Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Adder

To the day he died, Dael wouldn't remember what happened next.  All he remembered was bringing his gladius up to block, and then he was standing on a damp patch of sand, blood dripping from his blade while the crowd drowned him with its damning approval. A man, purple-robed, stood on a stone balcony and looked down at him, pleased.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Whatever you want it to be," Dael said. His real name belonged to Flavia - and himself.

Darius stepped out of the shadows, past the guards who'd stopped the other men from fleeing. "Excellency, this is...The Adder."

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