The Essence by Derting Kimberly

Author:Derting, Kimberly [Derting, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

It wasn’t until I found myself lying facedown in the dirt that I came fully and completely awake. Until that moment, I’d simply thought I was having another one of Sabara’s dreams. The vague buzzing, a blur of voices and shouts, could have easily been coming from inside my own head.

Now, however, I could taste the stringy meat Jeremiah had brought back with him—some sort of scruffy-coated animal I hadn’t been able to identify, a meal that hadn’t settled well in my stomach in the first place—against the back of my tongue. I gagged on the gamey flavor as I struggled against an immovable weight that pinned me to the ground.

A hand shot out to cover my mouth and my eyes went wide.

“Silence,” Zafir’s whispered voice warned at my ear.

I nodded, not sure what I was agreeing to, but clear that he wasn’t asking for my cooperation. I’d just been issued an order.

When he was sure he’d gained my compliance, he released me, jumping off me and getting to his feet in one nimble motion. He kept me behind him as I struggled to sit upright.

I scanned the area around the embers from our fire, which had been smaller than the other one. I tried to see past it and into the darkness beyond, where it sounded like there was some sort of struggle taking place.

I thought Zafir would unsheathe his sword, but instead he reached down to his ankle, his hand reappearing with a gun from inside his boot. I hadn’t even realize he’d been carrying a firearm.

“What’s happening, Zafir? Who’s out there?” I asked, getting the rest of the way up and standing behind him.

Even buried within the cloak, I could be seen; there was no point pretending we were hidden where we stood.

He handed me the gun and pulled out his sword.

I considered the weapon in my hand. It was small and light, so much lighter than the steel blade Zafir had been training me with over these past weeks. So much more powerful—a quicker, faster kill—if fired true. I felt safer just holding it.

“I don’t know yet, but don’t hesitate to use that,” he ordered again, and I bobbed my head despite the fact that he was no longer looking at me.

He took a step in the direction of the melee and I moved too, unsure whether that was his intention, but unable to stay behind . . . alone. My hand shook, and I wondered if I’d be capable of shooting straight, or if the others in our traveling party were in danger because of my unsteady grip.

The shouting grew louder and I heard Floss cry out. But his words were muffled and erratic, lost in the chaos of other noises, scuffling and bumping, scraping and clashing. These were the sounds of a battle.

We were under attack.

I froze then, cold dread seizing my heart. Practically right in front of us, someone screamed. It was a deep-down, soul-wrenching scream, followed immediately by the sound of something solid, a reverberating crash that sounded sickeningly like metal striking bone.

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