Warlord Conquering (The Great Insurrection Book 3) by David Beers (best historical fiction books of all time txt) 📗

now," the giant responded. He, it—whatever the thing was—was injured. Why this creature would help the people he'd come to kill, Prometheus didn't know.

"RELM!" he shouted. "You hear him?"

"She needs help, Pro! Bad!"

Prometheus glared at the block-headed creature. "Move an inch in the wrong direction, and you'll be like your partner there on the floor. Got it?"

"I understand."

Pro pulled the Whip out, and the giant in front of him didn't even grimace. The Fallen Titan stepped back to give the beast some room. Obs was growling where he stood next to Servia.

Prometheus followed him into the other room. Relm moved out of the way but remained next to Faitrin, hovering around her head. Pro could see her breathing, shallow as it was, and blood was leaking from her mouth. There was a large wound in her stomach, a gaping hole where it looked like one of the giants had worked their laser knife in.

There wouldn’t be any saving the pilot, not without a medbay in the room, and even then, it would be iffy. Pro's Whip hung from his hand, ready to decapitate this creature if needed, but he couldn't take his eyes off Faitrin. She was dying.

Servia, the AllMother, and Obs walked in.

Obs made his way to Faitrin and laid next to her. He rested his head on her hand, his eyes distrustful on the giant who knelt on the other side.

The giant removed the armor on his right hand, revealing a fist that looked like a boulder. Pro stepped behind the man so he could kill him if necessary. The giant seemed not to notice but stretched that huge hand over Faitrin's stomach. She looked tiny in comparison, like a doll.

The giant's hand hovered over her stomach, blocking anyone from seeing what was happening. He closed his eyes, and a grimace appeared on his face. A sound filled the room, very low at first, then louder.

"What are you doing?" Prometheus asked. He shoved the Whip forward, the three strands coiling around the man's neck without touching him.

The giant did nothing, only knelt with that pained grimace on his face and his hand hovering over Faitrin's stomach.

Long moments passed, then the giant closed his hand into a fist, his knuckles turning white as he squeezed it shut.

Prometheus stared at where the wound had been. Tiny insects walked across her, creatures the size of ants, except Pro knew the things weren't organic. They were robotic, and they were inside the wound as well.

"What did you do?" he whispered.

"They will heal her," the giant said in his stilted language. "That is their job. To heal."

Alistair uncoiled the Whip from his neck. Relm's ear was at Faitrin's face. "It sounds like she’s breathing better."

"She will be okay," the giant assured them. Slowly so as not to be a threat, the giant turned. He was still on his knees, now facing Alistair. "I serve you now, master."

Alistair took a step back. The giant's hand was still clenched in a fist, and he covered it with his other armored hand. There was no threat coming from the man; whatever he was, he was fully at Pro's mercy. He bowed his head, his long hair falling over his massive ears. "You may kill me if you prefer. I did this to your other servant."

The Prometheus persona slowly slid to the back of his mind, allowing Alistair to take over. He flashed his eyes at Relm, who could see more of Faitrin's body than he could. "What's it looking like?"

"Whatever those things are, they're working, broth. They're patching her godsdamn flesh right in front of my eyes."

Without looking up, the giant said, "Will you let me serve, or will you have my life?"

"Who are you?" Alistair asked.

"Those who serve have no name," the giant responded. He still stared at the floor.

Alistair didn’t understand, but from what he could see, the giant was sincere. Still, he'd been sent here to murder everyone in these rooms. Alistair examined him: the blocky, brick-like head, the body that was even bigger than his own. "What are you?"

"I am one who serves, master."

Alistair stepped to the side of the giant so he could see Faitrin. Her eyes fluttered open as he did, and the wound on her stomach appeared to be almost closed. Alistair couldn't know for sure what was going on. He didn't know what was happening other than a giant pledging fealty and Faitrin now looking at him.

"I think they got their rooms mixed up," the pilot whispered with a slight smile.

Alistair looked at the giant. "Why aren’t you still trying to kill me?"

"I serve strength," the creature answered in that deep voice. "You are the strongest human I have met, so now I serve you."

Alistair's eyes narrowed. "If you find someone stronger than me?"

"I will serve them if they will have me."

"The other one in there that I killed? Who was he?"

The creature was silent for a few moments, his face full of confusion. "I do not understand."

"Was he your brother? A family member?"

Again, a confused look. "I do not understand, master."

Alistair looked across the room at the AllMother. "You got any idea what this is about?"

She shook her head. "I've never seen anything like him."

Alistair shook his head, exasperated. "Stand up," he told the giant.

The creature did as he was told, showing no signs of aggression. "Go sit in the furthest room in this row. Wait for me there."

"Yes, master," the huge creature said. He kept his eyes down and walked through the doorway, those standing around it having to move to the side.

Alistair waited until the thing was two rooms over and couldn't possibly hear them. "Do I fucking kill it or what?"

Relm was holding Faitrin's head in his lap. "Kill it or I will, Pro. Whatever it is, it's deadly, and it's lying."

Servia nodded. "Agreed. You’ve got to kill it. Right now, it could be relaying where we are to someone. You were naïve when it came to Hel. Don't be naïve about this, Pro."

Alistair