Oath of the Outcast by C M Banschbach

Author:C M Banschbach [Banschbach, C M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crosshair Press
Published: 2019-07-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Rhys lay on his side on a cool stone floor, wrists chafing under the taut ropes that bound his hands in front of him. He barely remembered coming to the tower. He attempted to roll onto his back, stifling a groan as pain throbbed through his body.

“You’re awake.” A voice invaded the silence. “Good.”

Rhys’s heart stalled before rushing on in a frantic drumming. His mouth lost what little moisture it had left. How could he have forgotten?

A figure detached itself from the shadows of the wall and stepped toward him. Kane. Lord Adam’s hunter, torturer, and executioner. The man who had questioned Rhys for hours on end before Brogan found him. The man who had delivered the sentence. And the man whose face still haunted Rhys’s dreams.

“We didn’t quite make it back to Seabright.” The shadow of Kane’s presence loomed overhead. “We needed somewhere safe to store you until we have some more men. Always making quite the stir, aren’t you?”

Rhys willed his breath to come evenly as he stared up at Kane, who only smirked. Kane kicked him over and forced his chin up with a boot to reveal the scar on Rhys’s neck.

“It’s such a pity. The men I hired said they were the best.” Kane traced the length of the scar with a shining dagger that Rhys remembered all too well. “If I had known they’d only do half the job, I wouldn’t have paid them in full.”

Rhys moved his chin away with exaggerated slowness, still holding the torturer’s gaze. Kane only laughed again and left him with one last kick.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Baron. Your escort will be here within the hour.”

The door slammed, and Rhys pushed himself into a sitting position against the wall, fighting against the ache in his body. They’d forced him onto horseback, and the druids had been more than happy to use their needles and magic to keep him incapacitated during the journey.

His hands shook. Another reason he hated the stories about himself. The stories painted him as a man who knew no fear. If only that were true.

Light entered the small prison through a square window high in the wall, declaring the day more than a few hours old.

If they made it to the Wolf’s Head, they’ll be long gone by now.

His men would follow without question. It was the other two who might be a problem. Alan clung to some misguided sense of loyalty, and Sean might foolishly try to disregard Clan law.

And Damon? His hands trembled again. Damon was the proof needed to clear his name.

He forced himself to think. By now, Jes would have given them his “the Baron courts death” speech, and Rorie would have threatened to hold them hostage to avoid going back to the Keep and delivering the news. Bryn would secure Sean’s family, and Jes and Alan would be escorting Sean and Damon to Sarksten, where they’d be safe.

That’s all that really mattered.

Rhys had no illusions about his worth. It was the reason the Clans had sent him on this errand to begin with.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.