Read Online The King's Daughters by Nathalie Mallet - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nathalie Mallet
Tags: Fantasy
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settled down a loud BANG rang throughout the conservatory, scaring the birds once more.
"Right in front! That way!" I pointed in the direction where the sound had come from.
BANG. BANG .
We dashed ahead.
BANG-BANG-BANG .
I ran through bushes and across flowerbeds.
BANG .
The sound was louder. As I pushed through a clump of young palm trees, a cold breeze struck me, sending shivers down my spine. When I finally came out from among the palms I saw that the conservatory's exit door was beating in the wind. BANG . BANG-BANG .
Pulling up next to me, Milo pointed toward the left wall. "There, my lord!"
Through the thick vine partly covering the glass, I saw the shadow of a silhouette running outside. In the blink of an eye, I was out of the conservatory and knee-deep in the snow. I looked around, seeking the fleeting silhouette, but saw no one. I saw tracks however, dozens of tracks, old and fresh all intercrossing one another.
"Where did it go?" Milo asked once he had safely closed the conservatory's door and joined me.
"I don't know." I looked at the tracks again. Some went toward the castle's garden door while others wandered further down the garden and disappeared behind a tall hedge of evergreen. "Milo, follow those tracks to the castle. I'll take these."
Milo obeyed without protest.
Plowing through the snow, I studied the tracks as I advanced. Something huge had come through here a while ago. But what exactly, I couldn't tell. The tracks were too old to be read clearly.
As the tall hedge of evergreen grew nearer, I felt a strange feeling deep inside my gut. It was as though a hand was gently tugging at my entrails. I stopped walking and hastily unsheathed my sword.
Moving as swiftly as possible in this deep snow, I passed around to the other side of the hedge. A second hedge, running parallel to the one I had just passed, rose right in front of me. Upon seeing it, I knew that I now stood at the mouth of a long corridor of evergreen. The tugging in my gut intensified. My eyes raced to the opposite end of this green alley. The two barbarians stood there, staring at me. Taken aback by their unexpected presence, I froze. So did they, becoming as still as two fur-clad statues.
"Stay there!" I ordered, rushing toward them. To my surprise, they obeyed and remained motionless. I was halfway down the alley when the barbarians broke their stillness and passed behind the second hedge, disappearing from my sight.
"Wait!" I shouted. "Wait!" I tried running, but it was impossible. The snow was too deep and too heavy; I was exhausted in no time. I cursed the hedge for being so tall. Damnation! Hedges should be waist high at best. Not taller than men. "Can't these people do anything right?" I grumbled. After an arduous trek through heavy wet snow, I finally reached the end of the alley. Of course by then the pair was gone. All that remained of them were tracks in the snow vanishing into the dark forest circling the castle. Feeling frustrated, I stayed there staring at the forest's somber mass until my feet were numb with cold.
I was about to return to the castle when I felt that tugging at my guts again. It was stronger this time, more insistent, painful even. Clutching my belly, I turned toward the forest. The pain immediately subsided, replaced by the gentle tugging I had first experienced. Then it too stopped.
Gasping heavily, I scanned the forest's edge, seeking the barbarian pair. This was their doing, I was certain of it. And this certitude went beyond a simple gut feeling. I had better find out who they were and why they were here. With this in mind, I headed in the direction of the castle.
I found Milo waiting for me at the garden door. He looked anxious and kept motioning for me to walk faster while dancing from foot to foot.
"What now?" I hissed under my breath, knowing that it could only mean bad news.
"My lord, I'm glad to see you returning. Have you found new clues?"
"I'm not sure what I found, Milo," I
"Right in front! That way!" I pointed in the direction where the sound had come from.
BANG. BANG .
We dashed ahead.
BANG-BANG-BANG .
I ran through bushes and across flowerbeds.
BANG .
The sound was louder. As I pushed through a clump of young palm trees, a cold breeze struck me, sending shivers down my spine. When I finally came out from among the palms I saw that the conservatory's exit door was beating in the wind. BANG . BANG-BANG .
Pulling up next to me, Milo pointed toward the left wall. "There, my lord!"
Through the thick vine partly covering the glass, I saw the shadow of a silhouette running outside. In the blink of an eye, I was out of the conservatory and knee-deep in the snow. I looked around, seeking the fleeting silhouette, but saw no one. I saw tracks however, dozens of tracks, old and fresh all intercrossing one another.
"Where did it go?" Milo asked once he had safely closed the conservatory's door and joined me.
"I don't know." I looked at the tracks again. Some went toward the castle's garden door while others wandered further down the garden and disappeared behind a tall hedge of evergreen. "Milo, follow those tracks to the castle. I'll take these."
Milo obeyed without protest.
Plowing through the snow, I studied the tracks as I advanced. Something huge had come through here a while ago. But what exactly, I couldn't tell. The tracks were too old to be read clearly.
As the tall hedge of evergreen grew nearer, I felt a strange feeling deep inside my gut. It was as though a hand was gently tugging at my entrails. I stopped walking and hastily unsheathed my sword.
Moving as swiftly as possible in this deep snow, I passed around to the other side of the hedge. A second hedge, running parallel to the one I had just passed, rose right in front of me. Upon seeing it, I knew that I now stood at the mouth of a long corridor of evergreen. The tugging in my gut intensified. My eyes raced to the opposite end of this green alley. The two barbarians stood there, staring at me. Taken aback by their unexpected presence, I froze. So did they, becoming as still as two fur-clad statues.
"Stay there!" I ordered, rushing toward them. To my surprise, they obeyed and remained motionless. I was halfway down the alley when the barbarians broke their stillness and passed behind the second hedge, disappearing from my sight.
"Wait!" I shouted. "Wait!" I tried running, but it was impossible. The snow was too deep and too heavy; I was exhausted in no time. I cursed the hedge for being so tall. Damnation! Hedges should be waist high at best. Not taller than men. "Can't these people do anything right?" I grumbled. After an arduous trek through heavy wet snow, I finally reached the end of the alley. Of course by then the pair was gone. All that remained of them were tracks in the snow vanishing into the dark forest circling the castle. Feeling frustrated, I stayed there staring at the forest's somber mass until my feet were numb with cold.
I was about to return to the castle when I felt that tugging at my guts again. It was stronger this time, more insistent, painful even. Clutching my belly, I turned toward the forest. The pain immediately subsided, replaced by the gentle tugging I had first experienced. Then it too stopped.
Gasping heavily, I scanned the forest's edge, seeking the barbarian pair. This was their doing, I was certain of it. And this certitude went beyond a simple gut feeling. I had better find out who they were and why they were here. With this in mind, I headed in the direction of the castle.
I found Milo waiting for me at the garden door. He looked anxious and kept motioning for me to walk faster while dancing from foot to foot.
"What now?" I hissed under my breath, knowing that it could only mean bad news.
"My lord, I'm glad to see you returning. Have you found new clues?"
"I'm not sure what I found, Milo," I
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