Reitz pulled his horse up beneath the drooping branches of a stand of big oaks. “Ayla and Patul can go to the inn while I show you the house. We’ll be off as soon as you lift the medal,” he said. “Not so fast.” Wrai turned his horse to gaze Read more…
CHAPTER SIX The morning dawned with a muggy heaviness. Sweat gathered under the iron bracelets on Andrew’s wrists, stinging in the open sores they’d rubbed. A length of chain no more than two feet in length ran between the irons on his ankles. His hair, dank and matted, hung in Read more…
Tamra’s pulse quickened when she glanced over her shoulder at Jessup, who was leaning back against the wall, unsmiling. Someone who didn’t know him so well might mistake that slouch for carelessness rather than a habit to disguise his coiled tension. Outside the inn, a coach had just pulled up, Read more…
A scream echoed through the valley. Jessup stood in the copse of trees, barely breathing as he watched the camp of the Faragund army below teeming with movement. He pressed back against a tree. In the dense shadows of the forest, he would be impossible to spot. The scene down Read more…
The by-blow. Those words stung for a long time. The fact was he hadn’t gone hungry, not much anyway. His mother had a beautiful voice. She’d joined a new company of players and they’d traveled from city to city. When that one went under, they’d joined another. But a singer’s Read more…
Caitrina shook her head. Donnchadh said they had gone north and a little east along the pine forest. He pointed to the North Star, faint in the black velvet sky. She rubbed her arms, covered with goose bumps, as they trudged. Even in April, the night air was chill. But Read more…