Read Online A Skillful Warrior (SoulNecklace Stories Book 2) by R.L. Stedman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: R.L. Stedman
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his face. I felt I knew him.
He was badly injured. Blood oozed through a dirty bandage, tied roughly on his bare chest and the pulse at his throat was barely obvious. He smelt; not just dirt and sweat, but with the sweet, sickly smell of rotting flesh.
As I looked at him the golden dreamlight of the forest seemed to fade. Merging into the shadow of the rock, the injured man appeared to vanish. A dark man, hidden in darkness.
As though he knew I was watching him, he stirred. Opening his eyes, he smiled at me. Said something – ‘ Morque’ A greeting? A curse? A name? Yes - a name.
Oh, I knew him now.
TeSin. I’d met this man before. He was the general, the Noyan, who watched men and women die with no more concern than if the weather had changed. I knew this, because in my dream I had become him; I had shared his emotions. He was cold, hard. But once there had been someone he loved. His wife, Morque. She had died, giving birth to their son. I knew this, because he, I, still grieved.
Less than a month ago he’d tried to kill me. And I would have killed him, had Will not attacked first, struck him in the ribs, and twisted the blade to cause injury. As we were trained to do. TeSin must be a strong man, to linger so.
Not for much longer. His eyes were glazing and his breathing slowed. Near to death, it would be a relief for him to slip away. And why should I care? He’d not cared for others.
But so many men had died today — could not one survive?
Angrily, I pulled light from the forest and wove it around him, until he seemed cocooned in gold, like a strange caterpillar waiting to hatch. He said nothing, but through the tissue of golden light I saw his eyes open. His face relaxed. He smiled; a gentle curving of the lips, and he sighed. I sighed also. He might live now. Had I done right? Suddenly, I didn’t care. It felt right to stop a death.
***
O pening my eyes, I blinked at grey light. How much time had passed? The horses snuffled into their nosebags and N’tombe lay across her packs, breathing heavily. Her eyes were closed. I stood up, stretched. The bags were hard-packed leather and one had dug into my hip. I shook my legs, trying to loosen the stiffness.
The water in my flask was stale. But I drank it anyway, and searched for food, though after so much death, I had little appetite. But one must eat when traveling, so I ate what I could find. Dough-bread, made by Will from the last of the flour. He’d twisted the dough around a stick, set it against the embers of our fire to bake. It was hard as stone and tasted like dough baked in a fire. Not that tasty. I chewed slowly, and wished for jam or butter. Or, if it was not too greedy, both.
I tried not to think of the path down the cliff, or the men lying at its bottom.
Outside the cave, the forest light looked dull. Birds chirped purposefully, as if they were going to bed, or waking for the day. Was it morning or evening? The air felt heavy and warm and smelt of rain. Maybe there was a storm coming.
N’tombe sighed and sat up. ‘You saw?’
I nodded.
‘You know I had to do it.’
‘I know.’ I swallowed back nausea. Don’t think about it, Dana.
‘What time is it?’
The cave seemed darker, the light dimmer.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I’ll go and look.’
I stepped from the cave with a light heart, thinking that soon all would be well. We were safe. We would pass down the cliff, re-join Will and Jed. That was our plan, that was our future, until I left the cave. What a fool I was! I gave no thought to our enemies. I never even considered that maybe some had not fallen. The quietness of the birds should have been a warning. But one does not hear the silence, and so I did not even realize that perhaps there was something in the forest that should not be there.
No time to shout. My foot lifted from the cave’s threshold and stepped – where?
A darkness seemed to open, pulling me under. Like mud swallows someone stepping into a bog. Or
He was badly injured. Blood oozed through a dirty bandage, tied roughly on his bare chest and the pulse at his throat was barely obvious. He smelt; not just dirt and sweat, but with the sweet, sickly smell of rotting flesh.
As I looked at him the golden dreamlight of the forest seemed to fade. Merging into the shadow of the rock, the injured man appeared to vanish. A dark man, hidden in darkness.
As though he knew I was watching him, he stirred. Opening his eyes, he smiled at me. Said something – ‘ Morque’ A greeting? A curse? A name? Yes - a name.
Oh, I knew him now.
TeSin. I’d met this man before. He was the general, the Noyan, who watched men and women die with no more concern than if the weather had changed. I knew this, because in my dream I had become him; I had shared his emotions. He was cold, hard. But once there had been someone he loved. His wife, Morque. She had died, giving birth to their son. I knew this, because he, I, still grieved.
Less than a month ago he’d tried to kill me. And I would have killed him, had Will not attacked first, struck him in the ribs, and twisted the blade to cause injury. As we were trained to do. TeSin must be a strong man, to linger so.
Not for much longer. His eyes were glazing and his breathing slowed. Near to death, it would be a relief for him to slip away. And why should I care? He’d not cared for others.
But so many men had died today — could not one survive?
Angrily, I pulled light from the forest and wove it around him, until he seemed cocooned in gold, like a strange caterpillar waiting to hatch. He said nothing, but through the tissue of golden light I saw his eyes open. His face relaxed. He smiled; a gentle curving of the lips, and he sighed. I sighed also. He might live now. Had I done right? Suddenly, I didn’t care. It felt right to stop a death.
***
O pening my eyes, I blinked at grey light. How much time had passed? The horses snuffled into their nosebags and N’tombe lay across her packs, breathing heavily. Her eyes were closed. I stood up, stretched. The bags were hard-packed leather and one had dug into my hip. I shook my legs, trying to loosen the stiffness.
The water in my flask was stale. But I drank it anyway, and searched for food, though after so much death, I had little appetite. But one must eat when traveling, so I ate what I could find. Dough-bread, made by Will from the last of the flour. He’d twisted the dough around a stick, set it against the embers of our fire to bake. It was hard as stone and tasted like dough baked in a fire. Not that tasty. I chewed slowly, and wished for jam or butter. Or, if it was not too greedy, both.
I tried not to think of the path down the cliff, or the men lying at its bottom.
Outside the cave, the forest light looked dull. Birds chirped purposefully, as if they were going to bed, or waking for the day. Was it morning or evening? The air felt heavy and warm and smelt of rain. Maybe there was a storm coming.
N’tombe sighed and sat up. ‘You saw?’
I nodded.
‘You know I had to do it.’
‘I know.’ I swallowed back nausea. Don’t think about it, Dana.
‘What time is it?’
The cave seemed darker, the light dimmer.
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I’ll go and look.’
I stepped from the cave with a light heart, thinking that soon all would be well. We were safe. We would pass down the cliff, re-join Will and Jed. That was our plan, that was our future, until I left the cave. What a fool I was! I gave no thought to our enemies. I never even considered that maybe some had not fallen. The quietness of the birds should have been a warning. But one does not hear the silence, and so I did not even realize that perhaps there was something in the forest that should not be there.
No time to shout. My foot lifted from the cave’s threshold and stepped – where?
A darkness seemed to open, pulling me under. Like mud swallows someone stepping into a bog. Or
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