🐲 Dragon and Phoenix (Path of Light and Fire Book #2) (Completed) 🐲

Chapter 12

"Do you still want to drop me in the arms of the Empressa?"

Sabin gripped his book so hard the spine cracked. A former Serien, a supposed defender of humanity, sat in front of him admitting to what amounted to mass murder.

He flung the book across the room. "I should, after I let Leena geld you."

Zannick removed his glasses and tucked them inside his robe. "That would be the easy answer, would it not? I am the villain, responsible to setting fire to buildings and putting innocents in danger."

Sabin lifted him by the scruff of his collar. "How could you? You were a Serien! You're supposed to protect people!"

Zannick shrugged, even as his feet dangled in the air. "I was, once. Yet I did not feel compelled to be a hero, only to ensure my survival. If that corresponded with good as you call it, great. If not, didn't matter much to me. Go ahead and ask the question that you want to ask."

"Why?"

"You've seen the Charged have you not? Men who have gone mad from the electric energy that runs through their veins?" Electricity danced in his eyes. "Electric energy runs through my veins at a level higher than any of these men, yet I'm totally sane."

Sabin tossed him into the chair. "Debatable."

"True." Zannick rubbed his throat and snickered. "Yet, is that because the electric energy or the Empressa?"

Sabin pulled the silver plated god-spear from his waist. He twisted the handle and the blade shot forth, transforming into a katana. He placed the tip on Zannick's throat. "Make your case now before I change my mind."

"I wasn't the first leader of the Ghosts. We've existed since the advent of the Charged, disrupting the regime and saving a few here and there."

"Saving the Charged how?"

"By killing them."

Sabin's face contorted and he gritted his teeth. "You're a murderer!"

Zannick looked down the length of his nose. "Am I? Or do I save lives?"

"Stop talking in riddles!"

It was Zannick's turn to frown. "I don't talk in riddles young man; it is you who still fail to understand the realities of the world! These men were many things - husbands, fathers and sons - before being driven to madness and used as weapons of war and violence."

Sabin took a step back and lowered his sword.

Zannick wiped the blood that trickled down his neck. "For some death is a release. With the Charged what I do is a mercy."

"You should try to heal them."

"When a person's mind is broken, it's different than a physical wound. It cannot be repaired. Sure, you might be able to mitigate a behavior or two, but you cannot fix it."

Sabin grabbed the man by the throat with his left hand. "All wounds can be fixed. You haven't tried hard enough, you liar!"

Sabin felt his left arm seize and go numb.

Zannick stepped back and readjusted his robe. "That's enough of that, boy. I was once the Serien of Electricity. You might be able to defeat me, but you will respect your elder."

Sabin lighted across the room and punched the man in the jaw with his working hand, sending him flying into a pile of books. The room rumbled with the impact.

"I am not a toy for you to play with old man."

Zannick held up his hand. "I surrender to your superior strength. Didn't Aegis teach you..."