Stranger of Tempest: Book One of The God Fragments by Tom Lloyd

Author:Tom Lloyd [Lloyd, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
ISBN: 9781473213197
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Published: 2016-06-16T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

(now)

The mercenaries rode away from Grasiel in silence, pushing their horses as hard as they could in the dark. The Skyriver brushed their road with a dull silver sheen, picking out the stones that were lying in wait and painting puddles as hollows of deepest black. They paused only once; the shriek of Safir’s horse pierced the night as it stumbled and there was a snap of bone. The easterner pitched himself sideways as his mount lurched, hit the ground heavily and rolled as the horse fell.

The troop reined in hard, Lynx hauling his horse wide to avoid the fallen man. Safir’s horse continued to scream, its piercing cry echoing off the buildings that flanked the road. Just a village, in truth, dark and silent. No watchmen came to investigate the sound before Reft silenced it.

Sitain watched the man turn his horse back towards the floundering creature and lean slightly in his saddle as he reached towards it. The horse didn’t seem to see the axe swinging and didn’t flinch away as he chopped right through its gullet, stopping the cries instantly. It fell back, legs kicking so furiously no one could get close enough to safely finish it off without an even-louder gunshot. Sitain felt a jolt in her stomach at the piteous sight and, unbidden, the tingle in her bones welled up, but before she could do anything the horse jerked one final time and fell still.

A sudden sense of grief washed over Sitain. Caught unawares, she gasped in surprise and felt tears spill from her eyes before she could roughly swipe her sleeve over her face and hide them. On the ground ahead Safir rolled over and groaned, clutching at his shoulder. Kas jumped down and helped the man up, her efforts prompting a hiss of pain.

‘Is it broken?’ Anatin called from behind Sitain. ‘Can you ride?’

Safir gave a pained cough and fought his way to his feet. He cradled his left arm in a way Sitain had seen before, face drawn. ‘I don’t much fancy staying where I am.’

‘You could hide, let them chase on after us,’ Kas said.

‘Yeah, sure the locals wouldn’t sell me out in the morning,’ Safir spat. ‘Tie this up and get me on a horse, Kas.’

The effort of talking made Safir pant, but Kas didn’t wait to let him catch his breath. She yanked a silk sash from around Safir’s waist and wrapped it around his wrist, deftly slipping that around his neck and under the other arm to bring around and pin the injured one. By the time it was tied Safir’s teeth were bared in a grimace of pain but Kas had been as gentle as the pursuit permitted.

‘Some help, Reft?’ Safir asked in a rough voice.

As Teshen retrieved the man’s belongings from the dead horse, Reft grabbed Safir by his belt and the scruff of his neck, hoisting him bodily up to dump him in the saddle.

‘Right fucking mess we are,’ the newcomer, Toil, said, grinning drunkenly as she leaned low over the saddle.

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