Heart of the Covenant: A Dark Sapphic Fantasy Adventure by Paul Mouchet

Author:Paul Mouchet [Mouchet, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0BLLVJ5NG
Goodreads: 68129537
Publisher: Paul Mouchet Publishing
Published: 2023-03-04T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

No Way Out

Carrying Caragh’s body through the gathered crowds in the palace square was no simple task, even with a rejuvenation potion in full effect. Lin’s breathing was coming easily. There was no pain in her lungs or belly, not yet anyway. Spurred on by the crowd’s ever-increasing shouts, more and more of the king’s guards were coming. A safe path away from the palace was quickly becoming impossible to navigate.

Two guards, with longswords drawn, were blocking her way, forcing Lin to take a route leading towards the gardens. They appeared desperate. Their expression was one of concern, rather than hatred, like the other guards she had encountered earlier.

“Hurry,” one guard said, his voice a harsh whisper. The second guard’s head was swiveling about, perhaps looking for the other soldiers who were closing in on her. Sal bolted past, ignoring the two men, and made his way toward the gardens. Unsure what else to do, Lin changed directions and followed the wolfhound. As the crowd swallowed her up, Lin heard a guard yell out, “She got past us. She’s heading south.”

Lin was running west. Either the two guards were allies, or they had an extraordinarily poor sense of direction.

When the crowd finally thinned, Lin was running headlong for the palace gardens. Up ahead, Sal waited. His tongue was lolling out the side of his blood-stained face, his chest heaving. He seemed to sway. When his legs buckled, Lin’s heart leapt into her throat.

“William?” she called out, checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was within earshot. “Are you okay?” Sal changed direction and followed the path deeper into the garden. In moments, his shaggy gray body disappearing behind thick flowering bushes.

Lin followed his path, only two dozen strides behind the wolfhound. As she turned the corner, her feet tangled in the dog’s fallen body. Both Lin and her cargo fell heavily to the ground. Caragh screamed out as her face met the hard garden path. After a quick check to ensure Caragh was okay, Lin spun about and knelt beside the fallen dog.

“William? What’s wrong?” She could see no outward signs of damage. The wolfhound’s eyes were open but glassy. His tongue lay on the ground, his chest heaving. Lin ran her fingers over his thick gray coat, searching for wounds. It wasn’t until she slipped her hand under the dog’s chest did Sal react. A weak whine escaped his lips, causing Lin to pull back. Her hand was smeared with blood.

“Ah, shit, William. What did you do?” Lin didn’t waste any time. She had healing potions in her pocket. Hopefully, they were potent enough to fix whatever wound he had. She wanted to roll him over to get a better look at it, but what good would that do? Lin turned the dog’s face so that he was looking directly at her. Slowly, she drizzled the vial’s contents into Sal’s mouth. Before any of the liquid escaped his maw, Lin wrapped her hands around the dog’s muzzle, forcing his mouth shut.

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