The Soulstealers by Jacqueline Rohrbach

Author:Jacqueline Rohrbach [Rohrbach, Jacqueline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Supernatural Mystery, Fantasy
Publisher: NineStar Press
Published: 2019-04-01T07:00:00+00:00

Thirty-Six: Mother’s Wrath

MOTHER MODELED THE world after her temper.

Beneath Arnaka’s feet, the unnaturally hot ground seared through the protective layer of her boots and flayed the delicate top layer of skin. The pain made her cry out more than once, but she didn’t try to squelch herself out of some misguided sense of pride. She wailed, sobbed, and begged for mercy the same as Tamlin and Nara.

“Hold up,” Tamlin shouted. “Please.”

Arnaka and Nara paused, hopping from one foot to the other, while the warrior stripped herself of the heavy armor. Although the magical suit served as a source of pride, she tossed it to the ground, allowing dirt to billow and settle on the polished surface. She didn’t give it a second glance as they ran toward the village.

Arnaka imagined Tamlin had been cooking alive inside the plate enclosure. Without the armor, her situation wasn’t much improved. Naked, exposed to the sun, Tamlin’s skin reddened and split around the elbows and knees. Bootless, her feet blistered and bled almost instantly. Stubborn as always, she charged forward, keeping pace. Sprinting fast, sometimes faster than Arnaka or the doe-legged Nara.

Embarrassingly, Arnaka faltered first. Unaccustomed to such harsh weather and high levels of physical exertion, she toppled to the ground in a heap and stayed there clutching her sides. Desperately, she struggled to moisturize her throat to ease the burning pain, but she had no spittle left. Promise hovered above her head, darting back and forth as if begging her to keep going. Arnie, Hannah’s voice called to her. You have to run.

“Get up,” Tamlin commanded her. “We need you with us.”

Arnaka managed to crawl to her hands and knees but struggled to rise. Whenever she tried, her muscles wobbled and she collapsed. “I’m sorry,” she panted. “I’m so sorry.”

Tamlin shook her head. It wasn’t disappointment but resolve. “You’re not dying today, druid. We need you in fighting condition.”

Arnaka wasn’t sure what Tamlin was going to do until she felt the woman’s rough hands lift her upward. Before she argued, Tamlin slung her around her shoulders. She sprawled along the arch of the woman’s neck like a fur pelt. It fit. She felt like a dead, skinned animal.

“Can you take her the whole way, Tamlin?”

“We’ll see, Nara.”

They moved at a slower pace. Guilt tore through Arnaka at each of Tamlin’s staggered breaths, but she bowed to the wisdom of allowing herself to be lugged around. Dying now would only enrage Mother. If she lived, she’d buy them some time to run away, but little else. Mother’s years of training trumped Arnaka’s raw willpower.

Luck needed to be on their side. So far, it wasn’t.

The temperature continued to spike. The amount of energy used to drain the already-dying land depleted natural resources. Birds dropped from the sky. The ground split apart. Water boiled and simmered away. When they finally made it to the crops surrounding the outskirts of the village, it was too late to do anything to save the precious food.

Tamlin placed Arnaka gently on the ground.

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