Smoke and Shadow by Richard Fierce

Author:Richard Fierce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonfire Press

8

I backpedaled, adjusting my grip on the hilt of my blade and bringing it up to defend myself. It was hard to believe what I was seeing. A corpse risen from the dead. Its glowing eyes had an intelligence in them as if it knew I was afraid.

It reached for me, but I swung my sword in a half-circle and cut its hand off. If the corpse felt pain, it didn’t show it as it continued trying to strike me with its stump. My foot hit something under the water and I fell backward, landing with a splash.

The corpse was on top of me immediately, its mouth snapping at my face. A piece of rotting flesh fell off its face and landed on my cheek, making me gag as I struggled to push the corpse off of me.

I grabbed the end of my blade with my left hand and pushed the sword up, using it to keep the undead man away from my face. My arm muscles burned with the exertion and I knew I couldn’t keep it at bay for long.

A whistling sound filled the air and an arrow struck the corpse in the chest. A second later, there was another whistle and a second arrow struck the corpse in the center of its forehead. The dead man ceased moving and his weight sagged against me. I rolled his body off of me and stood up, looking in the direction where the arrows had come from.

The door to one of the homes was open and a young woman stood in front of it. She was holding a bow and had another arrow ready.

“Hurry! Before the others come!”

“Others?”

My question was answered as a hand grabbed onto my ankle. The thing I had tripped over was another risen corpse. Its head broke the surface of the water and it bit me. My boot protected my leg, and I smacked the undead thing in the head with my sword, jerking my leg free of its grasp.

“The head!” the woman shouted.

I swiftly jabbed my blade into the corpse’s skull. It went still and I pulled my blade free.

“Hurry!”

I glanced behind me and saw more corpses rising from the watery field. I sheathed my blade and ran for the open door. As soon as I was inside, the woman slammed the door shut and latched it.

The girl was right, I told Sion. The dead have risen somehow. Take to the air!

I’m already flying, Sion replied. We saw them coming out of the water. I will flame them all.

Not yet. I found a survivor. Let me talk with her first.

Sion grumbled but didn’t argue. I turned my attention to the woman who’d helped me. She was shorter than me, though not by much. Her black hair stretched down past her shoulders, but it was tied in place with a ribbon. She was staring at me expectantly.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I said what is your name.”

“Sorry, I was communicating with my dragon. I’m Eldwin.”

“My name is Reika.

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