War God for Hire- Gladiator by David Burke (books under 200 pages .TXT) 📕

secret. Only one other knows about this, and she won’t approve of me telling you, but she does approve of me getting to know you.”

After that Kyle told her about his death and rebirth. He left out anything about the supposed reincarnation of Krig and instead focused solely on telling his story as though he were simply a traveler from another world.

When they hit a moment of awkward silence, Kyle could feel her appraising him. He knew there was something that she wanted to say or ask but he also knew that if he pushed the moment might fade away.

“Do you know anything about elven sorcerers?” She abruptly asked.

“Only a little. They have some kind of bloodline, normally related to a dragon. It doesn’t activate in all of them, but it does in some. When it does it grants them great powers like Gilthan. They are to be the servants of their people. Or maybe I should say you are to be the servant of your people,” Kyle replied

Nyda gasped and drew her hands back to tent them just below her lips. “You know?”

“I do, but you can tell me as much or as little as you want,” Kyle said.

“Maybe it is because of this connection I feel between us. I didn’t know if it was just my imagination but I could have sworn that essence from you passed into me. I was never able to access my bloodline before, but now it keeps surging and I have trouble controlling it, even though I don’t know how it is supposed to work,” Nyda said.

“For now, let’s just assume that something about me being a traveler here allows me to impart a fragment of my power, a sliver if you will, to others and that may have awakened your power. I have felt drawn to you and I think that emotional connection may have caused me to pass on some power to you involuntarily. But, I don’t think the connection is complete.”

“I suppose that makes as much sense as anything. I dreaded my power for so long. I don’t want to hurt people, but then after that burning sensation passed from you to me, I can see possibilities with my power that I never imagined. It could be used to heal, not just fight,” Nyda said.

“Healing is a fight of its own against the wound, with the patient’s body as the battlefield. There is not dishonorable about wanting to use power to strengthen others,” Kyle replied.

“For now, let’s just assume that something about me being a traveler here allows me to impart a fragment of my power, a sliver if you will, to others and that may have awakened your power. I have felt drawn to you and I think that emotional connection may have caused me to pass on some power to you involuntarily. But, I don’t think the connection is complete.”

“I suppose that makes as much sense as anything. I dreaded my power for so long. I don’t want to hurt people, but then after that burning sensation passed from you to me, I can see possibilities with my power that I never imagined. It could be used to heal, not just fight,” Nyda said.

“Healing is a fight of its own against the wound, with the patient’s body as the battlefield. There is not dishonorable about wanting to use power to strengthen others,” Kyle replied.

They talked for hours and Kyle felt for the first time since arriving in Verden that he was actually getting to know a person. Hilde, yes, to some extent, but she had kept a wall between them. With Nyda, he hoped for that closeness that he had struggled with in his prior life. He eventually fell asleep on the bed with Nyda resting against his chest. This was what he had been missing and as the floodgates of emotion had broken, he felt more at home here than ever before.

Chapter 32 - A Plush Prison

The next morning Kyle was awoken by guards he had never seen before. He first noticed that Nyda was gone, but then again, she was only supposed to stay with him until sunrise. He only hoped she had enjoyed their conversation and other things half as much as he had. A second glance at the new guards revealed that they were wearing the insignia of House Avarda.

“You’re coming with us.”

Kyle didn’t move other than to slowly sit up over the side of his bed. He looked up at them and then started to stretch. It was times like this that he was glad this body didn’t have to follow normal bodily functions. Not needing to use the chamber pot meant that he had more freedom to just piss these guys off.

It wasn’t so much that he wanted to get off on the wrong foot, but rather that he was not going to let them think he would be easy to push around. The ladder was lowered down. He heard it hit the stone floor of his cell but didn’t even look over at it.

“Are you deaf or something? Climb up the ladder,” the guard said.

He just yawned into his hand. Finally, one of the guards grew impatient and started climbing down the ladder. A grin crossed Kyle’s face. Once the man was standing in front of him, Kyle was charged up and ready for whatever might happen.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the guard said.

Kyle’s eyes rolled so hard that he wondered if they made a rattling sound.

A moment later, apparently in an attempt to make his point, the guard started to draw his gladius. That was the moment that Kyle had been waiting for. His speed wasn’t superhuman, but it was peak human, and his strength was far beyond that. In an instant he was up. One hand clamped down on the guard’s sword arm, pushing