A Burning Hope by Mathias G. B. Colwell

Author:Mathias G. B. Colwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magic, swamp, island, criminals, slayers, dismal swamp, watchtowers, mathias gb colwell, a burning hope, army of slaves, dark and dangerous world, defence for the humans, denziens of the swamp, face death, fighting force, grim and isolated, impenetrable, regain control, ruling council, the fortress, underbelly of society
Publisher: Melange Books, LLC

The boyish soldier stared at Maeze in horror, completely swallowing the joke whole. Maeze had no idea what they were, but he keenly felt the need for a laugh of any kind, even a bitter, mocking one, at a time like this.

“It can’t be, can it?” The soldier gasped. “I mean I always wondered what happened to the bodies they take out and sink in the swamp. I know they can’t bury them for lack of space of the island or burn them for lack of fuel but if this is the result...” he trailed off as he stabbed another Baneling with his spear.

Suddenly, Maeze no longer felt any humor at the jest he had made to the young man. His sardonic laughter cut off as a terrible question formed in his mind. Could it really be that simple? Were the Banelings nothing more than the bodies of the dead, mutated by some sinister influence of the fens? Could something, nature, really do that?

His dark musings were cut off as a fresh wave of Banelings clambered awkwardly over their fallen brothers. A few managed to get close enough to pull some soldiers over the ramparts with their cold, slimy fingers. In revulsion, Maeze watched as a Baneling plunged one of its lone, slender claws into the neck of a soldier and then cupped its pale white hands underneath the flow of blood. The Baneling smeared the blood on its face as it tried to drink from the blood pooling in its hands. It was awkward, like a drunken man trying without success to put a straw in his mouth. Finally, the Baneling resulted to sticking out its sickly, white tongue and lapping at the neck of the fallen soldier like a dog. Then the beast was overwhelmed by a pack of fresh Banelings and a fight over the blood ensued.

Another and another soldier was pulled over the ramparts and fed on below. It was not enough to fear losing the wall, but it was grotesque to watch. Then the inevitable happened. One of the Banelings, as of yet still not riddled with arrows, drank enough blood from his cupped hands at the base of a man’s throat, that it burst into a blood frenzy, red liquid smeared all over its face. It was not uncommon, but it was prevented at all costs. Killing Banelings before they fed on enough blood to go into a frenzy was imperative, because once they had ingested enough of the warm, red flow, they transformed. Perhaps not in form, for they looked decidedly similar to the usual Baneling appearance, the only differences were how the eyes changed completely red instead of a milky white. Also, the single claw on the tip of each forefinger—the only fingers free from webbing—transformed from translucent to a bright red the same as their eyes. Other than that they looked the same. Yet the transformation was more in power and ability than in shape or appearance. The last of the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.