Defy the tyrant the sica.., p.1
Defy the Tyrant (The Sicario Clan Series Book 2), page 1
Defy the Tyrant
The Sicario Clan Series
Book 2
A.J. Manney
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is fictionalized or coincidental.
Defy the Tyrant - A Sicario Clan Series, Book 2
Copyright A.J. Manney (2021). All rights reserved.
The right of Amanda Manney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the authors.
Edited: Dotty Manney
Cover Design: Germancreative
Interior Design: Manney Resource Solutions
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Bonus
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1
Ameris woke suddenly. She had no idea what had woken her, but she was awake and alert now. She climbed out of her bedroll and stood with her knife grasped firmly in her hand. She stood absolutely still for a few moments, trying to discern what had spooked her. When she was convinced it was nothing, she sheathed her knife. She knew trying to go back to sleep would be useless, so she rolled up her bedroll and packed up. It was almost daybreak, so she would be able to start moving again. She didn’t have much more of a plan than she had last night when she left the castle.
Her thoughts stalled for a moment, lingering on the events of the last few days. Darian, the assassin she had been assigned to enter the Trux with, had become her friend. He had even told her that she had become his as well. He'd never had a friend before her. But that had all changed when he had become the King’s Assassin after completing the King’s Challenge and bringing back the coveted Regisflos. She thought of Brodric’s father, Petr, who had betrayed her to the King and had told him that she was trying to raise rebels to kill him. That still hurt, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as Darian’s betrayal. The King had ordered him to track her down and assassinate her, but he was giving her a day’s lead. Oh yay me! She thought to herself. Now she was on the run with a deadly assassin tracking her.
Ameris pushed those thoughts aside and began walking. There was enough light to get started for the day. She had until tonight to figure out a place to hide. Tonight was when Darian would start on her trail; she knew she could never outrun him or outfight him. Her only plan was to outsmart him, and to do that she needed to come up with a plan. A good one, and so far she had nothing. Her first step was to put distance between her and the castle. She hadn’t made it very far past Baynton, the village closest to the castle. It had gotten dark soon after she left the village. Her goal today was to get to one of the villages between the castle and the Sacrarium, where she had grown up. Though she couldn’t go there; that was probably the first place Darian would look for her.
Thoughts of the Sacrarium nearly brought her to a halt, because it reminded her of the holy men who had worked there. Men who the King had executed, simply because they had helped to raise her. Grief and guilt threatened to consume her for a little while until she got control of her emotions. She couldn’t afford to get distracted right now. She pushed aside the grief and walked on.
It was sometime in the afternoon when Ameris finally stopped. She was exhausted and needed a break. She stepped off the path she was traveling on and sat down underneath a few trees for shade. She allowed herself a few minutes to relax and cool off. She berated herself once again for not taking the time to grab food and drink for her journey. She had been so scared, she had just fled without preparing sufficiently. Now she was paying the price for that. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, trying to let her body rest for a few minutes. When Ameris opened her eyes, she screamed. There were two men standing in front of her. She jumped to her feet and drew her knife. “Stay back,” she warned them.
One of them put his hands up. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you,” he said in a calm voice.
Ameris waved the knife back and forth in front of them. “Don’t come any closer. I know how to use this knife, and I’m not afraid to use it.” She caught the quick grin the one guy tried to cover up, which really confused her. She noticed that they were both armed to the max, but neither of them had drawn a weapon yet.
“We’re here to help you,” the same guy said.
“I don’t need any help,” Ameris said quickly. She didn’t know who these guys were, but she didn’t trust them at all.
“Darian seemed to think so,” the same guy said.
Ameris faltered. “Darian?” she whispered. Then she shook herself, trying to get control of the situation and her emotions. “The Assassin assigned to kill me, you mean? That Darian?”
“Yeah, that Darian,” the guy said. “I’m Braxton,” he said.
“I’m Rhett,” the other guy who had been silent finally said.
Ameris stared at them in shock. “I know you. Darian told me about you. He said you were the closest thing to friends he had; he also said that you would be more likely to kill him in his sleep.” Ameris slapped a hand over her mouth as Braxton let out a loud laugh and Rhett smiled. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I said that,” she apologized, mortified.
“Don’t apologize. Darian spoke the truth. We are friends but before friendship comes-”
“Duty,” Ameris said, cutting off what Braxton was saying. They both nodded. “I don’t understand. Why are you here? And how did you find me?”
It was Braxton who explained. “Darian asked us to help you. He got word to us about what had happened and asked us to protect you. So here we are.”
“As far as for finding you, that wasn’t very hard,” Rhett said.
Ameris frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
They both grinned. “It just means that Darian didn’t teach you to cover your tracks. It’s okay. We’ll teach you,” Braxton said confidently.
“Uh, what do you mean?” Ameris asked.
“We’ll teach you everything you need to know about hiding and covering your tracks?” Braxton said.
Ameris stared at them. “Why?”
Rhett shrugged. “Darian asked us to. He's never asked a favor before. A favor’s a big deal.” Ameris remembered Darian telling her that.
“We were curious. Why now? Then we met you,” Braxton said with a grin. Ameris wasn’t following.
“So, if Darian asked you to help me, does that mean he’s not going to try to hunt me down and kill me?” she asked, feeling hopeful for the first time in hours.
“No, he is,” Rhett said straight-faced. “But it’s our job to keep him from doing that,” he said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
Ameris stared at them. “It’s Darian! How in the world do you think you’re going to do that?”
Braxton grinned. “We’ve got some ideas. But first it starts with trusting us. Do you think you can trust us? Because if we’re going to do this, we need you to trust us explicitly.”
Ameris stared at the two of them. The more she looked at them, the more she could tell they were similar to Darian. They both had weapons strapped all over their bodies like Darian did, and they both wore all black just like Darian. They didn’t seem as scary as Darian, but everybody knew Darian was in a league of his own. “So let me get this straight. Darian asked you to help me. He wants you to keep me safe, while he tries to hunt me down and kill me?” she asked incredulously.
“Yep, sounds about right,” Braxton said.
“It sounds insane,” Ameris corrected.
“Do you have a better option?” Rhett asked.
Ameris opened her mouth; then closed it again. “No,” she said defeated.
“Okay, then let’s go,” Braxton said.
“Wait. Where exactly are we going?” Ameris asked.
“The last place Darian would think to look for you,” Braxton said.
“Where’s that?” Ameris questioned.
“The Sicario Clan,” Braxton said, as if it was no big deal.
&nbs
“Yes,” Braxton said.
“But it’s all assassins that live there,” she said.
“Yep,” Rhett said.
Ameris just stared at them. “I can’t go with you and stay there.”
“Why not?” Braxton asked.
“Because I'm not an assassin!” Ameris said. “Besides somebody will probably murder me in my sleep and save Darian the job.”
Braxton frowned. “We’re not murderers; we’re assassins. We live by a strict code. Nobody is going to kill you while you sleep.”
“No, just Darian will if he finds me,” Ameris grumbled under her breath. Neither man bothered correcting her. “Do I have to commit to anything or partake in any strange rituals to stay with your clan?” They both looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “What? I’m just making sure before I agree to this.”
“Nothing like that to worry about,” Braxton said. “Are you with us? Because we really need to get going. We have several hours of traveling ahead of us, and we’d really like to get you there before Darian starts his hunt.”
Ameris looked at them alarmed. “Do you not think you can keep me hidden from Darian?”
“We can keep you safe, but we don’t want to push it,” Rhett said.
“We’ve answered all your questions. Now can we get going?” It was Braxton who asked.
Ameris laughed. “Oh, I haven’t even started with all the questions I have.” Both men looked to be in pain after that last comment. “But I won’t ask them all now. We can go.”
“Good,” Braxton said. “Let’s get going.”
“How long will it take to get there?” Ameris asked.
“Several hours,” Braxton replied.
“Are we walking or riding?” she asked.
“Walking,” came Rhett’s one word reply.
“Why not ride? Wouldn’t that be faster?” Ameris asked.
“And easier to track,” Braxton answered her.
“Which way-” Ameris stopped mid-question when Braxton held up a hand.
“You said you weren’t going to ask all your questions now,” he said, exasperated.
Ameris frowned. “Fine.” She bit her tongue, so she wouldn’t ask the hundreds of questions flooding her mind. Like when would they eat next? Where would she sleep? What was the Sicario Clan’s living quarters like? Would Darian really kill her when he found her? Simple questions, really. When she looked up at the men, they were both staring at her. “What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“We’re just waiting for more questions before we can get moving,” Braxton said dryly.
“Ha ha,” Ameris responded. “Let’s get going.”
“We can carry your stuff for you,” Rhett offered.
Ameris tugged her pack closer to her. “I can manage. Thanks.”
“Suit yourself,” Rhett said.
“All right; let’s go,” Braxton said. “I’ll go first. Ameris, you follow right behind me. Rhett will follow us in the back. He might branch off at times to scout; you always stay behind me. Got it?” Ameris nodded. Braxton started walking further into the trees.
“Wait; where are you going?” she asked.
Braxton turned back to her with an impatient look. “I thought you said you were done with the questions.”
“I am; well, except for this one. Why are you going into the trees? Aren’t you going to follow the path that leads between the villages?” she asked.
“And give Darian the easiest chance to track us and figure out where we’re going? No. We’re not following the path.” He turned and began walking again. Ameris had no choice but to follow him.
Her mind scrambled to process everything that had happened in the last few minutes. She had no idea if she had made the right choice. She was following two guys she’d never met before through the woods towards a place she’d never been before—an assassins’ clan. The only thing she had was the word of a man she had once trusted that these were two men he trusted, well sort of. And said man was now trying to hunt her down and kill her. Yeah, she was in so much trouble!
Chapter 2
Ameris was beginning to feel like she was back in the Trux; only this time, she was following two dominating males instead of one. She tried not to complain or ask again how long it would be, though she was sorely tempted to do both of those things. Ameris was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t see Braxton stop. She plowed right into him. “Oof, sorry,” she mumbled. Braxton turned to look at her and nodded at Rhett. “What’s going on?” Ameris asked suspiciously, eying the two men.
“You’re not going to like this part,” Braxton said.
“What part?” Ameris asked. “What are you talking about?” A moment later, her arms were pinned behind her back. Shock kept her from fighting back. In her moment of hesitation, Braxton stepped in front of her and wrapped something around her head. Ameris’ instincts finally kicked in and she lashed out at Braxton. She was only briefly satisfied when she heard him grunt in front of her. Rhett tightened the hold on his arms.
“Knock it off,” he growled behind her.
Ameris was in a full-blown panic mode now. “What are you doing to me? You said you were going to help me? Why are you doing this?”
“We are helping you,” Braxton grunted in front of her.
“By blindfolding me and restraining me?” Ameris asked incredulously. How stupid did they think she was?
“We’re blindfolding you because you aren’t allowed to see how to get to the Sicario Clan’s territory,” Braxton said in an angry voice, clearly still miffed that she had kicked him.
“Well, why did you restrain me?” Ameris asked indignantly.
“Because we knew you’d fight back; which is exactly what you did,” Braxton said.
Ameris huffed. Men! “Did you think about maybe just telling me what was going on?” she asked.
Braxton scoffed or was it Rhett? She wasn’t sure. “Would you have let us blindfold you willingly?” Braxton asked. Ameris opened her mouth; then closed it. They had her there. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“Can we just get moving?” That came from behind her.
“Um, how am I supposed to walk when I can’t see where I'm going?” Ameris asked.
“Rhett will lead you,” Braxton said.
A grunt came from behind her. “Braxton will.”
It was quiet for a second. “Maybe we could just let her be on her own. She’s stubborn enough to make it.” That was from Braxton.
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Ameris said. “I’ll find my way; just don’t lose me.” With that she started walking forward.
“Wrong way,” Braxton called out. She turned and started walking in the direction of his voice. “Still the wrong way.”
“Oh, for saints’ sake! Would you please direct me?” Ameris said in frustration. She heard a sound and was pretty sure they were both laughing at her; that only made her angrier. “You two are ridiculous.”
She heard one of them chuckle. Then one of them grabbed her arm. “Come on. Let’s go.” She recognized Braxton’s voice. The stubborn side of her wanted to yank her arm from his, but she knew she needed the help if she didn’t want to land on her face a dozen times.
It was quiet for a while as they travelled. Ameris had to expend extra energy trying to not kill herself. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they stopped. “Why are we stopping? Are we there?” Ameris asked. When neither of them answered, she huffed but kept silent. Braxton let go of her arm. She figured he was just checking on something, but when it got quiet a moment later, she wasn’t so sure. “Braxton?” she called out. “Rhett?” When neither of them answered, panic set in. “Um, guys, this isn’t funny.” Nobody answered her. Ameris turned around in a full circle. When she heard nothing, she reached up and ripped the blindfold off her face. “This is ridiculous!” she said angrily.
“Relax,” she heard from behind her. She turned to see Braxton coming up behind her. “We were just making sure we weren’t followed,” he said.
“Oh,” she said. “You could have just told me that.”
