Broken Web by Lori M. Lee

Author:Lori M. Lee [Lee, Lori M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

We follow a stream westward, hoping it will wash away our tracks. When it grows too dark, we’ve no choice but to find shelter for the night.

Shadowblessed have excellent night vision. So we do our best to shelter from searching eyes and take turns keeping watch until dawn.

Our food lasts only a few days, so I take to hunting. Now that we’re not at risk of anyone discovering my craft, I’m free to use it for the task.

The way I lost control on the ship haunts me, that soldier’s soul a memory of heat and light against my fingertips. An entire being, snuffed out with the clenching of my fist. The thought shudders through me every time I rip the soul of an animal shuffling through the underbrush, or a bird alighting on a branch.

But if I’m to find some semblance of control, I must try. I didn’t dare practice in Mirrim. Doing so within the shaman capital, even if I believed we were alone, would’ve been too risky.

During the day, we stop only to hunt and rest our drakes. We don’t say it aloud, but we both know exactly where we’re heading—to the one place our pursuers won’t follow.

The Dead Wood.

I wrestled with the decision for days, talking myself round and round in circles. But the truth is we don’t have any other option. I need to know how to destroy the Soulless’s talisman. Spinner’s End is our best source for information that hasn’t been either tampered with or destroyed altogether. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ronin kept a private archive apart from the main library.

I don’t know how much time Theyen bought us, or how much distance we’ve managed to put between us and our pursuers. Either way, I would rather take my chances against one shaman, albeit a powerful one that terrifies me, versus the armies of the Nuvalyn Empire, Kazahyn, and Evewyn, all of whom wish me dead or captured.

I close my eyes, leaning forward in my saddle to rest my forehead on Yandor’s smooth scales. Yandor snuffs, throwing his head back and nearly bashing my nose. He can sense my anxiety, and I give him a pat on the shoulder.

“You’re right,” I say, as we draw nearer to the black stretch on the horizon. “Focus on what lies ahead of us.”

“Are you talking to Yandor again?” Saengo asks, drawing up beside me.

I smile weakly. “It’s a habit from when I used to take him on my tasks for Kendara.”

“I’m sure he’s a perfect traveling companion.”

“And an excellent listener.” I rub his neck, and he gives a happy toss of his head.

“Dare I ask what you were talking about?”

I sigh. “Just about what lies ahead. But also … I can’t stop thinking about why I couldn’t reach the soul inside the talisman. How can that be possible?”

Our first night out here, I told her about Queen Meilyr possibly possessing the Soulless’s familiar, and she’d agreed it made the most sense, given what we learned in Mirrim.

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