The Bastard 3 by Jack Porter

Author:Jack Porter [Porter, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-07T20:00:00+00:00

17

It was nearly dawn by the time Elaine and I made it back to the ruined church basement that the swordswoman and her father had called home for so long. I was exhausted to the point where I could keep moving only with Elaine’s support, and had stumbled the last couple miles or so automatically, just placing one foot in front of the other, and trusting Elaine to keep me from falling.

For her part, Elaine didn’t ask questions. She could see I was as weak as a kitten, and just did her best to help.

Sir George seemed content to curl up on my shoulder and trust that I wouldn’t inadvertently collapse and fling him into the mud.

The only positive was that the heavy rain had eased back to a light drizzle that was almost as good as no rain at all.

Somewhere behind us, we could both hear the dragon shrieking into the night sky. Such was the volume of the noise that it was clear not just to us, but to those townsfolk who opened their shutters or doors to look for the source of the noise, that the dragon was no longer captive. Instead, it was flying free through the air above the city.

It was a thought that gave me a sense of grim satisfaction even as I willed my ruined body onward.

It was with a huge sense of relief that we finally made it. Meghan was waiting for us and opened the door to Elaine’s knock.

One glance at me, and she ushered me to one of the chairs. “What did they do to you?” she demanded. “Looks like they near bled you dry.”

I nodded. “They did.”

“Well, I guess if that’s the worst that they did, I can take care of that. A pot of cinnamon tea will be a good start.

Only then did the Enchantress hesitate. She shot a glance at Elaine, then back to me. “Anwen?” she asked, and for the first time since I’d known her, I sensed a hesitation in her voice.

I took a deep breath. Held it for a moment, clenching my eyes against the rush of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. Only when I felt could give an answer did I open my eyes once again. But I didn’t talk. Didn’t say out loud the truth of what had happened. Instead, I just shook my head.

“Well,” Meghan said, obviously striving to find the right words. “I’m very sorry to hear that,” she said. She paused a moment longer, and into the silence that followed, asked another question. “Do you need to rest?”

“No,” I said. It was an automatic response that had nothing to do with the weariness I felt, the total exhaustion, and emotional numbness. “Not yet. First, I want to know what happened. Tell me everything.” I glanced at Elaine, who was still standing, too wound tight yet to settle down. “How did you find me? How did you even know I had been caught?” I chewed on my next question for just a few moments.

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