Read Online Serpent by Kathryn Le Veque - Free Book Online Page A

trickle. Trapped against him, Penelope stomped on his foot, hard enough to cause him to flinch and loosen his grip. As she threw herself forward to get away, Bhrodi reached out and snatched her by the hair, pulling loose the bun and sending the iron pins flying.
    Penelope was furious to realize he had her by her long, thick braid, now like a leash in his hand. Turning around, she flew at him with hands and feet, ably landing some blows because he was handicapped with only one free hand. Still, he was able to very adequately defend himself and he never made any attempt to strike her in return; he simply prevented her from doing any further damage to him. When she came too close, he managed to block a series of strikes and spin her around, trapping her yet again. This time, he had her hair wound around one of his big fists and her head was against his chest. He wasn’t about to put himself in a position where she could head-butt him again.
    “That was a good reaction,” he admitted. “Had you caught me off guard, you might have done real damage. You are skilled for a woman.”
    Angry, insulted, Penelope struggled against his iron grip. “I am skilled for any one, man or woman,” she said. “Let me go, do you hear?”
    “Not until you tell me your name.”
    “I will not tell you my name.”
    “Then we will be here for a very long time. I will not release you until you tell me who you are and why you fight for de Wolfe.”
    “I’ll not tell you anything!”
    He didn’t reply for a moment and Penelope knew that was not a good sign. So far, he had proved to be cunning and powerful, and she knew he was about to turn those attributes against her. Unfortunately, she was correct; abruptly, the knight picked her up and, still clutched against his torso, began to walk towards the marsh.
    “Tell me or I’ll throw you to the beast,” he said.
    Penelope could see the ghostly silver expanse of marsh drawing closer and her heart began to race with fear. “Never!”
    “Then the beast will enjoy your tasty flesh.”
    With a furious and frightened shriek, Penelope went mad, kicking at his legs savagely until she made contact with his knees. It was enough of a blow to cause him to lose his balance and together, they fell into the soft, marshy earth. Penelope fell beneath him and Bhrodi’s entire body weight came crashing down upon her. Even though she had on mail and pieces of armor, it hadn’t prevented the full impact of his substantial weight. Momentarily stunned and unable to breathe, she lay there gasping.
    The humor was out of his expression when he realized how hard he had fallen on her . Releasing her hair, he pushed himself up and looked at her with worry.
    “Are you well?” he asked, concerned in spite of himself. “Did you hurt yourself?”
    Penelope didn’t respond; she continued to gasp for air, but after the first few moments, it was all an act. He had released her and she wasn’t about to let down her guard. She wanted to get away from him. Peering through slitted eyes, she saw that he was rather close to her, his brow slightly furrowed upon his darkly handsome face. When he opened his mouth to ask her again, she reared up and hit him squarely in the throat.
    Bhrodi fell onto his back, gasping savagely for air as Penelope bolted to her feet and raced off into the darkness. He continued to lay there, struggling to breathe, until his men came around and found him there some time later.
    They had no idea why Bhrodi was on the ground, laughing.
     
     
    ⌘

     

     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    “It has guarded the pass through Pen draeth Forest since ages past and it always emerges on the full moon to feed. Your party was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it is fortunate there were not any deaths as a result.”
    In the great hall of Rhydilian Castle that smelled heavily of smoke and dogs, William and his knights stood just inside the doorway as a man standing near the enormous hearth lectured them. They had