Ghost Wounds, Episode 9

You observe Ark for a moment, trying to find what he’s watching. You realize that he’s not watching the Lord Ambassador’s mansion so much as he’s waiting for something. But for what? For you? For the Catekhari Lord Ambassador? For Croanna herself?

Even as the thought crosses your mind, Ark looks up, his eyes meeting yours, and you flinch in surprise. His face is…empty. Drained of all emotion. Ark always looked grim, but that was from the trials he had endured as a Legionary and as a Ghost. Now he simply looks dead.

He walks out of the alley, his old Legion shield on his left arm, and draws his sword.

Then he breaks into a run, his eyes still fixed on you.

“Countess,” says Noraster in alarm, “he’s attacking us!”

You look around, half-expecting that Ark is charging at a group of enemies behind you. You never, ever would have thought Ark capable of betraying you. For that matter, the man’s not an idiot – if he was going to kill you, surely he would think of some better way to do it…

And then Ark closes on your, his face and eyes blank, and you realize that he truly intends to kill you.

Moresti interposes himself, his shield raised. Ark hammers at the mercenary, his broadsword hewing chips from Moresti’s shield. Noraster raises his crossbow and takes aim.

“No!” you shout. “Don’t kill him!”

Not until you know if this is an impostor or not. And if this is truly Ark, then what happened to him.

You circle around to the left, and Ark bulls his way past Moresti and lunges at you. You just barely get out of the way in time, his sword pointing blurring past your face. You’ve survived quite a few fights, and you’re fast, but you’re maybe half of Ark’s size and he is much, much stronger than you. There’s no way you can win a straight fight against him.

“Ark, damn it,” you say, “listen to me!”

He registers no response to your voice, none at all. He lashes out with his shield, and you dodge.

And as you do, you feel the crawling tingle of sorcery.

He regains his balance, and as you do, you see the bracelet encircling his left wrist.

It’s bronze, not ebony, but other than that looks very similar to the enspelled bracelet you saw on Rycurgus’s arm. You know the magi can cast mind-controlling spells – you’ve had firsthand experience – but such spells are risky and unreliable.

Could the bracelet be controlling Ark?

You need a closer look at it. Before Ark kills you.

Or, even worse, before you have to kill him…leaving you to explain to his wife and children how you finally got him killed.

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