The True History of the Strange Brigade by Cassandra Khaw

Author:Cassandra Khaw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Rebellion Publishing Ltd

NALANGU SAT WITH her spear across her knees, smelling the herb-thick smoke and the bitter fumes of the brew she would soon drink, breathing steadily, trying to calm her mind.

Yet again, she had taken the medicine to give her symptoms of fever, and had been whisked away to the secret hut of the Sisters.

Yet again, she wondered if she would ever go home.

It had been two seasons, between the last Trial and this one. She had trained until her spear and shield felt like extensions of her limbs. She had trained until the smallest breath of the other world sang in her ears like a lion’s roar. She had learned the nature of every type of demon the Sisters had ever encountered, and some that were only rumours.

She was still not sure it was enough.

Loiyan, Nkasiogi, and five more Sisters of Night sat around her. They would guard the way, if she failed, in case any of the demons decided to try and follow her trail back to the upper world.

The Sisters, seen together, had a look about them that was almost like a family, though not in their features. It was in the way they moved, the way they spoke, the threads of understanding that bound them together in word and gesture. They were the hide and stitching and frame of a shield, strong against all that threatened the people.

If Nalangu succeeded, she would be bound together with them, to stand against darkness. If she failed… but she would not think of failure. Thinking of it would make her weak.

“Once you drink, it will be very quick,” Loiyan said. “You will land hard and sudden, and the demons will scent your spirit and come fast. Be ready.”

Nalangu grasped her shield and her spear, feeling the shape of them, familiar as the lines of her palm. If she did not know them well enough, remember them well enough, she would be unarmed when she faced the demons, and they would tear her soul to shreds and gulp it down, and her body would die.

Even armed, that was a good possibility.

If she survived, she would gain the knowledge the demons guarded. She would see visions that would help her protect her people. She would return as one of the Sisters of Night.

There could be no bargaining, though the demons would attempt it. There could be no compromise, though they would lie and promise it. There would be only success, or failure.

And she would get only one chance.

The drink was thick and bitter. Her tongue curled at it, her throat tried to close. She gulped it down.

“Close your eyes, and lie back,” Loiyan said.

She did. The blanket beneath her was soft and thick. Nalangu wondered briefly who had woven it, and if they knew how it would be used.

The women began to hum, a low tune that was simple on the surface and complex underneath. Nalangu found herself trying to follow its harmonies, tease one individual voice out from the others. There

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