Read Online Broken Forest: Book One of the Daath Chronicles by Eliza Tilton - Free Book Online

is that you tell me what I need to know, and I might let you live. Your second option is to keep quiet and I’ll bring you to Crain Village prison. If you know nothing about them, know their judicial system is a bit skewed, and you’ll most likely face the gallows for mere entertainment, but only after you’ve been tortured for weeks.”
    The fear in his grey eyes became apparent. I didn’t know if Crain Village was as bad as the few stories I’d heard, but it sounded good.
    “You have until nightfall to decide.”

    In the middle of camp Derrick and the others sat by a large fire. They cooked game they’d managed to catch. A few of the girls helped to clean the injured men. We were lucky to have only one causality. I sat near the fire and pulled out my dagger. It gleamed under the firelight. Using the sleeve of my shirt, I wiped off the blood. I loved fighting, but killing was different. I hadn’t expected to feel so sick. Blood didn’t bother me, but splattered all over a man I just killed? That made my stomach spin. Every life I took seemed to chip away at my own.
    Rudy stood in front of me with Reaper. “You ready to clean that up?”
    Reaper stuck a sword into the fire, and I watched the metal glow.
    “It’s not that bad,” I said.
    Rudy huffed and lifted away the makeshift bandage I had put on. He rinsed the cut with water. I winced. “Here, bite on this.” He shoved a leather belt at me.
    You’d think after a vicious battle, I could handle a simple cauterizing. Sweat dripped down my neck and my heart pounded so fast it made me dizzy.
    Reaper walked over, holding that poker of death in his hand, and I swear he was smiling. Having him close the wound, made me even more panicky.
    “Hey, Derrick!”
    Derrick looked over, and I waved at him. He saw Reaper, and his eyes widened.
    “Hold my right arm,” I said. “I don’t want to accidentally punch Reaper when he burns it.”
    Derrick smirked. “Sure.”
    I took a deep breath; put the belt in my mouth.
    HOLY-BEARDED-MOTHER!

Loud shouting woke me. The cut on my arm throbbed, and I winced while stretching to see who was yelling. A small crowd had gathered around the wagon holding the prisoner. I scrambled to my feet and headed over. There, shivering and lying in a pool of vomit, was our only prisoner.
    Derrick and Henry began pulling the man out, until Derrick noticed the snake tattoo. He yelled, stepped back and unsheathed his sword. I moved in front of him and grabbed his arm.
    “Don’t,” I said.
    Derrick glared at me and lifted his claymore. “Get out of my way.”
    “I know how you feel, but we need him alive.”
    He cringed. “This man kidnapped Jeslyn. He’s the reason for all of this and you’re protecting him!”
    “No. I want him dead too, but we don’t know where to find her. He does. Once we rescue her, we’ll deal with him. I promise.”
    Derrick growled and lowered his sword. “You better be right about this, or you’ll be my next victim.” He stormed off into the woods.
    “Give the boy some time. He’s angry. He didn’t mean it.” Rudy helped Henry bring the prisoner to the fire.
    A young girl touched the prisoner’s forehead. She ripped a piece of her dress and patted the sweat off his face. I ran my fingers through my hair, watching the scene in a daze.
    “He burns with a heavy fever,” she said. “I’ll need water.”
    At least we saved them. With all the chaos, I’d forgotten we rescued nine other girls.
    I bent down and untied the man’s hands. The fever burned through his skin.
    “He was fine before,” I said. “I don’t understand.”
    The prisoner heaved, and the girl rolled him over on his side. “He’s been poisoned,” she said.
    One of the twins brought over a pale of water. The young girl dipped the cloth into the bucket and washed the prisoner’s face. This man could be our only link to finding Jeslyn. “Can you get rid of it?” I hoped she’d say yes.
    She shook her head. “If I knew what it