The Heron Kings by Eric Lewis

Author:Eric Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, supernatural, thriller, fantasy; gothic fantasy; epic fantasy, Lord of the Rings, GoT, Game of Thrones
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
Published: 2020-03-23T12:17:32+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Moving On

Jerk! “Not again,” Vinian groaned. Of course again. Every night for the last two seasons it was the same. Just as she was about to drift into a troubled simulacrum of sleep, right at that moment, a spasm at the base of her skull shocked her back awake. She would lie there in frustration until feeling tired again, begin to drop off, then – jerk! It could go on for hours, and the next day her mind was scrambled into worthlessness. The five or six doctors and physics she’d seen were baffled, resorting to idiotic pronouncements like ‘stress’ or ‘exhaustion’. Useless, the lot of them. Nothing helped, except….

She rolled over and fumbled for the hard edge of the table beside the bed, clawed for the bottle on the bottom shelf, thumbed open the stopper and lifted it to her mouth. Not even troubling with a glass now. The rush of brandy warmed her throat. The good, strong Cynuvik stuff it was, not that watered swill sold down in the city. A few gulps and she knew she’d sleep. She wouldn’t breathe properly, but she’d sleep. A Chthonus’s bargain made in quiet desperation in the dark. How appropriate.

That was the plan, anyway. She awoke with a gasp, a drowning sensation, and only gradually became aware that someone was shaking her.

“Gyargh! Get off! What is it?”

“Sorry, ma’am,” said the agent as her head swam to the surface of the waking world. “But it’s time to go.”

“Go? Where—? Oh, yes.” My assignment, she remembered, half-conscious. As if I didn’t know full well that Engwara’s trying to push me out of the way. Too much baseborn power too close for comfort.

Vinian rolled over and clawed her way out of bed and into a nightrobe. For security she’d ordered that the exact time and manner of her departure be kept undetermined until the very last minute. She hoisted a travel pack that she’d prepared in advance and followed the agent down a winding stair, clinging to the rope strung along the inner wall for balance. “You’re to depart from the lower service dock, ma’am,” said the agent, holding a lantern out in front of him. A hallway, another set of stairs.

As they descended, the other matter stealing her sleep niggled at her mind. Following Carthagne’s bizarre departure from meeting with Engwara, Vinian had given orders to her agents in time for him to be observed running, such as he was able, back to his docked ship. Then at dusk an unknown man in foreign dress disembarked, hired a fast horse and bribed his way through the city gate. “But to where,” Vinian mumbled to herself, “and why?”

“Ma’am?”

“Never mind.”

The agent stepped aside just before reaching the dock, not keen to be in the irritated spymistress’s presence any longer than necessary. Vinian pulled the robe tight around her as a cold blast from across the harbor wafted upward.

“You can go. This never happened.” The agent nodded, then scampered back up the stairs while Vinian pressed forward.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.