Read Online The Elf King by Sean McKenzie - Free Book Online

Tane was awake and free, things would be
different.
    As the two men retied
Qenn’s hands then hoisted him up and tossed him into the wagon, his
thoughts stayed on the red haired woman tied in the
sack.
    It was nearly an hour later
when Qenn cut loose the rope around Tane’s hands. He had freed
himself only a short time after the wagon began moving again, but
with several stops, he had to be careful. The glass would cut into
their skin just as easily as it would the rope, and the lurching of
the wagon made it that much more difficult to remain safe. But he
was persistent and his efforts went undiscovered.
    The sound of travel had
changed in the last few minutes now and he was aware of other
distinctive noises around them. They were not in the woods anymore,
he knew; the wagon was moving across a road more-solid; the horses’
hooves were thudding against stone; they were in a town full of
people yelling. Soon the creaking of the wagon was drown out by the
voices around them.
    “ Tane,” Qenn whispered in
his brother’s ear. With a hand on Tane’s shoulder, he began to
nudge his brother awake. “Tane, wake up.”
    It took a few moments for
the drug to wear off as Tane’s eyes slowly opened. Relief mirrored
in Tane’s eyes as he saw his brother, and noticed they were both
unbound. Qenn held a finger up to his lips for caution.
    “ We’re in a
city.”
    Tane sat upright. “What
happened?”
    “ You were drugged. You’ve
been out for a few hours. But we’re free.” Qenn could barely manage
to keep his excitement down.
    “ What about
her?”
    Qenn shrugged. He had
thought about undoing the chains, but thought better of it. “She’s
going to be sold, or killed.”
    Tane thought for a moment.
“Let’s remove her chains and wake her up. The rest will be up to
her.”
    Qenn immediately began to
untie the chains wrapped around the woman’s body, being careful not
to make any noise. Once the chains were removed and set aside, Tane
helped slide the sack from her body, slowly pulling it up over her
head as Qenn sat her upright, holding her lithe form from toppling
over in the process.
    As the cloth sack slid off
of her head, time paused for Qenn. He stared in awe at the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen. Instantly his heart was captured
as his eyes slowly looked her over. Her skin was light colored and
soft, though her body was firm with muscle tone. She was strong, he
knew. Her cheeks were a reddish hue, probably caused by the sack
tied about her, or from her scuffle with her captors. He stared at
her features, thinking them both delicate and robust at the same
time. Her voluptuous body was clothed in a scarlet jacket, buttoned
up to her chest, her blue undershirt ripped at the neckline where a
series of scratches tore the skin. Her pants were dark blue down to
her tall black boots. From her silky red hair, down to her muddied
boots, Qenn gazed, unable to look away.
    The corners of Qenn’s lips
were tugging high as he stared, making his way back up to her face
to where a pair of light-blue eyes were waiting. Qenn barely had
time to notice her fist before it slammed into his head.
    “ Let go of me!” she yelled
and backed away into a defensive crouch.
    Tane was at Qenn’s side
immediately, helping his brother up, trying to calm the woman.
“Wait! We mean you no harm.”
    “ What’d you do that for?”
Qenn added, confused. “We just freed you.”
    The red-haired woman didn’t
budge. “Who are you?”
    “ We are prisoners, like
you. And we don’t know where we are, so don’t bother asking.” Qenn
let his words spill with an edge, if only to let her know that he
wouldn’t be taken by surprise again.
    The woman stared at them
for a few moments then relaxed her stance and looked around. After
assessing the situation her eyes fell onto Qenn’s. “I am sorry for
striking you.”
    Qenn stiffened. “I’m
fine.”
    She continued with obvious
frustration. “I have been kept in that bag for days and the