Legacy of Bronze (The Godforged Chronicles Book 2) by T L Greylock & Bryce O'Connor

Author:T L Greylock & Bryce O'Connor [Greylock, T L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wraithmarked Creative, LLC.
Published: 2022-05-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

“You will be the spark that sets a fire, but with no way to contain the smoke.”

“Will he die?”

Eska knelt next to the still, stinking form of Casimir San-Voria, unwilling to leave his side even as Nadezha and three other figures had swept through the grass, Cedo trotting at their heels, and taken up positions around the sick man—not before, no, not before the matriarch of Wind at Dawn glanced at the staff on the ground next to Eska. There was a covetousness, a possessiveness in that glance, but the moment had passed swiftly, for which Eska supposed she ought to be grateful. After all, the matriarch could easily have claimed the staff and abandoned San-Voria where he had fallen, leaving Eska as a solitary witness to the death that would have followed.

Eska watched now as Nadezha, ignoring Eska’s question, felt San-Voria’s pulse and pinched one earlobe. The matriarch then withdrew a roll of thin leather from a pouch at her belt. She unrolled it across one thigh to reveal a series of small needles. After selecting one, she reached into the pouch once more for a clay vessel the size of her thumb. Prying free the waxy lid, Nadezha stuck the needle into whatever the vessel contained and then, with steady hands, poked the needle into San-Voria’s neck as though he were no more than a piece of leather for stitching.

“Will he die?” Eska repeated, her eyes on Nadezha’s face.

It was, perhaps, a poor question, or at least not one she could rightfully expect the matriarch to have an answer to. The antidote could be expected to work, but there was no telling if the illness San-Voria had been masking would hinder it—or if the affliction had damaged him beyond recovery.

Nadezha’s gaze shifted to Eska’s face. “Time,” she said, by way of answer. And with that, the matriarch allowed her attention to be fully claimed by the staff of Mihaela.

Rising to her feet, she walked around Eska until the curved bone lay at her feet. Her companions watched with eyes holding an agonizing mixture of apprehension and hope. Sensing this, Nadezha spoke softly to them, and without complaint or response, they picked up Casimir San-Voria and began to carry him in the direction of the encampment. Cedo lingered, but a raised eyebrow from the matriarch sent him off with more docile acceptance than Eska had expected.

Nadezha waited until the sounds of their retreat faded to nothing, then crouched next to Eska, her gaze fixed once more on the staff.

“There’s no going back if you take that in your hands, is there,” Eska said. The other woman glanced at her. “You will be the spark that sets a fire, but with no way to contain the smoke.” The words were meaningless to Nadezha, of course, but Eska could see the translation in her eyes. And yet the hesitation there was not born from fear or a loss of resolve. No, Eska saw only thoughtful contemplation.

Nadezha looked up, her gaze

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