Swords and Saints- The Complete Saga by Alec Hutson

Author:Alec Hutson [Hutson, Alec]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-27T22:00:00+00:00

12

“Talin.”

My name, spoken in a drawl I know, pulls me away from the darkness.

But is it my name? Or does it belong to another?

I surface, coming awake on my familiar pallet in the muckers’ cell. Late-afternoon light the color of honey pools in the room, which is empty except for Shalloch and myself. Using my elbows, I push myself into a sitting position, wincing at the shards of pain in my side and arms.

The swashbuckler is hovering beside my pallet, perched on the edge of a stool. The relief on his face as I turn to him is evident.

“Saints, Talin, you look like shit.”

I rub at my face, which is covered by a very tender, very lumpy bruise. I try to speak but my throat is too dry and I can’t manage more than a raspy grunt. Shalloch hurriedly scoops a clay pitcher from a small table beside him and pours water into a cup, then passes that to me. I gulp it down in three swallows. I can’t remember the last time I felt such sweet relief.

“What happened?” I manage, handing the cup back to him.

“You collapsed not long after Cassus and the rest of ‘em found you. You’d lost a lot of blood.”

I prod at my midsection, feeling the bandages beneath my shift. “The child?”

“Unharmed, incredibly enough. I’d have thought the little bugger would be in shock, but by the time we were topside again he’d started babbling.”

I sag back on the pallet. So it wasn’t in vain.

Shalloch must see something in my face, as he quickly adds: “Bright Eyes is dead.”

“I know. I was there when she died. She was the one who saved the boy and drove away the Pale Man.”

Shalloch shakes his head slowly. “An unbelievable tale, to be honest. To think a kvah – a kvah! – would sacrifice herself to rescue a Zimani child.”

“She was less an animal than most I’ve met in this world,” I say defensively, and Shalloch holds up his hands.

“Agreed, agreed. I came to like her very much – she was a true mucker, and a good companion. But as you’re the only survivor, and they found you with the child in your arms, you’ve been getting much of the glory.”

“Glory?”

Shalloch flashes me a crooked smile. “That boy wasn’t just some street urchin or merchant’s git. He’s an Orthonos, a favored spawn of one of the greatest families in Zim. In fact” – Shalloch glances at the door, and for the first time, I can see his nervousness – “I’ve been told we may get a visit from a representative of the family soon. That’s why I woke you.”

Glory. That’s something I care absolutely nothing about. But the idea has clearly excited Shalloch.

“Vesivia?”

“She’s fine. She’s been dealing with some guilt over what happened to you and Bright Eyes, but that’s to be expected.”

“And the Pale Man? Is he dead?”

The swashbuckler shrugs. “We never found a body. The trail of blood vanished into the mouth of that big ugly face – there was a tunnel inside, mostly filled with water.

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