Read Online Hemlock And The Dread Sorceress (Book 3) by B. Throwsnaill - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: B. Throwsnaill
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awry when the impact of another rack moved her intended landing point. She was forced to tumble awkwardly to the ground, hitting her head on another plank that fell unexpectedly in her path. Bloodied and feeling slightly woozy, she crouched as the crashing of wood betrayed the charge of the demon.
She heard a man groan from under the pile of debris as the demon approached her.
Tored lives!
The demon was on her in the next instant, filling the air with fragments of exploding wood as it flailed with a terrible rage.
Tored’s peril triggered a part of her that she now feared. A savage feeling of bloodlust consumed her and she no longer had any doubt or hesitation. All her thoughts were directed toward inflicting pain on her enemy.
The demon continued to charge her in a rage, but time slowed down for Hemlock as a supernatural strength infuse d her. There was the beast towering over her, mere steps from rending her limb from limb, but she was eerily calm. She effortlessly lifted an eight foot board that was six inches square and had been broken at the end, leaving a cruelly sharpened extremity. In less than a second, she had placed the board to accept the charge of the unwitting demon.
The beast’s momentum was so great that it impaled itself through the abdomen and fell heavily to the floor in an explosion of bloody gore. Hemlock calmly leapt to the side, but the burning red ochre covered her. The viscous fluid got in her eyes and clouded her vision. In that darkness, a familiar vision seemed to surface. It was a great, black, leathery wing stretching into flight. Hemlock used her cloak to wipe the burning liquid from her eyes and then the rest of her. Mercifully, the vision faded quickly and her normal sight returned. She had managed to clear the vile blood from her eyes before it did serious damage.
“All debts come due eventually,” said a voice in her head. She thought it was Safreon’s voice. She struck her head in an attempt to reset her bearings as she took stock of the situation. The demon was still struggling, though it appeared to be mortally wounded, and its midsection was slowly melting into crimson goo.
Suddenly , she felt a force impact her, but it wasn’t a physical force. She had a sudden, sharp headache. Her head pounded, and the demon’s voice whispered to her from inside her mind.
Yes, you’ll do fine.
She began to swoon, and a strange tingling sensation started in her fingertips.
“Oh no you don’t!” she cried, regaining her footing.
With an act of sheer will, she thought of her mental communications with the griffin and compared it to what she now felt. She was able to perceive the magical channel through which the demon was reaching out to her, and she directed her will along that channel, lashing out with something like a mental shout.
She felt the force leave her mind as the demon howled with rage and tried, unsuccessfully, to rise.
“Tored!” she shouted over the crackle of flames from wood that burned all around her.
“Here!” he shouted, sounding stronger than she’d expected.
She was by his side in an instant.
“The boards—too heavy!” He coughed as smoke started to fill the room. Her burst of strength had not wholly passed and she tossed the pile of thick planks aside with some effort.
“Can you walk?” she asked.
“My leg is broken, but I think I can manage .” He cried out in agony as he tried to rise.
She helped him up as the room became an inferno. Miraculously, the path to the stair s was clear.
“Hemlock!” cried a familiar, youthful voice from behind.
She turned, still supporting Tored. There, under several planks and still chained to the floor was Jasper, the thief. “Help me!” he cried.
But Hemlock sensed that a change had come over Jasper. His aura was decidedly different , more powerful and more sinister.
“Can we save him?” shouted Tored over the din of the fire.
“No. And it’s just
She heard a man groan from under the pile of debris as the demon approached her.
Tored lives!
The demon was on her in the next instant, filling the air with fragments of exploding wood as it flailed with a terrible rage.
Tored’s peril triggered a part of her that she now feared. A savage feeling of bloodlust consumed her and she no longer had any doubt or hesitation. All her thoughts were directed toward inflicting pain on her enemy.
The demon continued to charge her in a rage, but time slowed down for Hemlock as a supernatural strength infuse d her. There was the beast towering over her, mere steps from rending her limb from limb, but she was eerily calm. She effortlessly lifted an eight foot board that was six inches square and had been broken at the end, leaving a cruelly sharpened extremity. In less than a second, she had placed the board to accept the charge of the unwitting demon.
The beast’s momentum was so great that it impaled itself through the abdomen and fell heavily to the floor in an explosion of bloody gore. Hemlock calmly leapt to the side, but the burning red ochre covered her. The viscous fluid got in her eyes and clouded her vision. In that darkness, a familiar vision seemed to surface. It was a great, black, leathery wing stretching into flight. Hemlock used her cloak to wipe the burning liquid from her eyes and then the rest of her. Mercifully, the vision faded quickly and her normal sight returned. She had managed to clear the vile blood from her eyes before it did serious damage.
“All debts come due eventually,” said a voice in her head. She thought it was Safreon’s voice. She struck her head in an attempt to reset her bearings as she took stock of the situation. The demon was still struggling, though it appeared to be mortally wounded, and its midsection was slowly melting into crimson goo.
Suddenly , she felt a force impact her, but it wasn’t a physical force. She had a sudden, sharp headache. Her head pounded, and the demon’s voice whispered to her from inside her mind.
Yes, you’ll do fine.
She began to swoon, and a strange tingling sensation started in her fingertips.
“Oh no you don’t!” she cried, regaining her footing.
With an act of sheer will, she thought of her mental communications with the griffin and compared it to what she now felt. She was able to perceive the magical channel through which the demon was reaching out to her, and she directed her will along that channel, lashing out with something like a mental shout.
She felt the force leave her mind as the demon howled with rage and tried, unsuccessfully, to rise.
“Tored!” she shouted over the crackle of flames from wood that burned all around her.
“Here!” he shouted, sounding stronger than she’d expected.
She was by his side in an instant.
“The boards—too heavy!” He coughed as smoke started to fill the room. Her burst of strength had not wholly passed and she tossed the pile of thick planks aside with some effort.
“Can you walk?” she asked.
“My leg is broken, but I think I can manage .” He cried out in agony as he tried to rise.
She helped him up as the room became an inferno. Miraculously, the path to the stair s was clear.
“Hemlock!” cried a familiar, youthful voice from behind.
She turned, still supporting Tored. There, under several planks and still chained to the floor was Jasper, the thief. “Help me!” he cried.
But Hemlock sensed that a change had come over Jasper. His aura was decidedly different , more powerful and more sinister.
“Can we save him?” shouted Tored over the din of the fire.
“No. And it’s just
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