The Red Sun (Legends of Orkney) by Alane Adams

Author:Alane Adams [Adams, Alane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: SparkPress
Published: 2015-08-04T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Guards escorted Sam and the two girls along an arched corridor. No one spoke. Keely kept her head down, arms folded tightly across her chest. Mavery skipped along next to Sam. A set of iron gates appeared ahead. Rust-stained sunlight filtered through the bars, casting long, striped shadows. Keely picked up the pace, practically running toward the gates, no doubt eager to get away from the memories of that spider and all the other horrors she had faced here as a guest of the Tarkana witches. Mavery trailed close behind her.

But Sam’s feet dragged. He kept looking over his shoulder, wishing guiltily for another glimpse of Howie. Had he made the right decision leaving his best friend behind? What if the witches broke their promise and fed Howie to the spider just for sport before Sam could return?

Busy imagining every possible painful end for Howie, Sam failed to see the shadowy figure lurking behind a pillar until a hand reached out and yanked him into a hidden recess.

It was Emenor. The black-robed Balfin looked anxiously over his shoulder down the corridor. The others kept on marching toward the gates.

“What do you want?” Sam asked angrily.

“You must not retrieve that horn,” he hissed.

“Back off. You’re nothing but a traitor. All you care about is your stupid trinkets.”

“You need to focus on what’s important, Barconian.” Emenor’s bloodshot eyes were intense as he gripped the front of Sam’s shirt. “Do you even know what the Horn of Gjall can do?”

Sam shook his head slowly.

“Blasting the Horn summons an army of the dead. Hestera craves the power to rule over Orkney. With a legion of unstoppable corpses, she will have her way. Would you risk all of our lives to save one friend?”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll think of something.”

He made to leave, but Emenor gripped his arm, stopping him. “Your father is alive.”

Fresh grief rippled through Sam at the bold-faced lie. “No. Rego told me he’s dead. He wouldn’t lie. Not about that.”

Emenor’s grip tightened. “The dwarf wasn’t there; I was. Lord Barconian was badly wounded. But Endera cast an enchantment and imprisoned him in a stone at the Ring of Brogar before he died. She wanted him to feel the same pain her ancestors do, trapped alive, with no hope of escape. Your father lives. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Sam couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope. “How . . . how do I save him?”

“Odin’s magic can break the spell that keeps your father trapped in that stone.”

Sam nodded, still not sure he believed Emenor but confused about why the Balfin would lie about such a thing. “I have this. It contains Odin’s magic.” Sam pulled the pouch out, dumping the rock into his hand, but Emenor closed Sam’s fingers over it, crushing his hand.

“That shard won’t break a curse as powerful as that which holds your father in the stone. Go now,” Emenor said. “Follow the road to the harbor. A ship has been arranged for you.

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