Keeper of Scales by Anne Mollova

Author:Anne Mollova [Mollova, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rose Leaf Press, LLC

The rain fell in a mist the following day as the party pressed its way north through the forest. Nah’dar insisted they stay off the main road and often the horses, used to more open terrain, stomped and snorted impatiently at the undergrowth that pulled and scratched at their legs. They made slow progress though they rarely stopped, and conversation was kept to a minimum.

Alyen and Aaron had confirmed Lirianna’s vision of the morkshai with her the evening before. The terror in their friend’s voice as she described the monsters had given their quest a whole new sense of urgency, and Alyen chafed at their slow plodding through the forest. Although the day passed uneventfully and the forest seemed quiet and peaceful, Alyen could not shake her anxiety and was exhausted and frazzled by the time they stopped to make camp.

The evening passed much as the previous one had; Alyen was relegated to cooking duty while Nah’dar trained Aaron vigorously in morkshai combat. This time, Nah’dar gave Aaron a fair chance to fight, shouting instructions as they dueled. Despite herself, Alyen could not resist glancing up frequently from her work to watch Aaron as he spun, ducked, and attacked, his chest bare to the waist, one hand wielding his sword, the other brandishing a flaming torch that traced fiery patterns in the gloom, throwing flickering shadows up the tree trunks. At one point the fight became so fierce that Alyen forgot her work altogether and sat, her mouth slightly open, staring at the two men circling and shouting, blades clashing, fire roaring, until at last, Nah’dar once again had Aaron clutching his side on the ground. Nah’dar, his face fixed in a fierce scowl, raised his head, and glared into Alyen’s eyes, making her start. She quickly turned back to her work, embarrassed at having been caught.

She had not given much thought to Rowenna’s warning concerning her feelings for Aaron since their escape from the abbey, and now as the memory came swimming back to her, she felt her eyes prickle and a sharp pang of remorse in her breast. It had been one of their last conversations. She had been angry and bitter when Rowenna was only trying to help. Refusing to give in to grief and guilt, she blinked hard and took a deep breath, resolving to shove the memory and the emotion aside for later. She had no time to grieve and no space for thoughts of love.

They had been traveling almost a week when the attack came.

As on each day prior, the trio stopped in a small clearing for the night, this time in a place where the trees were thinner, and the undergrowth had given way to soft turf and moss. Aaron headed into the trees in search of firewood. Nah’dar glanced around warily, as if uncomfortable with the more open terrain, but said nothing and began his ritual of securing the horses for the night. Alyen had just stooped to gather dry leaves and

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