Clutch Of The Cleric (Book 4) by Craig Halloran

Author:Craig Halloran
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Two-Ten Book Press
Published: 2013-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

It was early morning when we ran into Bayzog, Sasha, Ben and the Legionnaires. Bayzog explained everything that occurred the night before. I listened intently while Sasha tended to Shum’s wounds.

“What do you make of it, Bayzog?” I asked.

Bayzog’s face was calm but his voice was intense.

“I never figured the Ettins to wield magic,” he said, “and the fog. It came from nowhere. Unnatural. Dragon, it takes a lot to summon the weather and make such big monsters disappear. Someone powerful had to have done it.”

“Or several someones,” I said.

There was no sign of anything. No tracks. No scent. Nothing. Even Brenwar and Shum seemed astounded.

“What do we do now, Dragon?” Ben said. “What if the Ettins come back? And why did they take the women?”

I hated to admit it, but it was perplexing. Why did they take the women, indeed? And why were they aligned with Dragon Poachers? Even though it was night, I’d still gotten a close enough look at things at the camp in the crater. The Goblins and Gnolls were poachers, no doubt about it. They had the tools, traps and snares. And the women, they had them working on nets. Dragon nets. The kind that pinned Dragons’ wings together or to their backs. The mere sight of such tools infuriated me. There’d been no signs of Dragons, which was good. But Shum said there were caves. That was bad. There was no time to search them. What was important was getting the women to safety.

“Easier to control,” Shum said. “Easier to scare. Men are rebellious and children can be difficult to keep track of. Plus, the women from these villages are good menders. Quick hands. Hard workers.” Shum rose up to his full height, put some weight on his leg and grimaced.

“Take it easy,” Sasha said. “It’ll take some time for those wounds to mend.”

Shum looked down at her and showed his dashing Elven teeth.

“You’ve done well.” He helped her up and kissed her hand. “You’ve got excellent hands. A soothing touch.”

Sasha’s pale cheeks turned pink and she tossed her hair.

“You’ve found a special partner, Bayzog. An honor for any Elf.”

“I know,” Bayzog said. He walked over, grabbed Sasha’s other hand, and led her away.

“Hmmm,” I said, looking at Shum. He was watching them go. “So,” I said, “maybe we should check on that Ettin you killed. Perhaps it’s gone as well.”

Shum pulled himself into his saddle. “Makes you wonder if any of it happened at all, doesn’t it?”

I got on my horse and spent the next couple of hours leading the women back to their village. The men and children were overjoyed, and for the first time in a long while I felt like I’d done something positive, right.

“Does the heart good, doesn’t it?” Sasha said.

“Indeed it does,” I replied. “Seeing such joy come from tragedy is an amazing thing.”

“Do you think they’ll be alright?” she asked.

I looked at her seriously. “Sometimes people just have to fend for themselves. If they felt the need to leave, they’d leave.

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