The Shadow King (The Raveling Book 3) by Hutson Alec

Author:Hutson, Alec [Hutson, Alec]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Alec Hutson
Published: 2019-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

Snow began to fall as Cho Lin passed through the dead city, for which she gave thanks, as it would hide their passing. She tried to keep the great avenue that sliced through Nes Vaneth in sight, wending her way through a tangle of side streets, since she knew it eventually reached the ruined gates. That was the way she had entered the city, and it was the way she wished to leave. Since it was so well trafficked, there likely weren’t any beasts prowling about in the forests.

Through the gaps between buildings she saw several points of light flickering in the distance. That must be the gate, and of course it was guarded. It was not the only way out, however – the walls girdling Nes Vaneth were as ruined as the rest of the city.

The first section she came to was surprisingly intact, but as she followed its meandering length she soon arrived at a segment that was just great blocks of tumbled stone. She threaded her way through the debris, checking the ground carefully as she went so that the horse she was leading would not wedge a hoof between rocks or stumble over anything in the dark.

Then she was beyond the city, facing a dark swell of pine trees. She looked to her right, down the long sweep of the walls; the clouds had dwindled to tattered strips, and the pale moon painted the snowy ground and white walls with a ghostly sheen. In the distance she could see the bulge of the gate house, but it was so far away that there was no chance any guards could glimpse her. She turned back to the slice of Nes Vaneth visible through the gap in the walls. The city gleamed in the moonlight, partially obscured by falling snow; a dead place, but still inhabited by the ghosts of a lost people. Was the Pale Lady out there, drifting among the ruins, starlight in her hair and unmelted snowflakes collecting on her cold skin?

She shook herself, finally tearing her gaze from the lost city. As if in imitation of Cho Lin, her horse tossed its head, shaking loose the snow that had gathered in its mane. Cho Lin stroked its flank, murmuring nonsense to try and comfort the animal. She squinted into the falling snow. If they entered the forest, she could build a simple shelter once they were far enough from the city that a fire could be risked. They needed food, though. The few strips of meat she’d scavenged from the dead Skein wouldn’t last very long, and she doubted very much that she’d find anything for her horse to eat once they entered the wilds.

She remembered the settlement just outside the gates of Nes Vaneth. When she’d approached the city with Verrigan and his war band, the longhouses had been in the process of being looted by the victorious Skein. It had been where the women and children of the Bear lived while the menfolk drank and feasted in the Bhalavan with their thane.

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