Sovereign - The Dark Sorcerers: Book 2

Chapter 3: Targeted

Rowan

The Sorcerer who had spoken pushed back the hood of his cloak, revealing a tanned, narrow face with deep-set caramel eyes. His black hair possessed a bluish glow in the moonlight when he cocked his head to the side. "An Academy soldier ... We'll get a high reward for this one."

The other Sorcerer, the one standing behind me and in front of Larry, snickered with sadistic amusement. "Fifty gold coins for each of us, I think. Not bad." He circled us so that I could have a look at him too. The man's pale blue eyes lit up with excitement as they met mine. He looked at least two decades older than his comrade, although the smell of his breath suggested he had just crawled out of a grave. "Not bad at all."

I didn't bother to hide the disgust on my face. "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, we don't want anything from you."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. What does Cain want with me?"

If the men were surprised I knew their boss's name, they didn't show it. "I honestly wouldn't know," the black-haired Sorcerer answered, a wide, smug grin plastered on his face. "It's not my place to ask him."

These idiots were more useless than a blunt sword.

Forcing a smile onto my lips, I curled my fingers tighter around the spear's pole. The cool metal warmed up under my touch, seemingly pulsating with energy. The sensation boosted my confidence. "So, how are we going to settle this, then? Either we part ways here and forget this ever happened, sparing ourselves a lot of needless effort, or my friend and I kill you and you can rot in the Void for the rest of eternity."

The blue-eyed Sorcerer—Martin, his companion had called him—threw his head back and roared with laughter. Turning to his comrade, he said, "I'm starting to think arrogance is a requirement for entering the Academy. How about we teach him some manners, Aaron?"

Aaron grinned again, cracking his knuckles. Shadows danced across his hands and forearms. "It'd be my pleasure."

Secretly, I had already been hoping for this.

Aaron's shadows lashed out at me, faster than the naked eye could follow, but I had anticipated this move. After months of training with Dark Sorcerers, I had learned a thing or two about their fighting techniques. I ducked and swung my spear. One of the blades hit the Sorcerer's kneecap, causing him to fall down on one knee. I used his confusion to throw myself against him, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground with my legs. He reached out with his fist, aiming for my throat, but I blocked him with one arm while the other pushed the spear's sharp end into his neck.

Aaron gurgled as he choked on his own blood. His eyes were wide with surprise, as all Dark Sorcerers' eyes were when they found out their Darkness-infested skin was not as impenetrable as they thought. As soon as a Sorcerer had undergone the Purging and they turned into an Immortal, it became significantly harder to kill them because their bodies healed themselves, despite not possessing any healing magic. Yet, thanks to Kenna, I now knew why my spear was an exception.

Aaron's caramel eyes turned glassy and I pushed myself off of him, pivoting to check how Larry was doing. Ellie and Mom had come out of their tents to join him and the three of them were fighting Martin, dodging shadows, flames and an occasional flash of lightning while they swung their blades and axe. I took the opportunity to sneak around the Sorcerer, but his magical sixth sense must have warned him of my presence; he turned around and a shadow wrapped itself around my throat before I had a chance to duck out of the way.

The spear slipped out of my hands. A woman screamed with rage and fear, but the noise was blocked out by the blood racing in my ears. I struggled against the invisible force that squeezed my windpipe, yet to no avail. Once a Dark Sorcerer had you in his power, there was no escaping.