Read Online Summoned to Tourney by Mercedes Lackey; Ellen Guon - Free Book Online
Authors: Mercedes Lackey; Ellen Guon
Tags: Elves, Elizabet, Dharinel, Bardic, Kory, Summoned, Korendil, Nightflyers, Eric Banyon, Bedlam's Bard, Melisande
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he couldn’t remember what. A whisper of sound, like someone calling to him very quietly, from very far away.
:Bard, do you hear me?:
“No, I don’t,” he muttered to himself, trying to bury his head beneath a pillow. “Go away.”
He blinked once, looking around the dimly-lit room. Beth was still asleep, one arm flung out towards him, her hair in a wild tumble on the pillows. From downstairs, he could hear quiet elven voices… Koiy and his friends, talking in the kitchen. Eric glanced at the clock, and winced, closing his eyes again. Three a.m.!
:Bard, do you hear me?:
He sat up abruptly, the waterbed shifting underneath him at the sudden movement. :Yes, I hear you. Where are you?:
:Outside.:
He moved carefully off the waterbed, trying not to awaken Beth, and to the window. Outside, the street was shrouded in fog. Someone was standing outside on the sidewalk, barely visible through the mists, looking up at the house.
Several moments later, after pulling on the black silk robe that Kory had conjured for him, Eric was padding quietly down the stairs. He slipped past the elves in the kitchen and out the front door, still not certain why he didn’t want to tell anyone else about the unexpected visitor. The concrete was cold and damp against his bare feet.
And the stranger was nowhere in sight.
Great , he thought. Just what in the hell is…
He noticed it then, the strange, unnatural silence that had settled over the sleeping city. Like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to begin.
In the distance, a dog barked. And another. A flight of birds, nesting in the oak tree next to the front door, suddenly took wing, wheeling overhead and screaming shrilly.
Something…something’s wrong…
He could feel it then, a low, rumbling noise that seemed to be growing louder. The ground rippled beneath his feet, rising gently like a wave, then falling. The front door began to rattle in its frame, at first quietly, then more insistently. Eric turned back to the house, took a step forward, and…
The earthquake hit in full force, hurling him to his knees. Everything was moving, panes of glass shattering like gunshots, the sidewalk cracking beneath his hands. Eric covered his head with his hands, trying to protect himself from a spray of flying glass as a pickup truck was shoved hard against the streetlight. With a rending crash, the house across the street ripped away from its neighbor, tilting slowly before collapsing into the next building.
As suddenly as it had begun, the rumbling ended. He could hear the wail of dozens of car alarms, but no other sound. A small aftershock rippled beneath him, then was gone.
He stood up unsteadily, and stared at the ruin of the street. Two of the houses had collapsed completely, while several others were canted at strange angles.
Something struck him in the small of his back, and he looked up to see plaster and wood falling from the fourth floor of his house into the street. The house began to fold in on itself, like a stack of cards in slow motion. He stared, too terrified to scream. Then someone shoved past him, climbing the wreckage of the house, screaming curses and prayers incoherently.
Himself.
The other Eric disappeared through a ruined window. He still stood on the street, frozen in shock. The streetlights flickered once, then went out, leaving everything in foggy shadows. A moment later, his duplicate climbed through the window, carrying an unconscious Beth. He set her down gently on the broken concrete, and immediately began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Blood was mixed with her long red hair, pooling on the sidewalk.
He stood there, unable to move. The other Eric slowly looked up at him, tears mixed with blood on his face. “You didn’t stop it, you bastard,” his other self whispered. “Kory’s dead in there, a Cold Iron nail through his face, and Beth’s dying…and you didn’t do anything to stop this!”
Something fluttered past the other
:Bard, do you hear me?:
“No, I don’t,” he muttered to himself, trying to bury his head beneath a pillow. “Go away.”
He blinked once, looking around the dimly-lit room. Beth was still asleep, one arm flung out towards him, her hair in a wild tumble on the pillows. From downstairs, he could hear quiet elven voices… Koiy and his friends, talking in the kitchen. Eric glanced at the clock, and winced, closing his eyes again. Three a.m.!
:Bard, do you hear me?:
He sat up abruptly, the waterbed shifting underneath him at the sudden movement. :Yes, I hear you. Where are you?:
:Outside.:
He moved carefully off the waterbed, trying not to awaken Beth, and to the window. Outside, the street was shrouded in fog. Someone was standing outside on the sidewalk, barely visible through the mists, looking up at the house.
Several moments later, after pulling on the black silk robe that Kory had conjured for him, Eric was padding quietly down the stairs. He slipped past the elves in the kitchen and out the front door, still not certain why he didn’t want to tell anyone else about the unexpected visitor. The concrete was cold and damp against his bare feet.
And the stranger was nowhere in sight.
Great , he thought. Just what in the hell is…
He noticed it then, the strange, unnatural silence that had settled over the sleeping city. Like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to begin.
In the distance, a dog barked. And another. A flight of birds, nesting in the oak tree next to the front door, suddenly took wing, wheeling overhead and screaming shrilly.
Something…something’s wrong…
He could feel it then, a low, rumbling noise that seemed to be growing louder. The ground rippled beneath his feet, rising gently like a wave, then falling. The front door began to rattle in its frame, at first quietly, then more insistently. Eric turned back to the house, took a step forward, and…
The earthquake hit in full force, hurling him to his knees. Everything was moving, panes of glass shattering like gunshots, the sidewalk cracking beneath his hands. Eric covered his head with his hands, trying to protect himself from a spray of flying glass as a pickup truck was shoved hard against the streetlight. With a rending crash, the house across the street ripped away from its neighbor, tilting slowly before collapsing into the next building.
As suddenly as it had begun, the rumbling ended. He could hear the wail of dozens of car alarms, but no other sound. A small aftershock rippled beneath him, then was gone.
He stood up unsteadily, and stared at the ruin of the street. Two of the houses had collapsed completely, while several others were canted at strange angles.
Something struck him in the small of his back, and he looked up to see plaster and wood falling from the fourth floor of his house into the street. The house began to fold in on itself, like a stack of cards in slow motion. He stared, too terrified to scream. Then someone shoved past him, climbing the wreckage of the house, screaming curses and prayers incoherently.
Himself.
The other Eric disappeared through a ruined window. He still stood on the street, frozen in shock. The streetlights flickered once, then went out, leaving everything in foggy shadows. A moment later, his duplicate climbed through the window, carrying an unconscious Beth. He set her down gently on the broken concrete, and immediately began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Blood was mixed with her long red hair, pooling on the sidewalk.
He stood there, unable to move. The other Eric slowly looked up at him, tears mixed with blood on his face. “You didn’t stop it, you bastard,” his other self whispered. “Kory’s dead in there, a Cold Iron nail through his face, and Beth’s dying…and you didn’t do anything to stop this!”
Something fluttered past the other
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