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

crowd and began helping out but Bastion was busy looking for the cause of their anxiety. The catapults never revealed themselves but they kept on sending boulders through the air into the city structures, while a few men appeared from the clouds of dust with barely any armor covering their body. Wearing nothing more than tank tops, armored pants and huge, gemmed gauntlets, they searched the streets with cocky attitudes, waving to the screaming townspeople and extending pleasantries their way.
    Bastion sucked his teeth and jogged toward them. The biggest of them, easily a foot taller than the other two, locked his eyes onto the young Sage and beamed brightly. The other two halted in their tracks and waited for their greeter to arrive.
    “Hey, there,” one of them said, giving Bastion a wave. “How’re you doing?”
    “You’re wearing Cimmerian armor,” Bastion said, not dropping his guard.
    “Barely,” he said, glancing down at his attire. “But yeah, that’s who I side with.”
    “And you’re responsible for the attack?”
    “My friends are,” he said, giving Bastion a wink. “So technically, no, I’m not responsible.”
    “Funny,” Bastion replied, surveying the city and seeing the carnage beginning to ensue. The moment he saw one of the citizens being hacked into two with a seven foot tall man with a large axe, he didn’t waste any more time with words. He sped forward and snatched the axe from out of the man’s hands and then returned the favor, splitting the giant into two halves.
    The men that addressed him earlier were already upon him.
    Bastion’s black robe descended upon him like a blanket and he willed his Gladius shaped eidolon to appear in his right hand. With a determined look of steel in his mind, he waited for the first attacker to punch him with one of his gemmed gauntlets. Bastion ducked at the last second and jammed the tip of his blade into and through the man’s chin and head. He took his sword away and let the man fall as Bastion turned his attention to the other two.
    He swiped his sword at the neck of the second man with blinding speed, but to his shock, the man caught his blade with his bare hand and then jumped up into the air to deliver a roundhouse kick to the young Sage’s chin. Bastion felt his eyes roll in the back of his head, but he fought to stay awake.
    He grit his teeth and poured more energy into his legs, determined to appear unfazed by what had just happened. But they were upon so fast. He felt his arms being grabbed and held behind his back. He strained against his captor’s grip, but it was useless. The second man began punching him in the stomach and Bastion tried to kick at his chin, but he missed. He received another hit to the face.
    He was in awe over how strong they were, and how easily he was being subdued. Weren’t they ordinary Cimmerian forces? What was happening?
    His swollen right eye opened and he saw Lily behind the man punching him, rushing him from the back, and he couldn’t bear to think about her getting involved. He screamed at her to stay back and defend the city. He would handle the two men…somehow.
    Lily hesitated, but she obeyed and Bastion felt relieved that she was out of harm’s way. Not from his attackers, but from himself. Bastion felt his chest swell as his heart began beating faster. He allowed himself to lose control.
     
    *              *              *
     
    “Is it the right thing to do?” James asked as he and Catherine walked along the open fields. The sun was hidden by grey clouds and there was a light drizzle tickling their skin, but it was nothing that they hadn’t experienced before.
    “What is?” she asked, closing her eyes and enjoying the air.
    “Us going for the machine,” he said. “Say we manage to take control…what then? Do we use it?”
    “I would like to think we would destroy it.”
    “I’m sure we’re not the only ones thinking about that.”
    “What are you saying?”