The others seem to cheer. My blood runs cold. I don't know the rest of what they said, but it's not good.

Freedom said that she doesn't want to see me again, but Wolf said to keep Clap safe and the pewter pendant out of the hands of Bryant. I debate in my mind for a few minutes, ignoring the hisses snarls of the snake for me to return to Bryant and faithfully serve the Amethyst Throne. I can't, snake. I hated every second of it. I'm sorry, but I can't. Look what happened last time I carried out 1 of his wishes. "I'm sorry, Freedom, but I promised Wolf I'd keep the pewter pendant safe. I'll stay out of your way if I see you, and then it'll be like I disappeared."

I find myself walking down the slope toward the Guard and Soldiers, still not 100 percent sure what I'm going to do. 1 of the Guard claps a Soldier on the back, snickering something to him. My stomach twists. "I told you she couldn't run away!" And then it sinks through my toes. Have they gotten Clap? Do they have the pewter pendant? What about Brook? My steps pick up speed. The Guard and Soldiers haven't noticed me as I draw closer.

The snake slithers forward, snarling for destruction. You'll get some, just not what you want. "You can't get the pendant," I whisper under my breath. The snake's eyes flash, and I feel the all-too familiar ebony veins dripping from my eyes. My pupils split into a circle with a curved line underneath. Winds batter around me as I raise the dust into a storm around me.

1 of the Soldiers looks up. "Dust Devil!" The other Guard and Soldiers look up, and their faces brighten in glee.

"Hi! It is a pleasure to see you, as always, Dust Devil!"

"Do you have the pewter pendant?" I keep my voice flat, but it takes all I have not to spit the words and seethe.

"Our sincerest apologies, Dust Devil. We have not gotten the pendant. Clap is unable to run far currently, and it's just a matter of time before we separate the cat from her unicorn stepmother," the Soldier says, eyes darkening as a twisted smile pulls at his mouth. The other Guard and Soldier nod their heads, grips tightening on their weapons.

Relief seeps through me. "May we have the honor of accompanying you as you capture the pewter pendant and deliver it to My Sovereign, His Excellency, His Honor, His Highest of all Highnesses, King Garonda XIV?" I can hear the hope in the Guard's voice. Tell them. You can't keep living the lie. Tell them the truth. They'll be mad, but it's not worth the suffering. Tell them the truth, Luke. You can do it. I swallow the lump in my throat and force the fear as far down as I can reach. You have to be honest, Luke. You've already said that you don't want to be a Soldier or the Dust Devil. I know it's been your whole life, but it's not what you want. You can say it again to the Guard and Soldiers. Don't let the fear control you again. You're strong. You can say it, Luke. After several moments of working up the courage to spit it out, I take a deep breath.
"I will not be capturing the pewter pendant," I manage to say. The hopeful faces of the Guard and Soldiers turn into confused looks.

"W-wait, what? I'm sorry, could you please repeat that, Dust Devil. My most sincere apologies." A Guard frowns at me, rubbing his ears.

"I will not be capturing the pewter pendant." Every muscle is taut and my body is turned slightly to the side, weight shifted onto my left foot.

"You're not going to capture it at all?" The Soldier's voice holds a bit of judgement now. The snake foams at the mouth for the Soldier's blood when it hears the tone of the Soldier's voice.

"I will not be." Neither will you.

"Why?" My stomach sinks. Don't lie, Luke. You can do it. Don't lie. You're strong.

"I...," I swallow before mustering the courage to continue. "I do not want to be a Soldier or the Dust Devil any more." The snake roars in my mind. How could I say such traitorous words? How could I be such a coward? I had everything, and now I'm giving it all up.

The Guard and Soldiers stand where they are for several moments, blank expressions all around. It's at least a minute before any of them move in the slightest. "I-I... Wait, I-. You don't want to be a Soldier or the Dust Devil?"

"Yes."

"Are you, like, possessed or something? What's going on? What's happened to the Dust Devil that we knew? You know, the King of Ragdon's righthand man?" 1 of the Soldier's curls his lip.

"I'm not possessed. I'm still Luke. I'm not the Dust Devil, and I'm not a Soldier."

"You TRAITOR!" The Soldier rushes me, hand holding onto his sword in a death grip. His eyes flash as his gaze hardens. I take a step back and dust rises from the ground. With a flick of my fingers, the Soldier's sword flies out of his hand and clatters to the ground. He jumps back, skin paling. Is that how much power I have? With such a small movement, I can render them virtually defenseless?

The Guard and Soldiers take a step back, watching me. Their faces flicker with mixed emotions. "Hey, sorry. No hard feelings, alright?" The Soldier puts his hands up, voice tight.

"No hard feelings?" I repeat. It takes everything in me not to shake my head and let the tears slowly roll down my cheeks. No hard feelings? Do... Is that really all they have to say? No hard feelings? The pain, and it's just no hard feelings.

"Yeah, no hard feelings." The Guard chuckles. "Just a misunderstanding, Dust Devil."

"Don't call me that! I'm Luke, not the Dust Devil or a Soldier." I know it's wrong, taking out my anger that's been stewing for so many years, but it's boiled over and I can't stop it. All they have to say is just no hard feelings.

"Our apologies, Dust Devil. We won't keep you any longer. If you'd please excuse us, we will return to tracking down the pewter pendant." I bite back a sharp response to hearing Dust Devil again.

"Do not go after the pendant." My blood runs cold, and I snarl the words, spitting them out like they leave a vile taste in my mouth. Which they do. Why can't they just leave the pendant alone? But it doesn't take a genius to know why.

"So... you're not going to get the pewter pendant..." A Guard points to me.

"Yeah." I nod.

"And you don't want us to get the pewter pendant..." He points to the rest of his group.

"Yeah," I repeat.

"So who's gonna be capturing it? Cuz it's not gonna capture itself, genius."

"No 1's capturing it. It's staying with Clap." Weight is melting from my shoulders as I finally say the words that had been cooped up inside all those years, the 1s I thought I'd never be able to say. I ignore the dread that's seeping in to replace it.

"Yeah, screw that. I'm not breaking orders." A Soldier tries to shove past me, but I catch him around the throat and throw him back. He tumbles down the hill and doesn't get up. The snake snickers at the sight of the still Soldier, while my stomach churns. I force it back. Keep the pewter pendant safe. If facing off against the Guard and Soldiers in what seems to be a pretty 1-sided fight for a while means Clap and Brook can get further away, it's worth it.

"Don't go after the pewter pendant," I sigh. "Please, just leave. I really don't want to do this."

"Yeah? Well, we're not gonna disobey our King of Ragdon. And I'm sure you know full and well what happens to traitors." Hands tighten around weapons, eyes flash, and muscles tense as the Guard and Soldiers adopt fighting stances.

Please no, please no, please no. No, don't let this happen. I don't want the snake to take over. I don't want any more blood on my hands.

Reality flickers. Scarlet runs in rivulets down my palms and red seeps from my veins. My stomach churns as I see the droplets drip down my forearms. The blood fades in and out of focus as I teeter on the line between this world and the alternate reality. I hear the voices of the Guard and Soldiers the snake killed when it had control over my body. I watch them crumble into dust and fade into nothingness.

I silently plead that they'll stop, that they won't attack. But if anyone heard my plea, they didn't bother to listen. Not that I thought they would.

And then they attack. 1st it's a Guard who lunges, closing the few feet between us in a couple of short strides and then swinging his dagger in a violent arc. I take several steps back. My fingers begin to curl and harness the power of the soil around me. The once light breeze accelerates into a howling wind that sends dust flying all around us. A clump of soil crashes into a Soldier's head and he crumples to the ground. The side of his face begins to crumble, soon followed by the rest of his body.

A dagger carving a shallow wound on my cheek snaps be from my trance as the last of the Soldier vanishes. I react quickly, fingers latching onto the Guard's arm and twisting it until I hear a dry snap. A quick jab from the hilt of his sword knocks the Guard out cold. It'll give him a nasty concussion, but at least he'll be alive.

In a quick movement, I rip my sword from its sheath and lash out at a Soldier who'd been coming up on my side. He ducks, stumbling back. But before I can move on to the next attacker, the sword is knocked from my grip.

The snake hisses and snarls, making every attempt to take full control and annihilate the attackers, saying it'll do it better, that they deserve to die since they called the Dust Devil a traitor. But I hold it back, telling it that I can't let it take full control. It protests, saying that it can destroy them in a heartbeat. That's the problem, snake.

I sidestep, avoiding an attack from a Guard's dagger. Please, just stop it. I don't want to fight.

A rock ends the fight, at least temporarily. A Soldier lands a punch to the side of my face and I stagger back. My bad ankle twists when I step on the rock and I fall to the ground. And before I can get up, 1 of the Guard pins me to the ground, keeping my hands open. The rough rock digs into my cheek, and I exhale sharply through my teeth. His knee digs into my back. "Got 'im," he snickers. "Little traitor's helpless now. Poor him." Not so fast. I bring a leg up, and, in a quick movement, rotate my body so I'm facing the Guard. I'd always hated how the training schedules focused heavily on fighting with weapons, but now it came in handy. The Guard curses, regaining his balance and lunging. A wave of dust rips from the ground and catches the Guard in the throat. He collapses to the ground, gasping for the air that was knocked from his chest.

The snake forces its way into the forefront of my mind, despite my attempts to keep it at bay. The Guard tried to restrain us, and now it's out for blood. The snake rears up, curving its body into an S and opening its mouth to reveal its fangs. Its chain body is tensed, locked in place.

The Guard and Soldiers have frozen, sensing the change.

"How dare you attack the Dust Devil," the snake hisses, tail rattling. It was the first time I've seen the snake do such a thing. Practically its whole body was vibrating, although only its tail moved.

"W-we're sorry. What happened? I could've sworn you said you didn't want to capture the pewter pendant, but perhaps I heard you wrong."

"You heard right, but there is no reason you should be attacking your superior. Trust they have a plan. What do you have to say in your defense?" The snake's eyes burn in a vibrant purple.

"Our deepest apologies, Dust Devil. We have no excuse for attacking you. It was our fault. We will accept any punishment you deem fit." Each of their gazes fall to the ground, and their heads fall to the side.

"I believe you know the punishment for attacking a member of the King of Ragdon's army." The Guard and Soldiers know better than to reply and instead remain silent.

The snake snorts before continuing to speak through my vocal cords. "I thought you all were smart."

"Luke! What are you still doing here?" The snake immediately relinquishes control to me at the sound of the voice. I whirl around and become rooted to the spot when I see Freedom.

"I'm sorry, Freedom. I was try-." I'm cut off when a Soldier's arm wraps around my neck. His other hand wraps around his opposite wrist to try to crush my throat. My breathing is cut off.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it! Please comment on your thoughts, and consider a vote!

Oof. That's unfortunate. A Soldier's got Luke in a headlock and is keeping him from breathing. What's gonna happen with that?

What's going to happen now that Luke has told some of the Guard and Soldiers that he doesn't want to be a Soldier or the Dust Devil? And that Luke has stopped them, at least for now, from going after the pewter pendant?

Freedom has found out that Luke did not leave. She seems angry. What's she going to do?

I hope you are having a wonderful day, wherever you are!

-Werewolf14-