The Blade and the Bloodwright
ShortStory 6,213 words Recommended by 1 award/anthology source
"The soldiers slit the woman’s throat every evening before bedding down so they can sleep without worry. She mocks them but never fights the knife coming to her. Two of the men still take turns watching her in case she heals before the rest of the cadre wakes; so far she hadn’t surprised them but a weapon drawn is a weapon able to kill."
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
Quasar links out; the story lives on Lightspeed, where the author gets the click.