Warrior of the Dawn by M. S. Brook

Author:M. S. Brook [M S Brook]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Arrow Media
Published: 2018-09-22T17:30:09+00:00

Chapter 22

In spite of Lord Kempton’s worries, I remained unharmed through the autumn and into the cold winter months. Our patrol, selected by Lord Kempton, was led by Captain Longmeadow, an experienced, respected officer with steel-gray hair and sober eyes. The other officers were known to me. Azar was the first sergeant, and Torin was the second. Red-haired Brady, Rowland’s friend in warfare training, was also in our band. I couldn’t help wondering if Brady remembered mocking me for wanting to be a warrior several years ago.

We saw fewer raids in the winter. The Blackcoats weren’t looking for a fight, just some easy plunder now and again. They would come across the border and steal from farms and small villages until we picked up their trail. Then they would disappear into the deep woods, or if they couldn’t shake us, they would dodge back across the border only to emerge at another point and start the game over. But it wasn’t a game for us—not for those brave Canwyrs whose homes and lives were ruined, and not for the Guardians, who chafed at their failure to defend the king’s sovereignty.

Since I was now a healer as well as a regular, our patrol duty was often near the border, where my healing arts were most needed. We saw long weeks of hard riding with few opportunities for rest, but I was pleased with my new position. The men seemed to grow more comfortable with me, and I came to think of them as the older brothers I’d never had. But I was far from satisfied with my own performance. Although I trained daily with Arvel, I could not match him. I had yet to be tested in true warfare with the enemy, and sometimes I would lie awake in the night wondering if I was brave, or just mad, to think I could be a warrior.

When the muddy spring rains were over, Dominian raids resumed in earnest, and along with warmer weather came the vithons. Our patrol group was riding through the wild hill country east of the Emerald Dales, when we stumbled across a recent Blackcoat strike on a lonely sheep steading. A war band had trampled down newly planted crops and stolen a few lambs. They were careful not to slow down long enough for us to catch up to them.

The farmers gave us a meal of cold mutton, and then we were off again, eager now that we had a solid trail to follow. Connor, our tracker, kept us in rapid pursuit, following the broken twigs and grasses flattened by the passage of vithons.

By evening of the following day we discovered another steading that was visited by the raiders. One of their herdsman was suffering from a vithon bite, and when they learned that I was a healer, they rushed me to his bedside. The young man was mindless with fever, his head rolling from side to side, damp hair sticking to his face like tangled straw. His wife pulled away the sweat-soaked linens to show me the bite on his thigh.

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.