The Sword-Edged blonde by Alex Bledsoe

Author:Alex Bledsoe
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Hard-Boiled, Fiction, Wizards, Epic, Kings and rulers, Murder, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Royalty, Juvenile Fiction, Private investigators, Magic, Graphic Novels: General, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fantasy - General, Fiction - Fantasy, Mystery & Detective, Fantasy fiction, Fantastic fiction, General, Fantasy, Science Fiction And Fantasy
ISBN: 9781597801126
Publisher: San Francisco : Night Shade Books, c2007.
Published: 2007-09-30T08:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

I’d spent a lot of time in forests all over the world, but I’d never seen one that looked, or felt, like the one into which Nicole led me that night. This was a virgin forest, almost a jungle. No ax ever struck home in this place, nor any natural fires swept it clean. Vines and undergrowth shrouded the roots and formed intricate lattices in the spaces between the trunks. They kept travelers on the trail far more efficiently than any man-made fence. In no time the glow of the village vanished behind us, and only the bright moon overhead showed the way. The music and noise quickly faded as well. Insects, frogs and birds filled the air with their cries.

It took a moment, but the presence of birds finally hit me. I was no expert, but I could recognize most normal bird cries, and the ones I now heard were new to me. They almost sounded like fragments of composed songs, rather than the calls of living animals. “What kind of birds are those?” I asked Nicole.

“Just birds,” she said with a dismissive wave. “What else would they be?”

“That’s why I’m asking,” I said. I didn’t press the issue, but I knew she was evading my question. Owls, loons and mockingbirds sang at night, and this was none of them.

The trail was broad and clear, as it would have to be to regularly accommodate the town’s entire population. But it wasn’t expedient. It curved around some truly gigantic trees, no doubt allowing pilgrims sufficient time to contemplate their upcoming meeting with the goddess.

Nicole’s crack about Janet had put me on edge, and the further we traveled, the more annoyed I got. How could Epona know about that? How could anyone? I never told a soul, not even Phil, how truly hard I’d fought that day. I took a fucking sword hit to a lung and continued trying to save her. When my own sword broke, I fought on barehanded. I killed seven of them, and injured a dozen, but they outnumbered me and eventually beat me down. And then they made me watch what they did to Janet. But damn it, I did fucking try.

Something large moved in the woods to my right. I turned in time to see a shadowy form, far too big for either a wolf or deer, leap nimbly through the undergrowth. It was so stealthy I barely heard its passage. Another one, whatever it was, ran laterally through scrub that should’ve tripped anything larger than a raccoon. Then I realized these huge silent shapes were everywhere, moving parallel with us. I was just about to ask Nicole what they were when one of them emitted an unmistakable equine whinny.

“Looks like you’ve got horses in your trees,” I said.

Nicole laughed. “You make it sound like an infestation. Like roaches or rats.”

I shrugged. “If the horseshoe fits.”

“You don’t care for horses?”

Moonlight gleamed off the eyes of a great equine shadow as it paused to watch us. “Not as a rule.

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