced.
    They constantly thought ahead, from how to take a cup of coffee even further, to designing the next level of offensive warfare. From weapons to building foundations, clothing to entertainment, mannerisms to ideologies—no tradition was without scrutiny, no thought without proper analysis. It was as if they had taken the best of all the worlds and melted it down into one single town for all to admire and aspire to from afar.
    Bastion supposed that was one reason he was able to fit in so well. He was deemed one of the strongest beings on Terra, after all. But as the years passed, and the worlds slowly merged, he realized that his status as the strongest was falling rapidly, and it’s not like he was training to maintain the status. He wanted the peaceful life, and now he had it.
    But if someone should threaten it, would he have the strength to defend it? Now that he had something so dear?
    “We have to train,” he said suddenly. The notion caught Lily off guard.
    “Where did that come from?”
    “I want to preserve this place, and what the Delilah are working towards. That can’t happen if we’re rusty. Now that Chloe and Kyran are gone, it’s up to us.”
    “The Delilah have plenty of defensives.”
    “But most of the people didn’t see the horrors that we have. They are aware of the kinds of acts they may have to commit in war, but they never had to do them. That’s where we come in. We can make the hard calls because we know what the bad guys out there are capable of.”
    “When do you want to start?”
    “Now, if you’re okay with that.”
    “I don’t know how much good it will do honestly. There’s no real way to prepare for war…those who live and die…it all kind of comes down to chance.”
    “How can you say that?” he scowled. “We made it this far, haven’t we?”
    “I guess. We did die. I’m not saying we shouldn’t train. It’s just that people like to think that they’re chosen by some higher power just because they lived and the person next to them died, or they’re being showered by good fortune while the other suffers, but I don’t think it’s like that at all. We’re all on a timer, waiting for our moment to come.”
    “You can believe that if you like,” Bastion said. “But I want to try. I’ve never really focused on making myself stronger. I’ve relied too much on my innate abilities. Imagine if I apply myself?”
    “I imagine you would be very strong,” she smiled at him.
    “Then that’s what I want to do,” he said, just as a booming sound rocked them off their feet. Bastion grabbed Lily’s hand once they hit the bricked streets and she nodded at him. Her face was covered in soot and dirt, but she was okay. Her lacy white dress was now a reddish brown.
    “What was that?” Bastion shouted, jumping to his feet. He looked to the source of the explosion and saw that the tallest building in Delilah was beginning to crumble at the top. A second later, another boulder the size of a small dining cart slammed into the crumbling roof, sending even more debris down upon the people below. Some were frozen in fear. Others quickly helped those who were paralyzed to safety, ushering them along before the bulk of the destruction fell upon their heads.
    Lily instinctively moved toward the