Read Online Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) by Kristian Alva - Free Book Online Page A

but she was the leader of the richest and most powerful dwarf clan. She didn ’ t get there by accident — she got there by being ruthless. He hated Bolrakei ’ s self-serving attitude, but he wasn ’ t about to make a fuss about it right now, not when their lives were at stake. He had to concentrate on the task in front of him.
    He tried to push his anger out of his mind so that he could concentrate on saving his men. A loud crack sounded behind him, and a cloud of dust fell from the ceiling. “ Stop! That ’ s enough, lads! ”
    The soldiers stepped back. Skemtun took a length of rope from his rucksack, knotted it carefully around the largest beam, and then walked back to where Kathir and the others were standing.
    They were just in time. Skemtun could see the flicker of grease torches in the distance. The orcs grunted and howled at each other to communicate, and there was no doubt that their voices were getting closer. Another group was coming, and it was larger than the last one — too many for them to fight.
    “ Everyone grab the end of this rope and form a line, ” Skemtun barked. “ Hurry up! We haven ’ t got much time! ” The others quickly grabbed the rope and formed a line behind their leader. “ When I shout, everyone pull the rope as hard as you can! All at the same time. Got it? ”
    They all nodded in agreement.
    “ Now pull! Pull! ” he yelled and strained his aching muscles against the weight of the beam. “ Pull the rope! Pull harder! ” Skemtun bellowed, throwing every scrap of strength he had against the rope. He could feel the others doing the same behind him. With a loud crash, the first prop finally gave way.
    The other damaged props also splintered and fell, but the roof did not collapse. For a few tense seconds, the dwarves stood frozen in place. The orcs were screaming and charging down the tunnel now. The orcs were so large that they had to crouch in order to fit inside the passageway.
    Just then, there was another loud cracking noise, and a shower of pebbles fell down. The orcs stopped and looked up. The cave-in seemed to happen in slow motion. The roof of the tunnel shook,  then the entire roof crashed down all at once, in one giant slab. The orcs screamed as they disappeared beneath the rubble. Thick dust clouded the air, blinding the dwarves for several minutes. But slowly, the dust began to settle, and soon the dwarves could see that the pile of rubble ended about ten paces in front of them.
    “ Did it work? ” asked Kathir, between coughs.
    Skemtun nodded. “ Yup. It worked. The tunnel ’ s blocked. There ’ s no way back now. ” He was pleased that his plan had worked, but he also felt guilty — how many of his people were still trapped inside the city? Mount Velik was in absolute chaos, and he had just blocked one of the few exits they had left. If any of the survivors inside tried to escape using this passageway, they would be trapped and killed.
    Kathir noted Skemtun ’ s unhappy expression. “ Don ’ t beat yourself up over this, ” he said quietly. “ None of this is your fault. This needed to be done. We can ’ t leave any of these passages open for the orcs to use. ”
    “ I know, ” said Skemtun, as he swallowed the lump in his throat. He ’ d spent his whole life mining and building in these tunnels — building them to last for generations — and now he was forced to destroy them. It went against everything he had ever believed in. But he had to accept it — the city was a complete loss. Now his only concern was the safety of his men.
    “ Come on, ” Kathir said. “ We should get moving. ”
    Skemtun nodded. “ Aye, let ’ s go. This tunnel snakes through the entire mountain, so it ’ s a long way to the outside. If we ’ re lucky, we ’ ll reach exit before sunrise. ”
    “ And then what? ” asked one of the soldiers. “ Where do we go from here? ”
    Skemtun sighed. “ We must go west, ” he said. “ As much as I hate to admit it,