The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) by Julius St. Clair Read Free Book Online

Catherine’s sleeping body for a moment. “We all have to determine who we are. I’ve been thinking about that for a long time.”
    “And did you find out who you are?”
    “No,” James said, turning back to Rupert. “I feel incomplete a lot actually. I think…I think that I was starting to learn who I was a long time ago, back when I was in the Sage Academy on Terra. But things escalated, war occurred, the Great Collision changed everything, and here we are. I now know what it means to be a Sage according to Allay’s history. I’m not a person anymore. I’m a soldier, moving on from one battle to the next so others can live their lives and become who they were meant to be. I fight the wars so that they can think in peace. I stopped thinking about who I want to be a long time ago. Now it’s all about the end game, the means to the end. Only saving the most people and preserving their innocence is what matters.”
    “But you won’t be happy,” Rupert said. “Are you happy?”
    “I’m happy when I’m with her,” James whispered, pointing to Catherine. “But even our relationship isn’t what it could be. We just keep on fighting.”
    “Maybe someone else should fight instead.”
    “That’s what I’ve been thinking recently, and it’s the reason why we’ve stopped here. We want to try something different. Stop the fighting for a change. Maybe it’s the wrong time to do it, but we’ll never get the chance if we don’t take it. The fighting never ends.”
    “So you’re going to stay here with us forever?” Benny asked, appearing at James’ side. James rubbed a hand through the little boy’s head.
    “I hope so,” he said, and Benny gave him a big toothy smile.
    “Can you be my papa now?” Benny asked with watery eyes. James gulped and looked at Rupert who was expressionless.
    He turned back to Benny. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “But I will never truly replace your parents. What I can promise is to be a friend though. How’s that sound?”
    “O-okay,” Benny said wrapping his little pudgy arms around James’ waist and hugging him tight. James sighed heavily and looked over at Catherine. She was sitting up in her bed and giving him a smirk. He smiled back and they stared at each other so long that Benny started becoming concerned that they had turned into statues.
     
    *              *              *
     
    Bastion threw the man behind him over his shoulder and immediately ran forward to meet him before he landed on his feet. He punched the man in the spine while he was in mid-somersault and he cried out in agony, slumping off of Bastion’s fist. The attacker who had been punching him in the stomach earlier barely made it a couple feet away before Bastion grabbed the back of his collar and slammed it into the cobblestone. He slammed his foot into his opponent’s chest and silenced him.
    Bastion surveyed the area although he wasn’t aware of self anymore. His eyes were as black as night and his teeth were starting to grind. His animalistic nature was antsy, and it needed something to hit. A voice behind him sought to reward him.
    “Hey there,” someone said as Bastion slowly turned around. It was a stocky man with a spiked mace in his left hand. “Name’s…Deaf with an F,” he laughed. “Care to play?”
    Bastion summoned his Gladius and approached him slowly.
    “Oooo, you look dangerous,” Deaf chuckled. He reached over and rolled up one of his long sleeves with two fingers, revealing the tattoo of a crow with spiked wings. “But it looks like you’re about to tangle with the wrong man. Hope you’ve said your goodbye to your loved ones.”
    Bastion leapt at him and Deaf saw it coming before Bastion even knew what he was doing. Deaf smacked him across the face with his mace, sending Bastion crashing into one of the little carts on the side of the street. There had been so much force put into the blow that it took Bastion a moment to