Renegade Read Free Page A

his head disappears back through the hatch. His hands scratch at the underside of the hatch as he withdraws,
sending a crumble of plaster on top of me just as I am breathing in. There is a fraction of a second where I feel myself panicking before I inhale the dust. I try to stifle it but it is too late as
I sneeze involuntarily. Above, there is a moment of confusion followed by a flash of movement as the Kingsman lunges back through the hatch.
    This time he has no doubt where I am, launching himself as far through as he can, his arms stretching towards the ground. Despite the agony in my arm, I am too quick for him. I roll away as his
hands brush the tiles, and then I pull the kitchen knife from my pocket, lunging upwards and plunging it into a gap between his armour and helmet, deep into the side of his neck.
    In the instant his mouth curves into the word ‘you?’, I realise he is the first person I have ever killed. As we escaped the castle, I led the people chasing us away from the main
group. I have never asked what they went through to get out but the chances are someone in the group had to become a killer.
    The Kingsman’s body goes limp, hanging through the hatch, a trickle of blood oozing from his wound onto the ground. My hand is shaking in shock but my head is telling me to concentrate on
whether there is anyone else nearby.
    I pull the knife from his neck, wiping the worst of the blood on the wall, before placing my hands on top of the guard’s head, pushing as hard as I can until he slides awkwardly through to
the other side. I try to ignore the trail of crimson, throwing myself through the hatch and edging around to the front of the pub.
Don’t look at him
, I tell myself.
Don’t
look
.
    There is no sign of Imrin but the hole in the rubble we created to enter the pub is now larger. I creep towards the gap and peer outside, my heart thundering.
    I’ve killed a man. Maybe he had a wife? Children? A daughter who’ll never see her daddy again?
    Stop
.
    In the time I have been inside, mist has settled across the village, dousing the patchwork of destruction in a crisp frost that signals winter is on the way. My hope that the sun would bring
warmth is quickly forgotten as a few drifting rays of sunlight sparkle through the fog, making me feel colder. Pulling my blanket tighter around my shoulders, I notice flecks of the
Kingsman’s blood along the lining and shudder, remembering the way the blade felt slicing into his skin.
    He would have had a daughter, like me. Another young girl without a father
.
    Outside, there is no movement and the only sound is the faint call of a bird somewhere in the distance. I brace myself to start running, knowing I could be back at the hideout in a couple of
minutes but then rock backwards on my feet, wondering if perhaps I could end up leading enemies to everyone else.
    As I try to decide what to do, footsteps crunch across broken bricks. I duck out of sight, peeping through the rubble as Imrin saunters across the bank of debris on the far side of the street.
There is a blanket tied around his waist and his hands are tucked into the folds like they are pockets. He is mumbling something to himself, grinning as if he doesn’t have a care.
    When he enters the pub, he jumps in surprise as I grab his arm and pull him into a corner.
    I try but fail to keep my voice calm. ‘Did you see anyone out there?’
    Imrin seems confused. ‘No, it’s just us.’ We hurry around to the hatch where the Kingsman is lying in a pool of his own blood. I don’t want to look but force myself
– there is blood everywhere, ruby spatters and oozing pools creeping across the floor.
    I
did this.
    Imrin gasps in shock: ‘Where did he come from?’
    ‘I don’t know, I thought he was you at first.’
    He stumbles over a succession of words before finally saying something that makes sense: ‘What are we going to do?’
    I know this is my life now, making decisions for everyone. I want to