Read Online The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5 by J.L. Blackthorne - Free Book Online
Authors: J.L. Blackthorne
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and my
dog, Cretin. We get along just fine. He’s good company. We hunt. We fish.
We lie about and have a laugh. That’s about it.”
He gave her a big grin, with only about half of the teeth
that a normal mouth should house, and with those teeth that were left mostly
ranging from yellow to green to black. Yet he did seem kind, and Kiella was
very hungry indeed. She finally accepted a piece of the jerky, and when she
did try a sample, it was quite good.
“Ah, that’s
better! It’s good, ain’t it?”
Kiella nodded and set the blade down, though she kept it at
close reach. She finally spoke.
“Are you an
exile? You’re not angry we’re here?”
“Me? No.
I’m not one of them. No way. And angry? No way. It’s nice to have some
company for a change. Cretin is good company, but not the best at
conversation. It’s nice to have someone to share breakfast with for a change.”
“Then, if
you’re not one of the exiles, then how is it you are here, in the Forbidden
Forest?”
“Oh. My
people, we don’t worry about ‘Forbidden Forests’ or lines and truces. My
people trapped and hunted here and called these woods home long before they
came here, the exiles you speak of. We were grandfathered in, I’d say. Those
rules and laws don’t apply to me. I come and go as I please, cross whatever
lines I want. This is my home, no one will stop me.”
“The exiles
don’t mind?”
“Well, first
of all, these exiles, as you call them, well, I know them as The Elken. And
this ‘Forbidden Forest’, well, to me I know it as what it was called long
before it was ‘forbidden’, Elring forest. And, as I said, Elring Forest has
been the home to my ancestors for longer probably than your kind or the Elken
have even been around, so I really just call it home. All of that stuff,
lines, truces . . . that’s all for you guys, between the rest of you outsiders
and The Elken. I live here, I hunt and trap here, I go out and sell the best
trophies and the best catches, and then I come back and live my life. The
Elken, yes, they are ferocious. And territorial. You’d best watch out for them.
You’re right to worry. But I know where to go and where not to go. I know not
to mess with them, so they don’t mess with me. Mutual respect, I reckon.”
Kiella finished her jerky. Bob then pulled out a canteen and
drank and then offered it to her. She hesitated to take it, so he quickly took
it back, wiped it off with the cleanest section of his shirt that he could
find, and then held it back out for offering, and this time she took him up on
it. It did taste fresh and gave her parched throat much relief.
“Ah, fresh
off the morning spring” he boasted. “You’d best see if you can get your friend
to take some. Here . . . “
Bob helped Kiella lift Raveena’s back and head up a little,
to see if they could get her to take some. But, it was no use. They gave up
quickly for fear she would choke on it, as she was completely unconscious.
“May I take
a look at the wound?” asked Bob.
Kiella, now finally beginning to grow accustomed to Bob,
relented. They pulled back the wound’s dressing carefully.
“Oh no. It
looks beyond help, I fear. You did good to try and cauterize it, but it didn’t
go deep enough. It festers below the burn, deep in the tissue. See there, the
ooze. That color is not good. Not good at all. We will have to cut her back
open, but in deep, and clean it out if she’s to have a chance at all. I have
things back at my home that might work. It’s quite a ways away, though. I’ve
been away from home for three days now, camping out here, trying to trap a
bear. Biggest son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever seen. Yet, trapping’s my specialty.
Sooner or later, I’ll get him, though he’s broken every trap I’ve laid out so
far. But it’s your friend’s only chance. I’ve got some herbs,
dog, Cretin. We get along just fine. He’s good company. We hunt. We fish.
We lie about and have a laugh. That’s about it.”
He gave her a big grin, with only about half of the teeth
that a normal mouth should house, and with those teeth that were left mostly
ranging from yellow to green to black. Yet he did seem kind, and Kiella was
very hungry indeed. She finally accepted a piece of the jerky, and when she
did try a sample, it was quite good.
“Ah, that’s
better! It’s good, ain’t it?”
Kiella nodded and set the blade down, though she kept it at
close reach. She finally spoke.
“Are you an
exile? You’re not angry we’re here?”
“Me? No.
I’m not one of them. No way. And angry? No way. It’s nice to have some
company for a change. Cretin is good company, but not the best at
conversation. It’s nice to have someone to share breakfast with for a change.”
“Then, if
you’re not one of the exiles, then how is it you are here, in the Forbidden
Forest?”
“Oh. My
people, we don’t worry about ‘Forbidden Forests’ or lines and truces. My
people trapped and hunted here and called these woods home long before they
came here, the exiles you speak of. We were grandfathered in, I’d say. Those
rules and laws don’t apply to me. I come and go as I please, cross whatever
lines I want. This is my home, no one will stop me.”
“The exiles
don’t mind?”
“Well, first
of all, these exiles, as you call them, well, I know them as The Elken. And
this ‘Forbidden Forest’, well, to me I know it as what it was called long
before it was ‘forbidden’, Elring forest. And, as I said, Elring Forest has
been the home to my ancestors for longer probably than your kind or the Elken
have even been around, so I really just call it home. All of that stuff,
lines, truces . . . that’s all for you guys, between the rest of you outsiders
and The Elken. I live here, I hunt and trap here, I go out and sell the best
trophies and the best catches, and then I come back and live my life. The
Elken, yes, they are ferocious. And territorial. You’d best watch out for them.
You’re right to worry. But I know where to go and where not to go. I know not
to mess with them, so they don’t mess with me. Mutual respect, I reckon.”
Kiella finished her jerky. Bob then pulled out a canteen and
drank and then offered it to her. She hesitated to take it, so he quickly took
it back, wiped it off with the cleanest section of his shirt that he could
find, and then held it back out for offering, and this time she took him up on
it. It did taste fresh and gave her parched throat much relief.
“Ah, fresh
off the morning spring” he boasted. “You’d best see if you can get your friend
to take some. Here . . . “
Bob helped Kiella lift Raveena’s back and head up a little,
to see if they could get her to take some. But, it was no use. They gave up
quickly for fear she would choke on it, as she was completely unconscious.
“May I take
a look at the wound?” asked Bob.
Kiella, now finally beginning to grow accustomed to Bob,
relented. They pulled back the wound’s dressing carefully.
“Oh no. It
looks beyond help, I fear. You did good to try and cauterize it, but it didn’t
go deep enough. It festers below the burn, deep in the tissue. See there, the
ooze. That color is not good. Not good at all. We will have to cut her back
open, but in deep, and clean it out if she’s to have a chance at all. I have
things back at my home that might work. It’s quite a ways away, though. I’ve
been away from home for three days now, camping out here, trying to trap a
bear. Biggest son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever seen. Yet, trapping’s my specialty.
Sooner or later, I’ll get him, though he’s broken every trap I’ve laid out so
far. But it’s your friend’s only chance. I’ve got some herbs,
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