Guardian by Jon Kiln

Author:Jon Kiln [Kiln, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Epic, Historical, Sword & Sorcery
Amazon: B00YKX35D2
Published: 2015-05-29T23:00:00+00:00

24

“I think she’s coming around.”

Hendon’s voice was distant and fuzzy around the edges. Somehow, Myriam seized on to the sound as though it were a lifeline and dragged herself up. With a sharply indrawn breath, the princess opened her eyes and sat up. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she nearly collapsed over sideways, but Hendon caught her in his arms and held her steady until her head cleared.

“Easy,” he said, his voice soft and full of concern.

“Is she all right?” Linz crouched nearby, the flickering torch gripped in one hand and his long-handled fishing spear clutched in the other. He peered at Myriam, his eyes bright with the same concern she heard in Hendon’s voice. Myriam scowled and, ignoring the lingering pain in her chest, got her feet underneath her.

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted.

“Highness,” said Hendon. “We should get you back to Halawa. You need a healer…”

“I said I’ll be fine.”

Hendon’s face registered disapproval. He rose to his feet alongside her, hands still outstretched to offer steadiness. Myriam pushed him gently away and gave him a stern look.

“We should keep moving,” said Linz, also getting to his feet. Without waiting for a reply, he turned away and started deeper into the temple. Hendon glanced after him, the disapproval in his expression deepening. Myriam touched him lightly on the shoulder and shook her head.

“We’re not leaving,” she said, quiet but firm. When he met her eyes, she saw his resistance weakening. “I’m not hurt seriously. Honestly, Hendon, I’ve been through worse. Now come on.”

Repressing a shudder of revulsion, Myriam leaned down to retrieve her dagger from the serpent’s corpse. Even in death, the monster made for a deeply unsettling sight. She knew that she would relive that death struggle in nightmares for many nights to come. But she lived, and the snake was dead. She wiped the black blood from her blade and straightened to follow after Linz.

The youth led the way purposefully, footsteps never faltering. Linz set a rapid pace, and Myriam hastened to catch up. She did not relish the idea of falling behind. Linz carried the only torch. As she trotted along behind him, the princess wondered about his strange certainty. He seemed to know exactly where he was going.

“Linz, have you been inside this temple before?”

“No.” He offered nothing further, and Myriam decided not to press him. Yet. But there was definitely something strange going on.

They penetrated deeper into the temple, following Linz and his guttering torch. The ancient stone walls shone with damp, and here and there a crumbling pillar appeared beneath creeping tendrils of vines and furry carpets of moss. It was altogether eerie in the torchlight, like a haunted tomb.

In fact, realized Myriam, that was precisely what this place was. How many victims had the Rooggaru carried off to this place over the years? This time there was no stopping the shudder that shot down her spine at the thought of the creature and the confrontation that was coming.

“Here,” whispered Linz, pausing at a dark opening in one wall.

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