Read Online Bastial Sentinels (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 5) by B.T. Narro - Free Book Online Page B

throw me from back. We need to ride.”
    “I’m not sure how fast you can go,” Cleve said, “so I’ll follow you. We need to go west, but because the archers might be there, let’s go around this way until we reach a path.” He hooked his arm to the southeast.
    “Alright, I go!” Vithos threw his fist forward.
    Jitch didn’t move.
    “Alright, I go!” Vithos tried again, this time thrusting his whole body forward on her back. “Forward!” he told the horse enthusiastically. She took one step and then neighed and bent down to nibble on the grass. Vithos started scolding her in Kreppen, wagging a finger at her.
    Soon, her neck straightened and she puttered forward awkwardly, joggling as if she’d never had anyone on her back before.
    “She need much psyche,” Vithos complained. “I will need much rest.”
    Cleve nodded. “Let’s just get as far away from here as we can.”

 
     
    Chapter 6:
    CLEVE
     
    They rode for four days without seeing a man, woman, or Elf. Shortly into the second day, Jitch had become accustomed enough to Vithos for him to ride without constantly using psyche. It was the same day that Cleve had recognized the path to The Nest. But they rode slowly, Jitch unable to canter for long without rest.
    By the fourth day, they’d consumed the last of their food and water before finally climbing one last hill. The hanging sun gave the city’s walls a golden glow. Cleve could only see the tops of buildings, but something gave him the sense that The Nest was less crowded, possibly even abandoned.
    Reela must’ve had the same perception. “If we don’t find people, let’s hope we at least find water,” she said.
    No guards were stationed at the eastern entrance to the city. Not a person was in sight. They rode toward the center, their horses trotting along an empty, dusty dirt road.
    Cleve’s eyes picked up movement—a child spying on them. The boy tucked his head behind a house the moment Cleve spotted him.
    “At least one person is still here,” Cleve commented.
    “There are others,” Reela whispered. “They’re watching us in secret. I sense great nervousness.”
    “Perhaps we should try speaking to one of them,” Cleve whispered back. “If we’re in danger, it would be better to find out now.”
    “Over there, then.” Reela pointed at an inn ahead. “Seems like there’s some activity there.”
    Cleve could hear voices, and he found shadows moving behind curtained windows.
    Reela looked sharply at Vithos on his mount. She seemed to be using psyche to communicate with him, pointing at the inn. He nodded back to her. The siblings often seemed to have silent conversations that were lost on Cleve.
    As they came closer to the inn, they dismounted to reduce the noise from the horses’ hooves. “I stay outside with horses?” Vithos asked.
    “I’d rather not leave you alone,” Reela said. “There might be more archers around.”
    “Right,” Cleve agreed. “We’ll tie the horses and go in together.”
    But unlike other inns, the door to this one was shut and barred from the inside. When Cleve tried its handle, all went quiet within the building.
    “Hello?” Cleve tried. “We’re travelers hoping for a meal. We have money.” He studied Reela’s face for clues to what she was sensing. Her emerald eyes showed nothing but anxiety.
    “Have you walked through the entire city just to get to this inn?” a squeaky voice replied, sounding far from the door.
    Cleve didn’t quite understand the point of the question. “No, we just came into the city.”
    “No travelers come from the east,” replied the man who Cleve assumed to be the innkeeper. “It’s abandoned. Take your lies elsewhere.”
    “May I try?” Reela whispered.
    Cleve nodded.
    “Please, sir,” Reela said sweetly. “We’re very hungry and thirsty, and we mean no harm. We really did come from the east.”
    “Go away.”
    “We came from the docks,” Reela said. “We sailed from Ovira.”
    Cleve