The Iron Hound by Tim Akers

Author:Tim Akers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan

* * *

Sir Doone kept a careful watch at the top of the ridgeline. Their campsite, nestled into the head of a small hollow, was rapidly being taken apart and packed away. From her post, Doone could see the walls of the Fen Gate, as well as the low haze of campfire smoke that marked the Suhdrin army. If trouble came, it would come from there.

Footsteps scrabbled on the leaf-slick hill below, and Doone drew her blade before seeing Davon’s lumpy face peering up at her.

“What do you want, Dav?”

“Lady’s not comfortable. She’s getting… precious.”

“Precious?” Doone asked. “I have never known Sorcha Blakley to be precious.”

“No, well,” Davon winced as the lady’s voice carried up the hill to them. “She has become very particular about how things are done. Quite suddenly.”

“Very well, you stay here and maintain the watch.” Doone slid down the toppled tree she had been straddling. “I will speak with her.”

Sorcha was standing in the middle of the camp, an array of food items, blankets, bedrolls, and cooking utensils spread out around her. As Sir Doone was descending, she saw Sorcha brush past one of the soldiers and start pulling things out of a woman’s saddlebag.

The woman, Katra Sion by name, stepped away from her horse and waited until Sorcha had unpacked most of her bags. When Lady Blakley wandered away to another horse, Katra started in on repacking.

“My lady!” Doone called as soon as she was close enough that her shout wouldn’t travel to the nearby road. “What the hells do you think you’re doing?”

“We don’t have time for this,” Sorcha said. Her usually placid voice was agitated. “All this packing and carrying. We’ll just have to put it all down again, anyway. Just leave it here.” She turned, saw that Katra was re-bundling her bedroll, and swooped down on her, grabbing it. “I just took that out, child! Are you always so stubborn?”

“My lady, these are things that we will need,” Doone said, easing the bedroll out of Sorcha’s hands and passing it back to Katra. “We don’t know how long your husband will be delayed at the Fen Gate.”

“I am not waiting for my husband to quit the Fen,” Sorcha said sharply, “any more than I’m waiting for the Suhdrins to give up on Halverdt’s foolish crusade. I am done with waiting.”

“Even worse, my lady. Without supplies from the Fen Gate, we’ll be weeks on the road to Houndhallow.” Sir Doone picked up the camp stove that Sorcha had just pulled from Katra’s pack, collecting the spilled pots and utensils. “We can hunt, but none of us wants to eat raw hare, I promise.”

“We are not going to Houndhallow,” Sorcha said. “Nor Dunneswerry, nor the Reaveholt.”

“There are no safe harbors that lie closer, my lady,” Doone said. “Not north, at least, and I don’t think Suhdra would welcome you.”

“I am not looking for safe harbor, Sir Doone,” Sorcha said. She yanked the stove out of Doone’s grip and tossed it clattering to the side. “I am seeking heavy weather, and the storm that follows.

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.