Light of Dawn by Kate Danley

Author:Kate Danley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: shifters, shapeshifters, werewolves, werewolf, medieval, dark ages
Publisher: Katherine Danley
Published: 2015-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

"Time to wake up," said Finn, shaking Aein.

Aein opened her eyes and realized the dawn was rising. She sat up swiftly as she realized where she was and what was going on. "Why didn't you wake us to take over the night watch?" she asked.

Lars stretched and yawned. "We would have taken over, Finn. You don't have to do everything yourself."

"It's easier for me," he replied.

"You have to sleep sometime," pointed out Lars. "You said the reason you couldn't shift was because you were exhausted."

"I'll catch a nap when we stop to give the horses a rest."

"Finn..." warned Aein. But before she could continue her sentence, he shifted with the sun. She squinted at him. "You planned that, didn't you? To transform right when we woke so that we wouldn't have a chance to yell at you for not getting any sleep?"

Finn sneezed and trotted towards the end of the road, as if to say that continuing this particular conversation was delaying them. Aein sighed and stood up. The wooden planks were better than muddy earth, but not by much.

"Oh, for a soft bed and a warm meal..." wished Lars.

"The sooner we get going, the sooner we get both," replied Aein, not bringing up the fact that they were going to have to fight their way through fog and past monsters they had never faced before to do it. The reality would make itself known sooner than anyone wanted.

Aein and Lars chatted in low tones as they put the blankets on the horses, talking about everything that would be waiting for them once they arrived in the Haidra kingdom. Finn continued his duties as lookout, but nothing threatened them. Aein blew out the lantern and hung it from the high post for the next traveler.

The road extended over the water like a low pier. Aein stepped in. It came up to her calves. Lars handed her the horses’ reins and she led them both in without incident; then Aein and Lars mounted. Finn edged into the murky water and then strode ahead. Aein remembered their guide's words and kept her sword ready.

Despite the rising sun, Aein realized the swamp was becoming darker and darker. The branches overhead were so entwined, they blocked out the light and cast the world into shades of gloom.

Aein spotted the first wisp of fog in the distance. It was winding its way around the sunken trees like a snake in the water.

"Fog..." she murmured to her companions.

It brought with it the screams, the cries, the heavy breath of the monsters which lurked.

"It is just the fog," Aein continued like a mantra.

Lars sat beside her. He was pale and his body was rigid.

"I thought you said there was nothing the fog could show you that could bother you anymore." When he didn't answer back with some smart remark, Aein leaned over and whispered, "Remember to breathe."

He looked at her as if coming out of a trance. He took in a great gulp of air. The fog behaved itself so well in King Vadim's swamp and now it seemed keen to make up for lost time.

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