Read Online Soulvine 03 A Bright and Terrible Sword by Anna Kendall - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anna Kendall
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But they did not kill each other.
‘ We could not get the dogs to you fast enough ,’ my father had once told me. The Brotherhood controlled the dogs. I did not know how, or why they had been able to find dogs in the Country of the Dead, where no animals lived. But only a hisaf could bring anything back from there, so the hisafs must control the dogs – although no hisaf ever accompanied them in their crossing. How was that possible?
None of it made sense. Only one thing was clear: this dog was no friend to web women, and so not to me either. No matter how it acted. If the Brotherhood could send dogs from the other side, then maybe the faithless hisafs , those working with Soulvine Moor, could do the same. And if this dog had not killed me, it was because the rogue hisafs wanted me alive.
They knew where I was.
That meant I could not, must not, lead them to Maggie and my unborn child.
Anguish flooded me, so strong that for a moment I could not even see. All I wanted was to go to Maggie, and now I could not.
Leo came from behind his tree, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He shrank from looking at Alysse, even with her head covered. He said, ‘Why did Hunter do that?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you know this woman?’
‘I did once,’ I said.
‘She was a rabbit … then a woman … she must be a witch!’
‘She was …’ I looked up at him. ‘In Galtryf you never discussed the web women?’
‘The what?’
‘The Brotherhood never told you about them?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
I straightened. On my feet, I stood nearly a head taller than he. Leo shrank back a step. I said, ‘You were imprisoned in Galtryf – imprisoned there with my father – and the two of you never talked about the women of the soul arts? You were recruited by the Brotherhood and they never explained to you who fights on which side of this war? I no longer believe you, Leo.’
‘I can’t help what you do or do not believe.’
We faced each other across the clearing. Both of us drew our knives. I said, ‘Alysse came here to warn me about you , didn’t she?’
‘Hryffl grut!’ Leo cried, and the dog sprang at me. But I was no longer there. I crossed over.
Darkness—
Cold—
Dirt choking my mouth—
Worms in my eyes—
Earth imprisoning my fleshless arms and legs—
I stood in on the edge of a field in the Country of the Dead, not in the woods I had left behind, although a thick stand of trees grew to my right. Beside me sat Alysse.
She had already lapsed into the mindless quiescence of the Dead, her face not bloody and mangled but serene, the pale flesh smooth and unbroken. Some part of my mind was glad that my last sight of her would be like this, and not the horror on the other side. For I could not stay here. In a moment Leo would appear beside me – or would he? Overmatched in strength here as well as there, and with his hatred of traversing the grave, it was possible he would not follow me at all. If so, I had a chance to escape.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered to the unmoving figure in the unmoving landscape. Then I ran into the trees for better cover, thrashing and stumbling over roots and branches. The grove wasn’t large and on the other side was a long, gently sloping hill dotted with boulders, wildflowers, and the Dead. I ran down it to the shallow river at the bottom, waded across, and entered the forest of pines and birches bordering the far bank.
This was a more open wood than the one on the top of the hill, with wide spaces beneath the high branches of pine and a soft carpet of pine needles underfoot. Walking was easier here. I moved rapidly for nearly a mile, then sat down to rest.
Leo had not followed me. Nor had the dog. That dog – it had appeared right after I left the bearded hisaf tied up in the mill. So even then Leo’s allies had known where I was. Then – but not now. I was safe now, so I could –I could do what? Could I still go to Maggie? I didn’t see why
‘ We could not get the dogs to you fast enough ,’ my father had once told me. The Brotherhood controlled the dogs. I did not know how, or why they had been able to find dogs in the Country of the Dead, where no animals lived. But only a hisaf could bring anything back from there, so the hisafs must control the dogs – although no hisaf ever accompanied them in their crossing. How was that possible?
None of it made sense. Only one thing was clear: this dog was no friend to web women, and so not to me either. No matter how it acted. If the Brotherhood could send dogs from the other side, then maybe the faithless hisafs , those working with Soulvine Moor, could do the same. And if this dog had not killed me, it was because the rogue hisafs wanted me alive.
They knew where I was.
That meant I could not, must not, lead them to Maggie and my unborn child.
Anguish flooded me, so strong that for a moment I could not even see. All I wanted was to go to Maggie, and now I could not.
Leo came from behind his tree, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He shrank from looking at Alysse, even with her head covered. He said, ‘Why did Hunter do that?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you know this woman?’
‘I did once,’ I said.
‘She was a rabbit … then a woman … she must be a witch!’
‘She was …’ I looked up at him. ‘In Galtryf you never discussed the web women?’
‘The what?’
‘The Brotherhood never told you about them?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
I straightened. On my feet, I stood nearly a head taller than he. Leo shrank back a step. I said, ‘You were imprisoned in Galtryf – imprisoned there with my father – and the two of you never talked about the women of the soul arts? You were recruited by the Brotherhood and they never explained to you who fights on which side of this war? I no longer believe you, Leo.’
‘I can’t help what you do or do not believe.’
We faced each other across the clearing. Both of us drew our knives. I said, ‘Alysse came here to warn me about you , didn’t she?’
‘Hryffl grut!’ Leo cried, and the dog sprang at me. But I was no longer there. I crossed over.
Darkness—
Cold—
Dirt choking my mouth—
Worms in my eyes—
Earth imprisoning my fleshless arms and legs—
I stood in on the edge of a field in the Country of the Dead, not in the woods I had left behind, although a thick stand of trees grew to my right. Beside me sat Alysse.
She had already lapsed into the mindless quiescence of the Dead, her face not bloody and mangled but serene, the pale flesh smooth and unbroken. Some part of my mind was glad that my last sight of her would be like this, and not the horror on the other side. For I could not stay here. In a moment Leo would appear beside me – or would he? Overmatched in strength here as well as there, and with his hatred of traversing the grave, it was possible he would not follow me at all. If so, I had a chance to escape.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered to the unmoving figure in the unmoving landscape. Then I ran into the trees for better cover, thrashing and stumbling over roots and branches. The grove wasn’t large and on the other side was a long, gently sloping hill dotted with boulders, wildflowers, and the Dead. I ran down it to the shallow river at the bottom, waded across, and entered the forest of pines and birches bordering the far bank.
This was a more open wood than the one on the top of the hill, with wide spaces beneath the high branches of pine and a soft carpet of pine needles underfoot. Walking was easier here. I moved rapidly for nearly a mile, then sat down to rest.
Leo had not followed me. Nor had the dog. That dog – it had appeared right after I left the bearded hisaf tied up in the mill. So even then Leo’s allies had known where I was. Then – but not now. I was safe now, so I could –I could do what? Could I still go to Maggie? I didn’t see why
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