Shadow of the Sword: A Tale of Alamore (William of Alamore Series) by C. J. R. Isely

Author:C. J. R. Isely [Isely, C. J. R.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2022-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

What was the sun, the feel of air? Had they been a dream, some strange promise of a time long ago? For surely the rush of wind through his hair, the freedom of a galloping horse, the sound of Dasroch’s even voice, were only a cruel vision into another’s life.

The nightmare around him was dragging with the passing of each breath, painful between fractured ribs. Arms aching with the strain of his own weight, Laster stared at the floor through his less-swollen right eye and wondered if perhaps he had died in the forest with Dasroch. Maybe he had died and this punishment belonged to someone else. In the dark of the chamber, he tried to shift his weight, to move at all, and offer relief to his aching ribs and burning shoulders. It did nothing, but make him cry out. He stopped trying to move, blinking the one eye he could still open.

He seemed to shift between reality and impossible delusions. More than once, Dasroch stepped from the shadows to watch him. He fixed Laster with that forlorn expression of disappointment that Laster had hated so much. The punishment he always feared worse. Laster tried to open his mouth to ask what he’d done to deserve his mentor’s scorn. He tried to beg him to stay. He fought to shape any words at all, but could only manage a weak whisper. Inevitably, Dasroch would fade, leaving Laster more alone and distraught than he’d been before.

The sneering voice of thought in his mind pressed him to think. To remember Dasroch couldn’t be here, that he wasn’t alive. There wasn’t any chance of his rescuing Laster. No chance of his staying beside Laster. Breathing through the pain of his bruised body, Dasroch’s face floated in and out of his strange state. What wouldn’t he give to trade places with the knight now. If only Dasroch could be the one here, the one with breath in his lungs.

But it hurt to breathe now. Laster winced. He wouldn’t condemn anyone to this pain. He didn’t want to trade places with Dasroch. He wanted to wake up and have the world right itself again. He would give anything to know that Dasroch lived beyond the walls of this castle. If he could be alive, breathing safely in Alamore, serving as a knight, it would all be worth it. If only he had argued with going on patrol. If he had said no, if he had insisted they turn back when they found their soldier missing. If only he had listened to his senses before leaving Alamore. If only he insisted that the patrol wait for other knights. He would be alive. Dasroch would be alive and he wouldn’t be stuck here, locked away in stone and iron.

Laster’s head hung limp, too heavy to hold on his neck any longer. The ropes at either wrists bit into his skin, holding him upright. Over the rushing sound of blood in his ears, he could hear Marl’s last laugh still echoing.

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