The Necromancer's Daughter by D. Wallace Peach

Author:D. Wallace Peach
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: D. Wallace Peach
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Mountains of Blackrock

A thump and grunt woke Aster. She cried out as rough hands gripped her ankles and hauled her from beneath the tree. Her cloak caught on a fallen branch and ripped from her throat. She flailed in the snow, screaming protests, and as dawn powdered the forest, the cutters dragged her through the ditch onto the road.

They flipped her onto her stomach and bound her wrists behind her back. Merusi held her down with a knee. Snow stuck to Aster’s face and hair, and as she craned her neck, the metallic tang of blood wetted her lips. Teko lay bound before her, painted face pink with fury where the ice had scraped it raw. He bellowed in the Catticut tongue until the butt of a spear clubbed him in the head and ended his rant.

Two bloodied cutters dragged Joreh by his ankles. He grabbed a sapling, halting their progress. His right leg twisted free, and he kicked at the cutter grappling for a hold. The man jerked away and slapped him across the back with a spear. Joreh’s spine arched, and he cried out as he wrenched his left ankle from the other man’s grip, grabbed hold of the warrior’s shaggy furs, and yanked himself to his feet. His fist pounded into the man’s face and bloodied his nose. Behind him, the cutter’s spear punched him in the knee, and his leg buckled. He regained his footing and scrambled for the trees.

“Stop,” Ragnol shouted. “Or Merusi will cut your woman’s throat.”

Aster gasped as the edge of a blade pressed on her neck. Above her, Merusi snarled. “I will skin her like a rabbit.”

Without a glance behind him, Joreh slogged onward, abandoning her to her fate. After three terrifying steps, he slowed to a stop, and Aster hitched a breath. His hands in fists, he roared at the sky, bent over, and hung his head. “Don’t hurt her.”

“We will not harm either of you,” Ragnol said. “You say you are her belonging, so we will ransom you to the soldiers at the western gate to pay her debt. You are worth nothing if you are dead.”

“And her?”

“A woman who heals the dead is valuable. She will bring wealth to my tribe.”

“She can’t do it.”

“Teko says she can. Who am I to believe? Maybe, we will test her magic on you.” He beckoned to another cutter who drew his bow, the arrow aimed at Joreh’s chest.

“Don’t kill him,” Aster said. “It’s true. I’m a necromancer. I awakened Teko from death.”

Joreh limped down the slope, wincing when his weight landed on his tender knee. The two cutters who’d done the damage gripped him and bound his wrists behind his back.

“And Teko?” Aster slanted her gaze toward the man lying unconscious beside her. “What about him?”

“He is one of us.” Merusi withdrew the blade from Aster’s throat. “Ragnol will free him. Our quarrel is with you.” She squatted beside Teko and held his nose until his mouth dropped open. “He is alive.

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.