The Sound of Many Waters by Sean Bloomfield

Author:Sean Bloomfield [Bloomfield, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Adventure
ISBN: 9780615700953
Amazon: 0615700950
Goodreads: 16035542
Publisher: Bloomfield Productions
Published: 2012-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

The stench inside the dead deer’s face was appalling, but when Dominic watched a massive buck prance out of the forest on the other side of the brook and regard him like an old friend, his mind became fixated on the hunt. Holding its antlered head high as if it thought of itself as royalty, the buck strutted toward him through tall grass. Dominic’s body tensed and his breathing accelerated, but with the nostrils of his deer costume sewn shut to keep its face from tearing apart, each breath ricocheted back at him as hot, gamey vapor.

He gazed to his side through the eyehole. Even though he knew it was Itori hiding within the other hollowed-out deer carcass beside him, it appeared so lifelike and natural that he had to look for the human eye peeking through to be sure. Itori held steady as the buck extended its neck over the brook to sniff him. Dominic had never been so close to a wild deer before—so close that he could hear its breathing and smell its pungent odor and see the black-legged ticks that groped through its fur.

The buck swiveled its neck upward and sniffed the air, then lowered its head to the brook and drank. Its cheeks bulged with each sip and Dominic could hear the water gushing down its throat like a torrent, but then, mid-gulp, the buck froze. Dominic became worried when he saw what the deer saw on the water’s surface—it was his reflection as seen from beneath his deer disguise.

“Now,” whispered Itori, and at once the native lifted his bow from the grass and drew its leather string and—thwack!—sent an arrow into the buck’s fleecy neck. At the same time, Dominic lifted a spear and, lunging forward, rammed it into the buck’s left haunch and pulled it out. The buck rose on its hind legs and whipped its head, trying to shake Itori’s arrow.

“Again!” said Itori. Dominic reared back with the spear and slung off the deer costume as he did. Time seemed to decelerate. He looked into the frantic eyes of the buck and could envision its thought: My brother has become man. Nature has come undone. All is lost. All is lost.

The confusion in the deer’s eyes brought forth a gust of memories; in a blur, Dominic saw the faces of all the people he had ever slain, their eyes rife with fear. Let them tremble before you. How many had he killed? For the first time in his life, he wished he knew the number. Seek gold, glory, and God—and only in that order. His superior’s foul ranting echoed in his head. It was a voice he had not heard since his first day in the New World, when his ship sojourned in San Agustín to take on supplies and orders. You are to be a subjugator of barbarous peoples, Dominic, and never their equal.

“Now!” yelled Itori. The buck came down on its front hooves and Dominic rammed the spear into its chest, using all of his weight to thrust it in.

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.