Inharmonic (The Music Maker Series Book 1) by A. K. R. Scott

Author:A. K. R. Scott [Scott, A. K. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A. K. R. Scott
Published: 2017-01-04T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Nadja’s boots thumped a steady march along the cobbled street which painted a straight line from Cantio’s southeastern city gate to the docks, neatly bisecting the wharf. The main thoroughfare was as crowded and bustling as it had been the first day she arrived. This time, however, she knew exactly where to go and moved with purpose towards the Naval Headquarters.

It had been two days since her escape from her would-be abductors. Two days since she confided in Pax the details of her disappearance, omitting the wanted-for-attempted-murder part. As far as he knew, the Wanderer scouts were tasked with retrieving a runaway, nothing more.

His reaction was as she suspected, surprise and anger at her ordeal, but not at her. He appointed himself her on-call bodyguard at once, insisting on coming along any time she left the conservatory grounds. Pax’s friendship and loyalty comforted her, and she was happy to have someone to confide in. But sharing one’s burden meant just that—sharing. Not dumping it all on someone else’s shoulders. So, she kept today’s outing to herself.

When she approached the imposing facade of the Naval Headquarters, she turned off of the main road and followed a small footpath around the left side of the building. Behind the headquarters stood a large rectangular patch of land surrounded by a stone wall. She strode up to the set of heavy wooden double doors marking the wall’s only entry. The doors were reinforced with iron and were big enough for a drove of horses to pass through, six abreast. The outline of a smaller door was visible within the door on the right with a little hooked handle just below the melon-sized one. She tugged at it, and the small door swung open with ease.

She crossed the threshold and found herself alone in the Naval Headquarters’s training ground. A great, open dirt floor took up most of the space. She wandered into the middle and took in her surroundings. Leather and straw archery targets and thick wooden training dummies stood at attention along the far wall. Benches lined the perimeter, and a small shaded area in one corner offered spectators a place to view the training yard shielded from the elements.

Something shiny caught Nadja’s eye, and she strolled over towards the wall opposite the archery targets to inspect the source. Three weapons racks, laden with every imaginable armament, stood gleaming in the early afternoon sunlight. Bows and arrows, axes, swords, and knives stood pristine and resolute, waiting for an experienced hand to bring out their full potential.

Nadja’s eyes moved across the array and settled on an axe. Its curved head was different from any she’d seen and the decorative detail on its handle demanded closer inspection. She lifted the axe from its resting place, feeling both a sense of awe at the beauty of the craftsmanship and dread at the kind of damage it could do to a man.

All at once, a beefy hand clamped over her mouth as another arm snaked around her waist, knocking the axe to the ground and pinning her back against a wall of muscle.

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