Reign of Madness by J R Lawrence

Author:J R Lawrence [Lawrence, J R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moonlight Express
Published: 2019-12-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Strangers

“Kaden, you’ve got to stop and rest yourself!” Shroud said again for the fifth time at least. “We can’t keep going on like this, or we’ll be lost out here. We need to find shelter for the night.”

No matter what he said to him, Kaden wouldn’t stop or even give a response. He just walked and walked, his eyes not even focusing on the way he was going. Darkness had settled and still he kept going, leaving Shroud afraid and hurrying to keep up with his steady, unyielding pace.

Kaden was undoubtedly haunted by the thought of his murdered parents lying in their burning house, probably cowering in fear of those terrible creatures that came and killed everyone he loved. The monsters didn’t even demand anything, just came to kill and plunder their homes. It reminded Shroud too much of the great hunt that he would partake in with his father and brother; the mighty men of House Blackroot in Grindle relentlessly pursued a stag into the heart of the elder pines. Except in this case, he was the stag, and the terrible hunters were those who had come with an errand to murder them.

Shroud pulled on his arm, and though Kaden was momentarily thrown off balance, he still didn’t seem to take notice of him. At last, and with the despairing thought of losing the friend he had grown up with, Shroud ran ahead and fell to his knees in front of him.

“By Hunnari,” Shroud exclaimed, calling on the name of one of the First Born, the gods of Anterian. “Kaden, please don’t give up on me like this!” It seemed to have worked; Kaden suddenly stopped and looked down at him with a confused expression, as if he had just awoken. “I need you, Kaden. You may not have realized it, but I have always needed you. So please, don’t give up. I can’t do this alone.”

Kaden blinked and opened his mouth, lips splitting in the frosty air. He felt a hard clench in his stomach finally let go, and he felt freed from the grief that had so suddenly taken control of him. When he looked at Shroud, he realized that there was still meaning in his life, that there was still something that he needed to do. Shroud needed him, and Kaden needed him just as well.

“Oh Shroud,” Kaden said, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around the shivering ranger, “I’m so sorry! Will you ever forgive me? I’m a fool to have despaired.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Kaden,” Shroud replied as Kaden buried his face in the warmth of Shroud’s travel cloak. Pulling out of the embrace, Shroud put his pink hands on the other’s shoulders as he looked him in his blue eyes. “We’ve got to get out of here. If we can find the others who escaped, maybe they’ll have an idea of what to do.”

“Should we go to Grindle?” Kaden asked.

Shroud shook his head. “I don’t think that’d be the best idea, at least not by way of the King’s Highway.

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