The Bloodstained God by Tim Stead

Author:Tim Stead [Stead, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * * *

The sun saw them up and eating a hearty breakfast. Cain was stiff and sore, but the strength had returned to his limbs and he felt alert. He talked with Henn and Bargil as they ate, avoiding the topic of war. Today he did not want to think about the bloodshed that lay ahead. Instead he talked about food, horses, taverns, the weather; anything that was not war or death.

The others caught his mood and went along with it. There was no hurry in their day, so they took their time breaking camp and setting out on the road. The regiment was moving up the road at a steady two miles an hour, assuming that nothing had happened to slow it, and they moved easily at twice that speed or more. Cain set a pace that was comfortable, that did not trouble his wound.

They broke their journey briefly at midday, but Cain was beginning to feel a sense of urgency. The night’s rest and their gentle pace had allowed him to heal quickly, and he was growing keen to be about his life again, to see Sheyani, to take stock of their situation and make a decision what to do about Carillon.

It was late in the afternoon when they made contact with the regiment. The sun was low in the sky and the road was mostly chilling in the shade of the thin forest that surrounded them when one of Captain Henn’s men came back with news that the rearguard of the Seventh Friend had been sighted.

Cain spurred his mount forwards at once. Sheyani would be with the van, where he would have been had he not been sent into ambush. He trotted past the men, and he saw that they were pleased to see him. Some saluted, some waved, and others called out. He waved back, but his mind was already ahead of him. It took twenty minutes to pass the entire regiment. He reined his horse to a walk as he came alongside Major Gorios. He turned in his saddle, but he could not see Sheyani, or her mount.

“Glad to have you back, General,” Gorios said. He was smiling, clearly relieved to be relieved of command.

“Where’s Sheyani?” Cain asked.

“She’s not with the regiment, General,” Gorios replied.

“No? Then where?”

“About an hour after you left yesterday a group of riders met us. One of them was the Duke of Carillon. They invited her to take advantage of the Duke’s hospitality for a day or two. He has a house near here.”

“She went with them?”

“They were quite insistent, General. Carillon himself said he would be desolated if she refused. Apparently he has a number of house guests and thought she would enjoy some high born company.”

Cain said nothing. He looked up at the darkening sky. The sun would be gone in an hour, and he was in no fit state to go riding off in the dark.

“How far is this house of Carillon’s, Major?”

“Half a day east. It’s a place called High Stone, set on the river.

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