At Dessine’s orders, the hunters of the Pride drew their blades, glinting with death. In their eyes, Sabit could see each of them close their heart to her, as they closed ranks with each other. Two dozen of the Sisterhood’s finest warriors now stood between Sabit and her quarry—Dessine’s look of proud defiance mocking Sabit across the sea of bodies and blades.
How many of her sisters would Sabit need to kill in order to save Meriama from the murderous chief hunter?
The first hunter stepped forward, sword raised high for a crushing strike. Sabit slammed the wooden door in her face and quickly dropped the bar. A resounding thud shook the walls. Sabit dashed across the small room, leaped upon a table, and scrambled out the small, high window in the back wall. Pain flared in Sabit’s shoulder as she squeezed through the narrow opening.
Dropping to the ground, Sabit heard the clomp of quickly approaching boots. A young member of the Pride rounded the corner, sword at the ready. Sabit could not bring her name to mind, but recalled the long, fat snake the young hunter had butchered for her initiation, and the uncomplaining way she shouldered her chores on the Pride’s long march to the sorcerer’s village. The young woman swung her sword for Sabit’s neck, tears welling in her eyes. Sabit parried the blow with her spear, throwing the young hunter off balance. Seizing the moment, Sabit slammed her spear butt into the young woman’s jaw. Sabit could not say whether the worse pain came from her shoulder or her heart. She heard the crunch of bone and teeth as the hunter dropped like a stone.
Before she had hit the ground, Sabit was sprinting toward the wall dividing the Pride’s inner courtyard from the rest of the Sisterhood’s stronghold. The hunters of the Pride were close behind.
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Wayfarings of Sabit: Sisterhood of the Lioness is copyright (c) 2017 by Michael S. Miller. All rights reserved. New chapters post every weekday. You can support this and other stories on Patreon: https://patreon.com/michaelsmiller or http://ipressgames.com/fiction/