The big man leapt over the woman's legs, avoiding some stray crates and boxes on his way. He was almost there, when the possessed creature of Ailden hopped to its feet and punched him with the power of a full-grown man.
Andiron flew back from her fist, destroying several crates as he landed on them. His head reeled and he was feeling nauseated. But before he could even stand back up, the creature was on him again, delivering blow after devastating blow.
There was a loud crunch as the possessed woman let her fist fly directly into his nose. He cried out in pain, and then pushed the thing off of him forcefully. He dashed towards the knife as the woman stumbled back, trying to regain her balance. He lifted the knife from the floor and tested its balance.
It was basically just a sharpened rock, resting on a hilt. This knife was very top heavy. All his warrior instincts told him to drop it and find another weapon, but he knew that a poor weapon was better than no weapon at all.
He had just decided this, when the creature flew across the room at him, arms flailing wildly. Andiron thrust the knife into her heart as soon as she landed, feeling no guilt for killing this beast, even if it was a woman. He pushed the thing off of the knife then he kneeled to finish the job. He severed the woman's head from her bodily easily, because of her hideous wound on her neck.
Andiron was looking at her, contemplating what to do with the body, when the decapitated head spoke to him again in its same booming voice, "Well done, Sir Andiron! You can never cease to impress me, killing poor women. I hope you can visit soon!" These last words dripped with sarcasm.
"Believe me, Ailden. I will." He stabbed the rock knife into the dirt floor, deciding that he would have to deal with this body now and deal with Ailden later.
Hesitatingly he lifted the headless corpse from the floor, moving as quickly as he could to the back room of the cellar. He set the carcass down as he neared the back wall. Then he reached out his hand and pressed in one of the bricks. A door opened in the gray brick wall.
He picked up the body once again and walked into the room. Then he swung to the left, trying to avoid dripping any blood onto the masterfully woven carpet on the floor. It was a deep blue color, so the crimson of her blood would show easily.
Andiron could not believe that he was putting the body here. This was a room dedicated to the church, to the Gods! But this was the only place where nobody would find it until he returned later. He set it on the ground next to a candelabrum, and then left the room, closing the door behind him.
The big man got up from his bed and ran his fingers through his loose, shoulder-length chestnut hair. He looked down at his white tunic, now stained permanently with the woman's blood. He stripped out of his clothes and promised that he would burn them later as he pulled on fresh ones.
Then he knew what he would have to do. He knew that he'd be expelled from the Church Knights for leaving a body in that most sacred place, so he'd have to take matters into his own hands. He was going to go to Ailden's fortress on the Plains of Greenmarble.
He packed a bag full of some extra clothing and some food that he would eat on the way. He slung the bag over his shoulder. Then he went to where his sword rested against the wall. He picked it up from its spot, cursing himself for not bringing it down to the cellar with him. He would not be in such pain if he had.
Then Andiron cringed, gasping in pain. His nose needed to be set now. It was excruciatingly painful, and it would look permanently like this if he didn't get it fixed. But there was no time to do that. He strapped his longsword to his belt and opened up the door, the cool night air refreshing him.
The Break in the Bond
Start from the beginning
