Forever Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 3) by Brad Clark Page A

Anyone trying to pass into the city, or leave the city, will be chained and imprisoned.  Defiance will be met with a swift end.”  The centurion leader again paused, but this time he turned his head to look into the crowd.
    “The emperor’s brother, Prince Tarcious, has assumed the duties of the empire,” the centurion continued.  “His word will be law, and his word has closed the gates.  To defy the order is to defy the empire.  You will disperse from the streets.  Return to your homes.”
    Someone shouted out a complaint, cursing the centurion because he could not return to his home outside the gate.  The centurions on top of the gate all directed their crossbows at the speaker.  The centurions on the ground did not move.
    The lead centurion shouted out, “The emperor has been slain.  Until his killer has been brought to justice, none shall leave the city.  That is the command of the prince.”
    Further shouts followed, some in Taran, some in Commoner.  But they all were angry and directed at the centurion leader.
    In response, the centurion drew his short sword and turned his head so his men could hear the next command.  With that command, the thirty-three centurions stepped forward, their spears low and at the ready.  They kept marching forward, towards the crowd.
    “Disperse!” the centurion leader shouted out.
    The crowd suddenly settled down and started to move back.  Marik followed the rest of the crowd and moved back away from the gate.  His hand instinctively went to his side, but there was no sword there.  He once again felt naked and exposed.  Backing away to keep one eye on the centurions and the other eye on the crowd, he knew when it was time to retreat.  Many in the crowd did not feel the same, and they stood their ground.  From a distance, Marik could see a handful of angry merchants, pointing and yelling at the centurions, but the disciplined armed company did not waver.
    Marik was impressed at the self-control that he was seeing from the professional soldiers.  It would have been easy for them to start swinging at the crowd to get them to disperse using fear of death as a motivator.  If things did turn ugly, the soldiers were highly outnumbered and would not survive a mass attack.  But because they were armed, they would certainly kill many times their number before they were overwhelmed.  And if that did happen, he did not want to be anywhere near the fighting.  Any sort of rioting would not go well for anyone, especially innocent bystanders.  So as the crowd yelled and shouted their anger, and the centurions stood their ground, Marik turned away and walked off in the opposite direction.
    The centurions who marched to the main gate of the city were not the only soldiers that took to the streets.  Many other soldiers were patrolling and Marik did everything that he could to avoid them.  He tried his best not to be obvious about it, but many times he was sure that he was being followed.  With long strides, he moved quickly from one street to another, taking each alleyway that he could find.  Several times he doubled back, trying to see if he was being tailed, but each time he did, there was no one following him.
    Marik made his way south through the city as the centurions spread out first to cover the city gates.  To the south was the part of the city the locals called the Lower Quarter.  It was physically lower than the rest of the city as it was right next to the Gulf of Taran.  But it was also the slummiest part of the city.  Crime was rampant in the Lower Quarter and he knew that it was not the place for a foreigner to go.  But because of the criminal element, it was also the last place that centurions wanted to go.
    The city walls were built right down to the water’s edge and actually went into the water.  Although he wouldn’t be able to walk his way around the wall, he might be able to swim his way around.  It would be a cold and dangerous swim, but he