A Leap Into Destiny
The Sands of Time Part 1
485 AD.
"No, stay away!" cried Sabert.
Ignoring his pleas, the robed figured stepped over the bodies of numerous slain Saxon soldiers.
Sabert raised his crossbow and fired. The figure merely raised his staff and blocked the volley, allowing the arrow to penetrate wood.
"Who are you?" demanded Sabert.
"Doth thou not remember?" the figure asked. "It was quite long ago that thou destroyed the life that was mine."
"I don't remember!" Sabert fired another two shot.
This time, the arrows were stopped in mid-air. Almost magically, they flew back, striking Sabert in both legs.
"Aaaaahhh!" screamed Sabert.
"I was the boy whose mother thou has taken away!" the figure took off his hood, revealing the baleful face of a young man whose youthful features were already showing strains from years of dark magic.
"You?" Sabert was incredulous. "You were that witch's brat?!"
"Where is Wulfric?" demanded the fully grown Sanctus.
"He's down the hall," Sabert revealed. "Please, I've had enough. Show mercy. I was only obeying my uncle's orders back then!"
"Thou hast taken years of life away from me," Sanctus knelt down. "Perhaps it is time I did the same to thee."
Sanctus grabbed Sabert by the face, enveloping him with dark magic. Sabert screamed in horror as his very lifeforce was drained from him. Soon, Sabert's visage turned from that of an old man to that of a skeleton. After Sanctus was complete, Sabert's remains fell to the ground like grains of sand.
Getting back up, Sanctus stormed down the halls until he reached the doors which led to Wulfric's chambers. Without hesitation, Sanctus flung them open.
"Reveal thyself, Wulfric!" Sanctus yelled. "Thy hour is at hand!"
Wulfric stood only a few feet away from his chair. He had his sword with him and from the looks of it, possessed every intention of fighting to the bitter end.
"When I received reports that some sorcerer was killing my men, I didn't believe it," Wulfric revealed. "But then you stormed my castle, slaying dozens of my men. The ones who aren't dead have fled. Just who are you?"
"Years ago, thou had mine mother slain and my sister taken from me," Sanctus revealed.
"Yes, yes, I remember now!" Wulfric smiled. "I'm amazed you survived!"
"Where is mine sister?" demanded Sanctus.
"Oh… her," Wulfric avoided the malevolent gaze of Sanctus. "If you must know, I got tired of her after a couple of years and sold her to some slavers overseas."
"Then thou has sealed thy fate!" Sanctus pointed his staff towards Wulfric.
"Oh please, you could easily kill me with your vaunted magic," Wulfric taunted. "But looking at you, I still see the pathetic little boy from all those years ago. Could you truly defeat me as a man?"
"Very well," Sanctus held his staff firmly.
Wulfric charged at his opponent, swinging his sword down at the head of Sanctus. Quickly, Sanctus raised his staff to block the blow from the Saxon warlord.
Wulfric smiled and planted his foot into Sanctus' stomach, knocking him on his back. He raised his sword and brought it down as Sanctus dodged, slashing into stone ground twice. Sanctus thrust his staff forward, striking Wulfric in the stomach and sending him stumbling back.
"That's the spirit!" Wulfric said with a gleam.
Angrily, Sanctus swung his staff. Wulfric blocked it with his sword and pushed the younger man back. Soon, Sanctus felt himself being pushed back against the wall by the much stronger man. The only thing which held the Saxon off was the staff he held in one hand which blocked the blade.
"I remember your mother well," the Saxon warlord told Sanctus. "Don't worry. I'll send you over to meet her soon—"
Wulfric gasped in sudden shock. He looked down, seeing a dagger plunged into his side, drawing blood.
He finally stumbled back as Sanctus wiped the blood of the dagger off with his own tunic.
"Thou hast requested that I face thee as a mortal man with no magic to aid mine cause and I have," Sanctus said. "I battled thee as a man who would resort to any means to avenge the family I once possessed!"
Wulfric finally smiled, realizing that Sanctus had actually fulfilled his promise to not kill him with any magic, even if it meant taking a cheap shot through a hidden dagger.
"Well played, boy," Wulfric fell down on his back as blood gushed from his wound.
"Husband!" a woman's voice rang out.
Sanctus looked up, seeing a sight which filled his very soul with an intense influx of emotions and shock.
oooo
"What is going on here?" one of the technicians demanded as Lee Harvey Oswald stepped into the room. "What's happened to this whole place?"
Oswald stepped inside the room full of Project Chronos' technicians and scientists. They all in shock that the castle had been transmutated by the time magic of Kairos. He noted that much of their laboratory equipment and computers had been destroyed in the transformation. A few of them were even injured from the upheaval.
"That warlock's got new plans for this castle," Oswald told them plainly.
"Whatever happened to this castle just hit us like an earthquake!" the technician told him. "We nearly died!"
"And yet here you are," Oswald replied. "Alive and still intact."
"To do what?" the technician demanded. "Wellington is no longer here. And I don't see Zoey around anymore. Where are the heads of our project?!"
"You don't need to worry about them," Oswald reassured. "Just go about your business and worry about doing your job."
"With all due respect, I didn't sign up for this," the technician huffed. "Ever since that madman Kairos showed up, our job has turned into a Russian Roulette. We all signed up for Project Chronos to make a profit. Now this project has turned upside down!"
"What are you saying?" demanded Oswald.
"I'm saying I've had enough," the technician declared. "I'll be taking my leave."
As the technician took a single step forward, Oswald whipped out his pistol and shot the man square in the heart.
"You…" the technician sputtered before falling to the floor, his body letting loose spasms before life finally left his veins.
"Would anyone else want to make a statement like this man?" Oswald waved his gun towards the rest of Oswald's colleagues.
The other scientists and technicians looked at each other nervously, whispering amongst themselves. Soon, a few more soldiers armed with machine guns entered the room to back the authority of Lee Harvey Oswald.
"No one leaves this project," Oswald ordered them. "Now return to your posts!"
Reluctantly, all the Project Chronos workers returned to their stations.
"Excellent work," Kairos stepped into the room. "Thou hast done exceedingly well, Lee Harvey Oswald."
"Thanks," Oswald grinned. "Just, uh, save Sam Beckett and his little buddy for me."
"Most assuredly they will be thine," promised Kairos. "I expect them to return very soon and when that event occurs, thou shalt have thy revenge!"
oooo
At the London Heathrow Airport, both Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci waited with baited anticipation in line as a steady stream of people came through.
"That flight from New York arrived ten minutes ago," Sam looked at Al. "Think they're in this line?"
"It's gotta be this one," promised Al. "Sure I made them fly over here last minute but I think they all got the importance of the situation."
Soon, Al saw some familiar faces in the crowd that was surging forward.
"Gooshie!" Al shouted. "It's you!"
"Al?" Gooshie turned his head.
Not only was Gooshie there. Tina, Dr. Beeks, and Sammy Jo were all present.
"Sam! Al!" Tina rushed forward to hug the two men.
"We weren't sure you'd make it," Sam told them.
"We didn't know where you went," Gooshie shook Sam's hand. "But now that you're back, are you sure you don't want to head back home?"
"I'd like nothing more," Sam shook his head. "But I still have something I need to get done here."
"Al, you did tell us something about how our rival project was based here," Tina turned to Al.
"I did," Al confirmed. "And it's going to be our job to shut them down."
"Sammy Jo," Sam smiled at his daughter. "Good to have the four of you here. We could use your expertise."
"Good to see you as well, Dr. Beckett," Sammy Jo greeted her father. "And actually, there are five of us."
"Five?" Sam looked confused.
Sammy Jo raised her wrist, revealing a metallic watch with a bright blue neon center.
"Hello Dr. Beckett," the voice of Ziggy came forth from the watch.
"Wow, you configured Ziggy into that watch?" Sam was surprised.
"Absolutely," confirmed Sammy Jo. "We're also going to need Ziggy's help in this mission."
"I'll do whatever I can to help," promised Ziggy.
Al and Sam stared at each other in pleasant surprise.
"How'd you manage to sneak Ziggy past airport security?" asked Al.
"Trust me, Sammy Jo's just that good," Tina assured Al.
"Yeah, I think I know why," Al muttered, looking at Sam.
"In any case, we'd better get you to the hotels," Sam ushered everybody towards the cabs waiting outside the airport. "You all must be tired."
"Gooshie, did you bring your toothbrush, toothpaste, and other toiletries?" asked Al, concerned about his co-worker's bad breath.
"Of course," Gooshie promised. "Why's that?"
"Oh, no reason," Al replied. "Just making sure you and Tina have got all you need for this impromptu vacation.
oooo
After much walking, Lee Harvey Oswald's search took him up a flight of stairs that led to the very top of the main castle tower, a vast space that seemed to take up at least a whole basketball court.
Around him were several standing stones not unlike those at Stonehenge itself. A little further away was yet another set of stairs that led to an actual throne. Naturally perched on top was Kairos himself.
"You know how long it took for me to find you?" Oswald grimaced.
"Thy search is over, is it not?" Kairos looked down menacingly.
"So what next?" demanded Oswald.
"Sam Beckett will arrive eventually," promised Kairos. "When that moment comes, thou hast thy chance to eliminate him."
"I'd like that very much," Oswald smiled. "But what will you do up here?"
"Is it not obvious?" Kairos pointed towards the clouded skies above.
Thunder parted from the skies, striking the time staff in Kairos' hand, powering it up.
Oswald looked up to the sky in both shock and amazement. Right below the gray clouds was a swirling vortex.
"What… what the hell is that?" Oswald gasped.
"I am not the illiterate medieval knave one in thy era would take me for," Kairos replied. "I have read up on the studies of Project Chronos. With the magic at my disposal and the science I have gleaned from thy era, I have pooled both resources together, summoning a strong enough spell with the aid of Lothos and thy modern technology to create this wormhole."
"You… what the hell are you going to do with this wormhole?" demanded Oswald.
"Journey to the beginning of time itself and recreate the world in mine own image," promised Kairos. "By tomorrow, the wormhole will have grown big enough for me to complete my task."
Oswald looked at the time mage incredulously.
"You're kidding me, right?" he said wincingly.
"All I have said will come to pass," Kairos replied. "Now go. Prepare for the eventual arrival of Sam Beckett. Then thou shalt have thy opportunity for revenge."
"Alright if you say so," Oswald walked away.
Although he was still being obedient outwardly, on the inside Lee Harvey Oswald was brimming with ideas of mutiny. Once he killed Sam, he would bring the body of the man before Kairos and then just as quickly seize the warlock's time staff and put a bullet through his skull.
Oswald then realized the potential of the time staff. With it, he himself could travel through time and return to his own era to make sure that the revolution of the proletariat was won on every continent. With such power at his disposal, the victory of international communism would be absolutely secure.
"You're the boss for now," Oswald muttered, taking one last look at Kairos before heading down the stairs.
oooo
"The weather's not going to be good for today or tomorrow," Sammy Jo told Sam and Al, looking at her watch, which was now infused with Ziggy's essence.
The three of them were sitting inside a pub underneath their hotel. Tina, Gooshie, and Dr. Beeks were already inside their hotel rooms at this point.
"Yeah, I noticed the skies are pretty overcast right now," Sam admitted. "But that makes it perfect for us to storm the castle by surprise tomorrow."
"I've also ordered us a rental van for tomorrow," Al told the two. "It should take us at least over two hours under normal circumstances to reach the castle. But with all this rain, it might be longer."
"You're the one with the computer abilities," Sam told his daughter. "We'll be relying on you to give us the layout of the whole place."
"Gotcha," Sammy Jo reached inside her pockets. "By the way, I've got the earpieces for you."
She took out the earpieces and handed them to Sam and Al.
"Be sure to wear them at all times so I can relay instructions and give you the scoop on what to expect," Sammy Jo reminded them.
"Thanks Sammy Jo," Sam told her. "And I have something for you as well."
"Oh?" Sammy Jo was surprised.
Sam took out a handgun and gave it to her.
"I took it from one of the guards we knocked out," Sam told her with a fatherly concern in his voice. "You should be out of harm's way in the van, but just in case anything happens, here's something to protect yourself with."
"Thanks," Sammy Jo replied in a somewhat confused manner, detecting the hint of paternal concern in Sam's voice but not knowing what to make of it.
She took the gun and placed it inside her purse.
"Sam's right, we're not dealing with any ordinary enemies here," Al reminded her. "Trust me on this."
"Alright," Sammy Jo finally smiled. "You're the boss. In any case, I think I'm going to go upstairs for some rest."
"Have a good night Sammy Jo," Sam told her.
Sammy Jo Fuller smiled and walked away from the table to the stairs that led to the hotel upstairs.
"I felt something right there," Al told his friend. "And I think Sammy Jo felt it too."
"She's the product between me and the woman I loved," Sam took a sip of water. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep her safe."
"Are you going to tell her?" asked Al.
"I don't know," admitted Sam. "Maybe when this is all over… maybe…"
"How are you boys doing?" the bartender came over to them.
The man had been working far away from them so they had never gotten a glimpse of his face. Now, however, Sam raised his head to get the surprise of a lifetime.
"You!" Sam exclaimed.
"Who?" Al was confused.
Before Sam stood Al the bartender, the same man Sam had encountered in the 1950s when he had made a short stop at that mining town. It was the same man whom he believed to be either Father Time or God Himself.
"How are you doing, Sam?" asked Bartender Al.
"I… didn't think I'd be seeing you again," admitted Sam.
"You know this guy?" Al Calavicci inquired.
"Remember that one leap we had where I was in that mining town?" Sam turned to Al.
"Yeah?" Al replied, remembering the moment only incidentally.
"Well, I met this same guy back then!" exclaimed Sam. "He was the bartender!"
"Impossible!" Al countered. "He survived all the way to 2008?"
"He's not just any guy, Al," insisted Sam. "I think he's some sort of higher power, like Father Time or something."
"So… does this mean he can make Kairos disappear?" Al was compelled to ask.
"No," Bartender Al shook his head. "That task is not mine to complete."
"But you seem to understand the mysteries of time," Sam was confused. "When I was with you, I finally discovered that the real reason I kept leaping through time was because of my subconscious impulse to continue helping the lives of others throughout the decades."
"That's true," Bartender Al replied.
"Well back then when I met you," Sam continued, "you implied to me that my leaps would get progressively harder and they have. If I'm seeing you for a second time, that can only mean you're here to tell me something important again."
"Wait, hold up a second?" Al Calavicci raised an eyebrow. "Sam, are you telling me the real reason you kept leaping through time was because you subconsciously wanted to?"
"Well, yeah, that was the reason," Sam admitted.
"So you mean to tell me after all this time, you could have leaped back home if you wanted to?" Al Calavicci was shocked.
"I had the opportunity to," confessed Sam. "But I became convinced that I had to continue leaping."
"You son of a bitch!" Al Calavicci glared at Bartender Al. "Sam could have finally leaped home and you convinced him not to?!"
"Al…" Sam said softly.
"If you're some higher power, why didn't you convince Sam to just return home?" Al Calavicci demanded.
"Al, it was my choice," Sam insisted.
"Why didn't you just make the choice to leap home for good?" Al Calavicci asked brusquely.
"Because I had to make the most important leap of all," Sam said quietly.
"Oh, and what was so important that you chose not to come home?" Al Calavicci was livid.
"I made the leap for you," Sam confessed.
"For me?" Al blinked.
"In a past leap, I had the chance to change the past so that your wife Beth never got married to that sleazy lawyer but I didn't succeed," Sam told his friend.
"Wait, Beth and I… never got back together originally?" Al Calavicci's heart sank.
Everything Sam was telling him hit Al like a punch to the gut. Reeling back in shock, Al Calavicci almost fell of his chair.
"After I was done meeting Al the Bartender, I made one final leap to correct my mistake," Sam admitted. "I leaped back to meet Beth a second time and told her that you were alive and to wait for you."
"You… you did all of that?" Al Calavicci's face almost sank. "And I… never got with Beth and had our daughters in the original history?"
"No you didn't," Sam confirmed sadly. "I'm sorry, Al."
"This… all this is too much to take in," Al finally got up. "I have to go outside…"
Excusing himself, Al got up and walked out of the pub in a brisk pace.
"Al!" Sam called out.
"Let him go for the moment Sam," Bartender Al told Sam. "He needs at least a few minutes alone to sort this all out."
"I'm sorry," Sam said to Bartender Al. "I didn't intend for things to get as awkward as they did."
"He reacted the only way he could," Bartender Al conceded. "I can't blame him for his reaction."
"Since you're here in my life again," Sam inquired. "Does this mean something is about to happen again and I'll make to make another tough choice?"
"Sam, I'm here because you've reached a pivotal stage," Bartender Al told him. "Have you given any thought as to what you'll do in order to stop Kairos?"
"Nothing we throw at him seems to work," Sam admitted. "Whatever we inflict on him, he just heals with his time staff or his magic."
"And do you believe the answer is to fight fire with fire?" asked Bartender Al. "After all, Kairos is still looking to get this hourglass back in order to fuse it with his time staff."
"I could try," Sam said uncertainly. "But even if I did use this hourglass, Kairos still has decades of experience in sorcery over me. Besides, I'm a scientist. Casting spells isn't really my thing."
"Ah, so you believe there can be a logical way of beating him?" Bartender Al asked. "Besides, didn't he fuse his time staff with the computer program which belonged to Project Chronos?"
"Then there's a chance that Lothos can be somehow countered," Sam speculated. "Maybe we can hack it or maybe we can damage it just enough or…"
Suddenly realization dawned upon Sam.
"I just remembered!" Sam recalled. "Sammy Jo! She came up with the solution right under our noses!"
"Go to her," Bartender Al encouraged.
"Thank you," Sam told him. "Thank you for everything. Before I go, will we see each other again?"
"We will," Bartender Al assured him and smiled.
oooo
"Al?" Sam stepped outside the pub to see Al sitting on a sofa in the lounge area.
The older man looked like he was deep in thought.
"Oh, Sam," Al Calavicci looked like he was still in a mental haze. "It's you."
"Al, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now," Sam told his friend.
"How am I feeling?" Al looked down at the ground. "Like I've lived a lie my whole life?"
"How can you say that?" asked Sam.
"Because originally, Beth and I were never together," Al said bitterly. "We were never destined to be together."
"You have Beth now," Sam pointed out. "And all you can think about is how you didn't have her originally?"
"I know it's selfish of me," Al looked up with moisture in his eye. "And I know I should be grateful that Beth is with me now. But it just kills me on the inside to finally find out that Beth and I were never a part of the works."
"It's okay Al," Sam sat down next to his friend. "She's with you now and that's what matters."
"I love her," Al admitted. "And I'm grateful that you helped me and changed history so that the two of us could be together. But I have to admit, this is going to be something I'm going to mull over for a long time."
"I understand," Sam said quietly. "I once had the chance to help you and Beth get back together but that wasn't the real mission. That bartender was the one who made me realize I had a second chance to right the wrongs in your life."
"Well… I guess I should go apologize to the guy for snapping at him like that," Al said sheepishly.
"Before we do, we have to stop by Sammy Jo's room," Sam told Al.
"Why's that?" asked Al. "Besides, isn't she in bed by now?"
"Well, Sammy Jo was the one who brought Ziggy along, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Remember the first time Project Chronos led an assault on Project Quantum Leap?" Sam pointed out. "Well after that incident, Sammy Jo inoculated Ziggy with a powerful firewall completely capable of repelling any viral attacks from alien programs like Lothos."
"Okay," Al said, waiting for Sam to shed further light on his revelation.
"Well, Kairos has fused his magical time staff with the computer program that is Lothos," Sam continued. "No matter how much magic flows into Lothos, it's still a computer program in the end. And guess what? That time mage will be waiting for us to show up at his castle so that he can take his hourglass back and fuse it with that time staff."
Al looked at his partner in amazement. Slowly he was beginning to see how Sam was piecing everything together.
"Ziggy's anti-virus firewall is still going strong right now," Al pointed out. "Sam, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"It's a crazy idea but it's crazy enough to work," Sam smiled.
oooo
Just as Sammy Jo Fuller was about to turn off the lights in her room, she heard a knocking.
At the moment, she was still in her pajamas so she figured there would be no harm in answering it. Walking over to the door, she looked through the peeping glass to see both Sam and Al there.
"Dr. Beckett!" Sammy Jo opened the door.
"Sammy Jo, sorry to interrupt you like this," Sam told her. "But do you have Ziggy with you?"
"Yeah, why's that?" asked Sammy Jo.
"Well, we were hoping we could borrow her in her current form," Al told her.
"There's, uh, no need to really borrow her," Sammy Jo pointed out. "I mean, she was your invention in the first place, Dr. Beckett."
Sammy Jo went to her bedside to pick up the watch which contained Ziggy. She then handed it to Sam.
"And Ziggy still has the anti-virus firewall which can protect her from Lothos?" asked Sam.
"Of course," Sammy Jo answered.
"Thank you Sammy Jo," Sam smiled. "Have a good night."
"You too, Dr. Beckett," Sammy Jo acknowledged.
oooo
Standing outside, both Sam and Al looked around in the courtyard to make sure that nobody was around.
Surely enough, most people were already inside either sleeping or watching TV.
"So what now?" asked Al.
"Now, I guess we fuse these two together somehow," Sam said, holding the hourglass in one hand and Ziggy in the other.
"I gotta say, Sam," admitted Al. "This is risky business right here."
"Yeah, but if we're going to put away Kairos for good, we need to take that risk," acknowledged Sam.
He held the hourglass up and turned it upside down. As the sands poured down, the mystical hourglass began to glow. Sam then took the watch which housed Ziggy's entire mainframe and placed it on top of the hourglass, holding both items together with his hands, using his will alone to try to complete the merger.
Sam then closed his eyes as the hourglass glowed bright blue.
"Sam, you did it!" Al announced.
Sam opened his eyes and saw in his hands the hourglass. Except this time, the wooden hourglass had turned a silvery metal on the outside. The glass itself had turned a dark blue hue as well.
"Al, can I count on you to hold on to this?" asked Sam.
"You got it, Sam," Al nodded.
"Dr. Beckett, what has happened to me?" Ziggy's voice emerged from the hourglass. "There are energies flowing into me which I do not comprehend."
"Don't worry Ziggy," Sam reassured his supercomputer. "Things will be alright."
"I feel like I could do something out of the ordinary," Ziggy replied. "Like pull a rabbit out of a hat. Were you not a magician in one of your past leaps, Dr. Beckett? Just think of the magic we could make together…"
"Same old Ziggy," Al smiled.
"We will make magic together Ziggy," promised Sam. "But just not now. You'll get your chance tomorrow."
"Very well, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy answered. "I'll be looking forward to it."
"You ready for tomorrow, Sam?" asked Al.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Sam agreed. "Now let's go and get some rest."
oooo
After nighttime had passed, the trip to the castle had been long and eventful. Even though they had a plan, both Sam and Al realized that there were still at least dozens of things that could go wrong.
This time, though, they were rested and relaxed from a good night's sleep and plenty of food. At the very least, they were focused on the mission at hand, however potentially suicidal it may have been.
"Everybody remember the plan?" asked Sam.
"Loud and clear," confirmed Gooshie.
"We provide the distraction for you and Al to sneak in," confirmed Tina.
"I'll stay inside this van from a distance to monitor you from the inside," Sammy Jo acknowledged.
"Oh geez, would you look at that!" Al exclaimed, looking at the clouds above the castle.
"Oh boy," Sam opened his mouth in amazement.
Above was a massive wormhole opened up right above one of the main towers of the castle. Thunder and lightning crackled all around it as the wormhole seemed to progressively grow bigger by the minute.
"Well, we've come this far, haven't we?" Gooshie pointed out.
"You're right," Sam admitted. "It's now or never."
"Let's make it now then," Al opened the door.
"You ready, Al?" Sam asked as he too stepped outside.
"This doesn't look like a cakewalk," Al replied. "But I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Sam."
"Thanks Al," Sam smiled. "The feeling's mutual."
oooo
485 AD.
"What is this?" demanded Sanctus.
The woman standing before him was dressed up in a Saxon maiden's outfit. She carried a young child in her arms.
"Please, spare his life," she pleaded.
"Who art thou?" demanded Sanctus.
"I am his wife," she replied.
"Sabina, get out of here!" Wulfric yelled at her. "This does not concern you!"
"Sabina!" Sanctus stared at his long-lost sister in shock.
"So I lied about selling her off," Wulfric smiled. "It was better that you didn't find out."
"Thou hast truly sealed thy fate," Sanctus walked towards Wulfric menacingly.
"Please, don't!" Sabina begged. "Without his father, who will care for this child?"
"A child thou had with this monster?" Sanctus shot her a murderous glare.
"Please, I had no other choice," Sabina pleaded.
Telekinetically, Sanctus summoned Wulfric's sword to his own hand.
"Go on," Wulfric urged him. "I wouldn't hesitate to do the same to you."
Sanctus did not need to be told twice as he thrust the sword into Wulfric's heart, killing the Saxon warlord for good.
He then left the sword in Wulfric's chest, turning his attention back to Sabina.
"Thou art here to help me?" Sabina asked. "Please, if thou art truly my brother, help me and mine child survive."
Sanctus looked at her with much loathing. True she did not have a choice in being forcibly paired with the Saxon warlord, but she was still tainted by the same monster who killed their mother. Even if they were reunited now, things would never be the same again. The gap in their lives could truly not be mended anymore.
"I had something else in mind," Sanctus drew out his dagger once more.
Sabina looked on in horror as he advanced upon both her and her child, retreating until her back was against a wall and there was nowhere else to turn to.