Rune Wielders

Chapter Fifty One

Colbie fell to the ground, feeling Reed's hand on her shoulder. His hand was like a weight keeping her down, the grip painfully tight.

Ruby screamed as Alden pulled her into his chest with a tight hug, his own face paler than Reed was.

There, in front of all of them, stood Eugene with a sword through his chest.

Eugene gasped, trying to speak. All that came out was blood, pouring down his chin. He barely smiled until the pain overtook him. His knees shook until he landed in the mud on his hands and knees.

Kale withdrew the sword, cleaning it off on Eugene's robe. He grinned and snapped the arrow lodged in his shoulder, throwing it at the stunned group of Rune Wielders. "If you'll excuse me, I have a shrine to attend to. Enjoy your corpse of a leader," he said, walking off into the bog.

Colbie pushed Reed off and sloshed through the water. She slumped down, holding Eugene's body in her shaky hands. Muddy water seeped through her suit, making her feel numb at the foreign feeling.

By the time Reed got there, he was already gone. They didn't even get to say goodbye before he left them. Colbie bowed her head over his stomach as the others knelt down, bowing their own heads.

After a while, Reed rolled up his sleeves, tears dotting his face. "I can heal him," he croaked out. His hands shook and it looked like he barely could stand.

"No, you can't," Colbie said, putting a hand on his arm. "Reed please," Colbie whispered.

Reed shook his head, falling to his knees. He sobbed, pushing his hands into the mud. "I...I can heal...I can heal him--I swear!" he hiccupped. "Let me go!" he sobbed, despite no one holding onto him. "I can heal him!"

Alden and Ruby trudged over to Reed, staring at him before glancing to Eugene. Their faces were unreadable.

Ruby knelt next to Reed, rubbing his shoulders. "Shh...Reed, he's gone," she whispered, bowing her head onto his shoulder blade. She let out a choked noise that sounded like she was gagging before taking a deep breath.

"He killed him. I could've shot him--he killed him," Alden whispered, staring at Eugene's body. "I could've saved him." He looked at his hands and his face turned to disgust like he wanted to cut them off.

Colbie grabbed Reed's hand for a moment, listening to the whimpers of her teammates. Fury fueled her and she stood up, looking in the direction where Kale left. "Let's go." Her hand slipped out of Reed's.

You could've protected him. Thrown your shield at him, or something. You could've done something but you stood there. You're just as bad as Kale. You did nothing to save him.

"What?" Ruby whispered, looking confused. "He'll kill us, Colbie. What do you expect us to do?"

"What else can we do? We're Rune Wielders. You're backing out now? Eugene made us for this. I'm not backing down until I'm dead," Colbie said, starting to turn around. "Eugene would want this."

"He wouldn't want us to die for this!" Alden protested.

"What else can we do, Alden?" Colbie spun back around. "What else can we really do? We're here to save Oreun."

Nothing from the others that surrounded Eugene. Colbie sniffed and wiped at her nose before walking away. She'd do it herself. For Eugene.

"How are we going to even kill him?" Ruby shouted.

"We don't. We destroy the shrine."

Colbie kept walking, pressing on her tattoo. For possibly the last time, the shield slid its way onto her arm and she sighed, flexing for a perfect fit.