CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Darius galloped through the desert, racing beneath the suns, joined by Raj, Desmond, Kaz, Luzi and dozens more of his brothers in arms, the sound of their zertas rumbling in the midday silence. They tore across the barren landscape, using the zertas they had plundered from the Empire battle, wielding weapons they had scavenged from the Empire soldiers, and led hundreds of villagers, who ran behind them on foot. It was a chaotic group of warriors, all brought together in common cause, all out for blood, for freedom, and all united only by Darius’s leadership, his sacrifice, his example. Darius was determined not to sit back anymore, but to bring the fight to the Empire’s doorstep—and his people were determined to follow.
Darius did not know if he had energized them all by
