Fear the Stars by Christopher Husberg

Author:Christopher Husberg [Husberg, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

27

CINZIA WAS ABOUT TO say something pithy about Astrid rushing away from her, when she saw the body. Knot lay prone on the floor, unmoving, a spear in his chest.

“Oh Goddess,” Cinzia whispered. Then she was right behind Astrid, moving to him.

“Is he—”

Knot lurched up, coughing.

“He’s alive!” Astrid exclaimed.

Cinzia moved to him, her mind racing. A thrill of elation rushed through her; for a moment, she had thought he was dead. And, as she got closer, she realized the spear was less in his chest and more in his shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief. A shoulder wound was relatively easy to treat compared to a punctured lung or heart.

Knot mumbled something, and a thrill of elation rushed through Cinzia.

“What was that, nomad?” Astrid asked.

“I said,” Knot rasped, his voice hardly audible, “you’re bloody right I’m alive. But I need you to get this spear out of me.”

“Goddess, Knot, I want to hug you,” Cinzia said, aware now of tears streaming down her cheeks. Instead, she took his hand, and felt Knot grip her own tightly.

They worked together to get the spear out of him. His leather had stopped the barb from penetrating deep enough to get hooked into his flesh, and they could pull it out instead of having to push it all the way through. Cinzia heard the slick, wet, sliding sound of the spear moving, and felt Knot’s grip tighten. She held his hand with both of her own, until she heard a clatter as Astrid flung the spear away.

Quickly, Cinzia and Astrid put pressure on the wound using some cloth from the nearest bed in the chambers. Blood seeped from the wound, but Cinzia knew Knot would be all right.

She told him as much, and Knot coughed, eventually nodding. He made an attempt to get to his feet, but Cinzia put a hand on his shoulder gently.

“Do not try to move until you have to,” she said. She looked to Astrid. “Help him when he is ready.”

“We need to get out of here sooner rather than later,” Astrid said. “No telling when more of these bleeding Cultists will show up.”

“You’re right,” Cinzia said. “You need to get Knot to safety.”

“But not we?” Astrid asked.

Cinzia took a deep breath, and shook her head. “No,” she said. “Not we. You.”

“I can’t leave you here alone—” Astrid said, but Cinzia cut her off.

“You must. I will be damned if I let all of this be for nothing,” Cinzia said. “We came here for a reason. I can still accomplish that.”

“What if there are more of them waiting for you in the Vault?” Knot rasped, pushing himself to his feet despite Cinzia’s admonition. Bloody idiot. But she was glad to see him on his feet so soon, even if it was ill-advised.

Cinzia gave a small shrug in response. It was a chance they would have to take. But she could not bring herself to say that to Knot.

“I did defeat their high priestess,” Cinzia said. “What more could they

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