Read Online The Binding Stone (The Dragon Below, Book 1) by Don Bassingthwaite - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Don Bassingthwaite
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been more wrong.
The stones looked like they predated the hamlet, like they predated any human presence in the Eldeen Reaches. Weathered smooth, they shone and shimmered under the light of the moons and the Ring of Siberys. Many leaned sharply and a good number had fallen entirely, but it was easy to see that they had once stood in a carefully arranged, tightly clustered circle. Yet another bellow rolled through the night and this time Singe felt it rumble in his guts. He could have sworn that even the ground trembled with the sound.
Geth fell in with them, matching his pace to Adolan's. The shifter's face was grim and every few moments he glanced back over his shoulder. They were a little more than halfway to the stones when he let out a growl and spat, "Here they come!"
Singe risked a glance back himself. Bursting silently from the edge of the forest and into the moonlit clearing were a dozen or more tall, lean Bonetree hunters. More frightening than the human figures, though, were the hunched shapes that ran along with them, scuttling out of the trees on squat, misshapen legs.
The creatures stood less than half the height of a human. It looked as if their heads and necks had been crushed down into their shoulders. Each pumped four bandy arms as it ran. It seemed as if every arm carried a weapon: Singe glimpsed viciously spiked bucklers, light spears, ugly maces, and crossbows. All of the creatures wore a strange crest on their malformed chests as well. The moonlight caught a weird design shaped like a mouth full of teeth.
Then one of the crests shifted, opened wide, and let out a wild yell. Two mouths, Singe realized. The creatures had two mouths to go with their four arms! They were the source of the muttering chant, as if their two mouths had been talking to each other in a horrible chorus as they stalked the darkened forest.
"Faster!" grunted Adolan. "Get to the stones!"
None of them needed his encouragement. Geth ran with theflowing stride of an animal, almost going down on four legs. Adolan opened up his pace. Dandra's floating form skimmed over the ground like a low-flying bird. Singe simply moved his legs as hard and fast as he could. A new roar rose up from their pursuers, humans and creatures calling out together.
Twenty paces to the stones. Fifteen. Dandra vanished among the stones.
Something whizzed past Singe and sank into the ground ahead. He caught a glimpse of a crossbow bolt, its head buried in the soil, as he raced past. Ten paces. Geth was under cover, then Adolan. He was alone in the open! Three more thuds came in rapid succession all around him. Three more bolts sprouted out of the ground. The archers were finding their range. Five paces.
Singe leaped and rolled into the shelter of the stones just as a cascade of bolts fell out of the air like deadly hail.
C HAPTER
4
D andra felt Singe slam into her as he dove for cover behind the same fallen stone as her. She heard the rattle of crossbow bolts as they bounced off the stones. Adolan and Geth were somewhere close by, also under cover. She was aware of everything, but only peripherally, like a sound half-heard or a shadow half-glimpsed.
Tetkashtai's wailing filled her head. They've caught us! Light of il-Yannah, we're captured. I won't go back there. I won't!
The strength of her presence raged inside Dandra, clenching at her guts like the hands of a drowning swimmer. Tetkashtai's terror was contagious and so powerful that it was almost physical. She gasped for breath.
Tetkashtai! she shouted back in her mind. Tetkashtai! Calm down! We have to--
The presence lashed out at her, a vicious swipe of light that burned through Dandra's mind. This is your fault! If you'd been faster, if you'd fled this place when I told you to, we'd be safe. This is your fault, you dahr!
An image formed in Tetkashtai's light. Eyes. Wise, piercing eyes, full of secrets. Terrible, devouring secrets. In the presence's yellow-green light, the color
The stones looked like they predated the hamlet, like they predated any human presence in the Eldeen Reaches. Weathered smooth, they shone and shimmered under the light of the moons and the Ring of Siberys. Many leaned sharply and a good number had fallen entirely, but it was easy to see that they had once stood in a carefully arranged, tightly clustered circle. Yet another bellow rolled through the night and this time Singe felt it rumble in his guts. He could have sworn that even the ground trembled with the sound.
Geth fell in with them, matching his pace to Adolan's. The shifter's face was grim and every few moments he glanced back over his shoulder. They were a little more than halfway to the stones when he let out a growl and spat, "Here they come!"
Singe risked a glance back himself. Bursting silently from the edge of the forest and into the moonlit clearing were a dozen or more tall, lean Bonetree hunters. More frightening than the human figures, though, were the hunched shapes that ran along with them, scuttling out of the trees on squat, misshapen legs.
The creatures stood less than half the height of a human. It looked as if their heads and necks had been crushed down into their shoulders. Each pumped four bandy arms as it ran. It seemed as if every arm carried a weapon: Singe glimpsed viciously spiked bucklers, light spears, ugly maces, and crossbows. All of the creatures wore a strange crest on their malformed chests as well. The moonlight caught a weird design shaped like a mouth full of teeth.
Then one of the crests shifted, opened wide, and let out a wild yell. Two mouths, Singe realized. The creatures had two mouths to go with their four arms! They were the source of the muttering chant, as if their two mouths had been talking to each other in a horrible chorus as they stalked the darkened forest.
"Faster!" grunted Adolan. "Get to the stones!"
None of them needed his encouragement. Geth ran with theflowing stride of an animal, almost going down on four legs. Adolan opened up his pace. Dandra's floating form skimmed over the ground like a low-flying bird. Singe simply moved his legs as hard and fast as he could. A new roar rose up from their pursuers, humans and creatures calling out together.
Twenty paces to the stones. Fifteen. Dandra vanished among the stones.
Something whizzed past Singe and sank into the ground ahead. He caught a glimpse of a crossbow bolt, its head buried in the soil, as he raced past. Ten paces. Geth was under cover, then Adolan. He was alone in the open! Three more thuds came in rapid succession all around him. Three more bolts sprouted out of the ground. The archers were finding their range. Five paces.
Singe leaped and rolled into the shelter of the stones just as a cascade of bolts fell out of the air like deadly hail.
C HAPTER
4
D andra felt Singe slam into her as he dove for cover behind the same fallen stone as her. She heard the rattle of crossbow bolts as they bounced off the stones. Adolan and Geth were somewhere close by, also under cover. She was aware of everything, but only peripherally, like a sound half-heard or a shadow half-glimpsed.
Tetkashtai's wailing filled her head. They've caught us! Light of il-Yannah, we're captured. I won't go back there. I won't!
The strength of her presence raged inside Dandra, clenching at her guts like the hands of a drowning swimmer. Tetkashtai's terror was contagious and so powerful that it was almost physical. She gasped for breath.
Tetkashtai! she shouted back in her mind. Tetkashtai! Calm down! We have to--
The presence lashed out at her, a vicious swipe of light that burned through Dandra's mind. This is your fault! If you'd been faster, if you'd fled this place when I told you to, we'd be safe. This is your fault, you dahr!
An image formed in Tetkashtai's light. Eyes. Wise, piercing eyes, full of secrets. Terrible, devouring secrets. In the presence's yellow-green light, the color
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