The Turning by Sarah D. Silvey

Author:Sarah D. Silvey [Silvey, Sarah D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: friendship, fantasy, sword and sorcery, revenge, torture, monsters, mutants, bildungsroman, dark action adventure, psychic abilites fiction
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

That night she lay restless in her bedroll. The stars peeked through the black-laced trees, the wind blew, and her companions snored. She sighed.

Grimbold?

I am here.

How are you?

You want to know if I am hunting?

That’s a start.

I am hunting. Today I caught two hares.

Is it getting any easier?

It is easy. I am faster and stronger than they. Bathing helps.

She tried to sense his distance. To her surprise and dismay, he was only a few hundred yards away from them. She got up and crept out into the woods, throwing her blanket around her shoulders and grabbing her staff.

Her feet crushed the dry leaves below her but she stepped slowly and they made little noise. Her companions did not wake. After several minutes she found him. He was standing waiting for her. Her stomach tightened. When talking to him from a distance he appeared curious, formal, and calm. In person, he was a nightmare. He stood quietly watching her approach with his slitted yellow eyes. Though he was imposing, the scariest thing about him was the intelligence in his face.

“You look better already,” Sienna said, stopping a few yards away from him. He had looked strong when he was on the verge of starvation but now his stomach had filled out to a flat of muscles and yellow rippled skin. His cheeks and eyes had lost their hollowness. He was still too thin but there was even more of him now than there had been before. Her heart pounded and she couldn’t make herself come any nearer.

Grimbold did not blink or move, he only looked at her. You fear me?

Sienna took a deep breath. “I won’t lie to you. It’s easy for me to forget what you look like when we talk, but seeing you again is a shock. Yes… you frighten me.”

I can do kindness too. I will not hurt you.

Emboldened, Sienna stepped forward. “Can you talk aloud?” she said. “Say something.”

The mutant worked his mouth. “What do I say?” he said. His voice was harsh and guttural, closer to a growl than human speech. His mouth, although not large, was lined with pointed teeth. “It has been a long time.”

“It couldn’t hurt to practice,” Sienna said with an encouraging smile. She seated herself cross-legged on the earth, laying her staff across her lap.

Grimbold followed suit. He started by trying to cross his legs as she had, but he squirmed uncomfortably until he had both legs bent and open in front of him. Sienna tried not to laugh at the lewdness of his position. His yellow, lopsided genitals hung in full view and he was entirely unconscious of it. Once he got comfortable, he went back to studying her and her levity faded.

“You said you wanted to talk again. Did you have anything you wanted to ask me?”

There was characteristic pause. Grimbold always paused before he answered her, as if he had to carefully formulate sentences. She hadn’t noticed it until they were physically speaking.

“Tell me about men.”

“I’m not sure where to begin.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.