Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 2

no real reason for you to have accepted this commission."
    He clenched his jaw, and then breathed deeply, tamping down the anger.
    "There are some who say—"
    "What? What do they say? That I'm unhinged? Dangerous? That the King hired me to do his dirty work? To slaughter the enemy wholesale?"
    His horse jerked and shied, forcing Sai to steady the animal.
    "No, Sai. There are some who say you are seeking your own death. You forged that blade to draw the enemy to you. Your cape is of the most brilliant, blood red. You ride a pale horse so you are easily spotted. That is what they are saying." She reached out, resting a hand on the bunched muscles of his arm. "Should I believe what they are saying, old friend? Do you really plan to leave us? All these years, you've believed that Arick lives. Is it true that you now wish to die?"
    He flinched from her touch.
    "Do not answer those questions, Sai. Just think about them. Your life is a shadow of what it once was, all over the death of Arick. I do not want to believe this of you. But you are no longer the man you once were. You have no kindness left in your heart. You shun even your own family. Do you know what they call you behind your back?"
    He shook his head curtly.
    "Sai, you are no longer Master Sai; they now call you Blood Raine. When you ride out, no one fights at your side because the blood rains down upon your head."
    His horse tossed its head and shied. Sai gathered the reins, ignoring the sting as his mount's mane lashed the skin of his arms. Another duty he'd let slide; the horse was cared for and fed, but never groomed. The boy he'd once paid to do that duty had stopped coming.
    "Is that all, Juliana?"
    "No, Sai, it isn't." She reached out, clasping the reins of his mount's bridle. "Hear me now, soldier. It is noble to find your death on the battlefield. It is ignoble to seek it there."
    She dropped the reins and he gave his horse his head, cantering away… away from her, from the column of soldiers. Away from all who might care.
    CHAPTER 5
    Sai hit the ground hard, his breath exploding from his body. It was by instinct alone that he rolled, dodging the lance that plowed into the soil just inches from his ribs. He rolled again, catching the legs of his opponent with his own, dragging the other man to the ground. They scuffled, once again on even ground. His horse had taken a blow to the shoulder and was now struggling to rise. With a whistled command, he ordered the animal to flee the battlefield. Other riderless horses screamed and reared, bolting in panic as the stench of blood filled the air. Sai lurched to his feet, falling into a forward dive, narrowly avoiding the blade of yet another of the treacherous Delphines. Smoke hung low over the battleground and a third fighter rose from its inky cover, taking position at Sai's rear.
    His people were falling hard, unused to the odd, mystical techniques of their enemy. It was said the yellow-robed general of the Delphine commanded with a sorcerer at his right hand. Given the unworldly sounds and sights surrounding him, Sai was inclined to believe.
    His sabre hummed; Arick's scimitar echoed in distant harmony. When the pitch rose in intensity, he whirled, blocking a strike with the sabre, attacking with Arick's slender blade. The soldier went down, shock dying in his wide-open eyes. A shriek from his blade warned him again and Sai whirled with a flurry of steel, beheading his next opponent. And so it went until blood flowed down his arms, soaking into the boiled leather of his armor. He grew weary, his arms heavy, yet he fought on, challenging, forcing the enemy back until they lay about him like a hedge, limbs entangled, uncaring in death.
    And then there was only one.
    He was tall and bloodstained, wearing the crimson and gold badge of his people over his metal-studded breastplate. His helm was dented, but still gleamed in the waning light. In the distance, the battle raged on, but Sai's entire world focused on this single warrior. The Delphine moved and Sai parried, matching the man's movements.
    Sai's eyes stung with blood and sweat; his heart beat so hard he heard little over the rush of blood in his ears. This was it. This was the moment. Sai's limbs were too weary to fight on, his lungs were taxed. His heart was as heavy as his leaden feet. He slipped, the sodden sole of his shoe twisted in the slippery soil, and the sun beat down on his head.
    This might be the end, but he wouldn't be going alone.
    Sai