When Two Roads Meet (Cardinal series Book 1) by S. Victoria Nakamun

Author:S. Victoria Nakamun [Nakamun, S. Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S. Victoria Nakamun
Published: 2023-12-19T16:00:00+00:00

20

Through the Smoke

Rian flashed me a harrowed look from beside me as we tread along the town’s dirt paths, desperate for answers I couldn’t give her. I had to let her linger in confusion a little longer, just until she could see what it is we were really doing here.

“You’re taking us to the Bear Caves, right?” I asked.

Rian stayed silent as she too waited in anticipation. Our guide sniffed loudly as he glanced between us.

“Not yet. Commander wants to know all who come and go in Marcellinus; you’ll love ‘em.” He grinned, “Then you can see whatever it is you wanna see, given he likes ya.”

“Lead the way.” I gestured towards the entrance of the town, and he nodded before turning back towards it. I gave a wide grin towards Rian, which did nothing to calm the nerves still obviously lingering in her eye.

“Relax.” I mouthed before following the Bear named Eury out and into the streets of the village.

The majority of this old mining town was filled with rows of misshapen wooden buildings with chipped red paint and charcoal marks along their sides. It was in the centre of a narrow valley, surrounded by black stony cliff sides and strewn with wooden troughs filled with redirected river water, which flowed towards an unknown destination at the far end of the village. The air was thick with soot and black smoke from leagues of blacksmiths and ironworkers who burned their forges hot to finish the day’s work. The dusk was just breaking over the valley, pouring the sky full with deep violet, blue and orange at the horizon. The Stars were just beginning to show Themselves at the centre of the sky, beyond the pillars of smoke and clouds of soot and dust. The same drum beats could be heard somewhere in the distance, banging along to some other instruments in an amateur melody shouted by teams of Bears in messy unity. The wide cobblestone street branched off into thinner paths that wound through barracks, stables, and longhouses fit for the town’s leaders. They were filled by many of the same soldiers as the squad in the forest, all stopping to take a look up and down at Rian and I.

There were a few women with their long braided hair tied up in tight buns striding alongside the men, just as hulking and indomitable as their male counterparts. All had the same shaven down fingernails and fat trailing scars along their visible skin, though none bared tattoos or golden eyes. I couldn’t tell whether the stares came from my appearance or our unusual presence in the middle of their town. Some gave nods of respect towards Eury, while others ignored us completely in favour of a gripping conversation between themselves. We were in the midst of a pack of vicious beasts, searching for their leader as if he wouldn’t be the pinnacle of everything this town seemed to cherish. I sighed and shook off the nerves. This was what I had to do.

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