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

looked at Obs. The drathe padded over to his side and sat down, then licked Alistair's hand and then laid on the floor, showing no signs that he was scared of the giant. With raised eyebrows, Alistair turned his eyes on the AllMother. "You going to tell me it's my choice?"

She nodded, smiling.

He dropped to his knees and looked at Faitrin. "How do you feel?"

"A little bit better than if I'd been stabbed in the stomach," she answered.

He looked her up and down. Her wound was nearly healed, and the little robotic insects had died once their job was finished. Some remained on her stomach, still working on the wound, but most had fallen to the ground and were no longer moving.

Alistair stood and marched through the hotel rooms. He found the giant standing in the very last room. His head was up, and he was looking at Alistair.

"Get on your knees."

The creature did as he was told without a word of protest. The Fallen Titan had retracted his Whip into the hilt, but he unleashed it once again, turning it into the sword-like shape. He put it at the creature's neck, the laser burning flesh. The giant was staring up at him and once again showed no sign of pain.

"You'll let me kill you right now?" Alistair asked. He needed someone to bring him to that Manius character, but this monster? Maybe they were right. Maybe it wasn’t worth the risk.

"I am yours to do with as you desire."

"Until you meet someone stronger?"

The giant nodded, his neck touching the laser as he did. "I serve the strongest."

"Why did you save her after trying to kill her?" Alistair felt anger running through him; Prometheus, his alter ego, wanted to step forward.

"When you killed the other servant, I understood my path was tied to you. I had no choice but to help if you permitted it. She is also your servant, and to help her is to glorify you."

Alistair gritted his teeth and gripped the Whip's hilt harder. He held his breath for a long moment, then he decided. Naïve or foolish, maybe, but he would not behead someone who had put himself at his mercy.

More, they needed the beast, and that was what no one else recognized in their fear of him. They needed this monster to get them to Thoreaux.

Alistair remained standing above him, but he withdrew the Whip into its hilt. "If you betray me or anyone you think serves me, I will end you."

"I understand, master," the giant agreed.

"Stand and come with me." Alistair left the room and headed back to his reduced council.

Chapter Fourteen

“It is a brutal life they live, but it is also a brutal universe.”

—The Orion Corporation

They moved hideouts, as was necessary.

Faitrin healed quickly. She was able to contact Jeeves, who arranged the next spot, and then travel to it.

The night would be at an end soon, then they would have thirty-six standard hours of daylight. They traveled the streets in silence, Faitrin leading them to the place Jeeves had set up.

The giant walked behind Alistair at a safe distance. He seemed to understand he wasn't trusted and didn't want anyone to feel threatened, yet he wouldn't let Alistair's back go unwatched.

Finally, Relm got sick of the creature being at Alistair's six. Holding a StarBeam, he walked over to him. "You get up front. I want you where I can see you."

The creature kept the same pace, his stride twice as long as Relm's.

"Pro! Tell this lug to get up there. I don't want him walking behind you."

Alistair still didn't understand all of this, but he acquiesced. "Up front."

"Yes, master." The creature didn't glance at Relm, just stepped in front of Prometheus.

Faitrin led them down backstreets. They could have taken a transport, but it would have been logged, and they had no idea how that was tracked. In the streets, they were protected to some degree since this planet didn’t want outright violence. Emptying a hotel and killing everyone? That was fine. Alistair wasn't worried about the clean-up back there. Whoever had paid off the necessary authorities could take care of it. Plus, he didn't think Ares was going to let him be locked up on a foreign planet. It wouldn't do much for the kid's legacy.

They finally reached the new place. It looked a lot sketchier than the first, but Alistair didn't care. He had two things on his mind, and the first was understanding this strange man-like beast. None of the people they passed had given the creature a look, though Alistair did not doubt that those wanting to kill him knew where they were. You couldn't miss this odd creature, even if people around here had some idea of what he was.

The creature was in a room by himself, while the rest bunked together. It was a tight fit, but Alistair felt they were safer that way.

He was about to head to the beast's room when Servia called him. "You can't trust it, and you can't let it sleep in there alone. We need to rest, but someone has to stand watch while we rest. You understand that, right?"

Alistair didn't turn around. "I don't trust it, but there isn't any other way to get to Thoreaux. If you think of another one, let me know. If not, I'll be getting information out of the creature."

He walked out, shutting the door behind him. The hallways were small, and he stood directly in front of the beast's room—the unnamed creature who called him master.

Alistair took his Whip off his belt and unfurled it. He turned the doorknob, half-expecting it to be locked. It moved easily, and he swung the door open.

The creature sat in front of Alistair. His eyes were staring forward as if he'd been waiting for Alistair to show up and had nothing else on his mind.

Alistair stepped into the room and quietly closed the door. He didn't retract the Whip, but he made no motion toward the creature