Wildwitch by Lene Kaaberbøl

Author:Lene Kaaberbøl [Kaaberbøl, Lene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782691143
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Published: 2015-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Blood and Red Rainbows

I’ve never tried being a baby rabbit caught by a bird of prey, but I think I now know how it feels. The weight of Chimera knocked me over, I fell flat on my face and couldn’t breathe. Her wings shut out any light, blinding me, and her talons cut into my body like knives. Bumble’s furious snarling turned into a howl of pain and then he, too, was silenced.

I don’t believe I was even capable of thought. I can’t remember that I had anything in my head but terror and the taste of blood.

I couldn’t resist her. I couldn’t raise my arms or my legs, I couldn’t even try to wriggle free of her clutches. She pulled my arms behind my back and tied them with something that cut into my wrists. Then she yanked my head back and put something just as cold and sharp around my neck. It burned against my skin and made it harder to breathe.

“Cold iron,” she hissed close to my ear. “So don’t even try.”

I had no idea what she was talking about. Try what? And why iron? It felt more like wire.

“Get up.”

I wasn’t sure that I could. I was still trying to suck in air in pathetic little mouthfuls and one of my legs felt strangely anaesthetized.

Chimera didn’t care. She yanked my neck, which made everything go black, and, if I wanted to carry on breathing, I would have to stand up. I succeeded on my second attempt, but when I put my weight on the numb leg, I felt a burning and pricking sensation.

The first thing I saw was Bumble.

He lay very still, reduced to a pile of fur and bones that seemed too small to be big, bear-like Bumble.

“Bumble!” I tried to reach him, but another yank stopped me. One end of the chain was attached to the iron collar around my neck and Chimera was holding the other in her hand as if it were a leash and I were a dog. “What have you done to him?”

She didn’t bother replying. She just tugged the leash again so I stumbled and nearly fell over.

“Get a move on, witch child,” she said. “We haven’t got all day.”

So I was forced to hobble after her whether I wanted to or not. Across the yard, down the gravel road, through the gate with the white stones. Without knowing what had happened to Bumble, without knowing whether he was dead or alive.

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.