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Back Rapture
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. 1.
  5. 2.
  6. 3.
  7. 4.
  8. 5.
  9. 6.
  10. 7.
  11. 8.
  12. 9.
  13. 10.
  14. 11.
  15. 12.
  16. 13.
  17. 14.
  18. 15.
  19. 16.
  20. 17.
  21. 18.
  22. 19.
  23. 20.
  24. 21.
  25. 22.
  26. 23.
  27. 24.
  28. 25.
  29. 26.
  30. 27.
  31. 28.
  32. 29.
  33. 30.
  34. 31.
  35. 32.
  36. 33.
  37. 34.
  38. 35.
  39. 36.
  40. 37.
  41. 38.
  42. 39.
  43. 40.
  44. 41.
  45. 42.
  46. 43.
  47. 44.
  48. 45.
  49. 46.
  50. 47.
  51. 48.
  52. 49.
  53. 50.
  54. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  55. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ahmed closed his eyes and thought of his farm. There was a real life at the end of all this. A better one. If he could outrun the war. When he opened his eyes, he saw the bristling lichen-tree forest ahead of him, a blasted wasteland where nothing of substance thrived. I should not have come, he thought. There would have been better paying positions. But all of those would have been in the city, and he couldn’t afford to be in the city right now among the bel dames and their red notes for criminals. There was little forgiveness for men like him, even after the end of war.

He had left behind a lot of things in Nasheen, but not as much as he’d left at the front. He thought of the call he’d made in Amtullah. The familiar voice. At least not all of the men he cared for were burned up in Chenja.

“Ahmed?” Eshe said.

“Yeah?”

“We’d best pray now, before she leaves us behind.”

Nyx stood in the campsite as Kage and Eskander packed up. “Hate to break your fine meditation there,” Nyx called, “but we’ve still got those fucking Drucian mercenaries behind us. Unless they get caught in that kill hole, they’re coming for us next.”

“This shit will be over soon,” Eshe said, and unrolled his prayer rug.

Ahmed thought he meant it to be comforting, but it came out ominous. It was what he told every prisoner the night before they were gutted and burned by the cleanup crew. He remembered thinking it was a kindness, then, to promise and deliver release. But most were so far gone by then that he wasn’t sure how many understood what he was talking about.

Ahmed knelt beside Eshe, and began the prayer.

21.

When Nyx went hunting, she needed to know a few things about her target. It was always good to know who they were, what they liked, sure. You wanted to know favorite hangouts and who they owed money to and who they’d done favors for. But more than that, you wanted to learn what was most important to them. For most people she hunted in all her years as a bel dame and a bounty hunter, the answer to that question was generally a person, or people.

So whenever she caught sight of the Drucian mercenaries, trailing them just at the edge of the horizon, ever-present, seldom visible, she sat down and thought about what it was they thought was most important in life. What was worth coming out here to the edge of the known world for? Money just wasn’t enough. She still didn’t understand as much about Drucian culture as she probably should have after her years in exile. She hadn’t exactly had a lot of Drucian friends.