A Dagger in the Winds by Brendan Noble

Author:Brendan Noble [Noble, Brendan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eight-One-Five Publishing
Published: 2021-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27 - Otylia

I don’t like this.

THE MORNING’S TRICKLE OF DREAD TURNED INTO A FLOOD as we reached a crossroad not far from Bustelintin.

Bodies were sprawled across the dirt everywhere we looked, eight of them, their throats and torsos cut with brutality. I gagged and turned away, but the sights stuck as the horrific smell of rotting entrails choked me. Who would do this?

From somewhere ahead, Marek called back, “Guys, there’s more.”

Xobas and Wacław traded glances. The general’s face was stone cold, and when Wacław averted his gaze, Xobas snatched his arm. “If you’re going to be a warrior, you need to see death.”

Wacław swallowed and forced himself to look at the bodies, shaking as he did. I felt no better.

These weren’t the first corpses I’d seen, but someone who died from illness was nothing like this. Each of the villagers had been killed brutally, their blood warm enough to melt the snow around them as they all lay in the pool of red. No weapons were in sight. Every sense I had, both channeler and not, told me to run, but if these people had been murdered, we needed to know why.

“They… They slaughtered unarmed people,” Wacław said, looking from the corpses to Xobas. “Who could have done this?”

“Marzanna,” I said, trying to swallow my fear. It had to be. We knew her cultists were lurking in the Mangled Woods, and if they knew we were coming…

Xobas shook his head. “Now isn’t the time for wild speculation, Otylia. We need to find the village.”

As he ran ahead, Narcyz scowled down at the bodies. “Your people did this,” he said, turning to Ara.

“Back off, Narcyz,” I spat as I reached into Dziewanna’s power, but it was distant, and I wavered at the attempt. Wacław had taken too much of my žityje last night. “I can sense Marzanna’s presence. It’s faint, but it’s definitely here.”

Ara knelt next to the corpses and examined the wounds. “And this was not the clans. Our people use arrows and horses—there’s no evidence of either. If anything, this looks like the work of your weapons: spears and axes.”

Narcyz pulled his spear and shield, curled his lip, and followed Xobas without another word. I was glad to see the snake go.

Kuba smirked at him before he scanned the forest, one of his javelins held tight in his hand. “Whoever it was, think they’re still out there?”

“The tracks are fresh,” Ara said. “The attack couldn’t have been any more than a few hours ago—after the snow had started.”

“Then we should stick together,” Xobas said.

Wacław nodded. He had his own spear and shield ready, and there was a new edge in his eye. Between that, his weapons, and his puffed-up chest, he actually made a half-way convincing warrior.

He and I led the group down the trail as Kuba shuffled behind, never looking away from the woods. “You’re right, Ara,” Kuba said. “There’s footprints everywhere. Whoever did this—”

“Could be anywhere,” she finished, her bow ready as she nodded to me. She was trying not to panic, but I knew that look.

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