Read Online The Axe and the Throne by M. D. Ireman - Free Book Online Page B

expected, and she gave him some of his better scars that day, as well as removing part of an ear. Galatai wore their scars proudly, however, and ears were just fodder for frostbite the way Titon saw it.
    â€œThe feck are you doing with that Dogman bitch? You can’t take any prisoners. Everyone knows that.” Edgur was five years Titon’s senior and clearly resented being under the leadership of the younger man.
    Among Galatai, one either followed his leader or killed and replaced him, but one did not speak to him as if he was a child. This was not the first time Edgur had been insubordinate either. Titon once found him bludgeoning dogs to death after Titon had given explicit orders that dogs were not to be killed without him present. Putting down the dogs was the hardest part of raiding for Titon, and though he saw the remnants of wolf in their eyes, he knew that once turned they could never be wolf again. Nevertheless, it was a duty he did not stray from. The dogs Edgur was killing were chained inside kennels and no threat to the men, but he was beating the life from them just the same and taking great pleasure in doing so. It was all Titon could do not to kill Edgur then, but he settled for a severe reprimand, hoping the shame would sort the man.
    â€œThis is no Dogman. Her mane is white as the Storm Wolf’s coat—a sign from the Mighty Three perhaps. She was chained by the Dogmen much like a wolf would be. Do you see any chains on her now? She is not my prisoner, but she is mine.” Titon replied with all the authority of a clan leader despite his age.
    â€œDoes a Storm Wolf roll around in its own shit? Her mane is about as white as my arse after I’ve made a pile with nothing to wipe. That don’t bother me though, she’s fair enough. Let her down. We’ll give her a ride, slit her throat, and be on our way then.”
    Edgur was like to be expecting a chuckle from the other men, but a silence hung among those around. Even the squirming girl on Titon’s shoulder seemed to quiet.
    â€œYou would seek to rape the woman your leader just laid claim to?” Titon glowered at Edgur in a way that meant he had no means of escape, not with an answer nor an apology.
    A moment passed as the blood drained from Edgur’s face, and he chuckled nervously. Titon’s glare remained fixed on the man, but Edgur soon lowered his eyes, turned as if he were walking away, then grabbed for the axe at his belt. “I challenge you—”
    His scream was interrupted by Titon’s own axe making a wet sound as it split Edgur’s skull, landing between the nose and left eye, planted firmly. The throw was quite difficult given Titon’s cargo, but Titon rarely botched an axe throw—not when it mattered.
    â€œDo any others wish to challenge Titon son of Small Gryn for the right to lead?” He posed the question with the woman still on his shoulder, vulnerable to attack but without fear. There were no such volunteers, nor did anyone else take issue with Titon’s claim to the wolf woman. The action cost him more than Edgur, though. It made him many enemies among the leaders of other Galatai clans who believed he had broken a sacred law.
    Titon squeezed the soft leathern bindings of his axe. Ellie, what would you have me do? I fear your wish would be for me to speak to you softly, long into the night. To tell you how strong our boys have grown and how I still care for you. To hold your hand as we watch our last setting of the Dawnstar, then end your eternal purgatory.
    Titon stared at the old axe in his hands as its image began to blur. But I cannot.
    And so Titon did the same as he had near every night for so many painful years. He sat with his wife in the small home he’d built for them by the creek at the top of the world. He talked to her long into the night as he held her hand, and they watched the Dawnstar disappear behind the mountains far to the