Read Online Viper's Creed (The Cat's Eye Chronicles) by T. L. Shreffler - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: T. L. Shreffler
Ads: Link
on his wrist, and she was struck by another idea. The Ravens. Had they followed all the way from town? How desperate were they for a bit of coin?
Her eyes returned to Laina. The girl was still asleep. She was like a corpse, dead to the world. Sora smirked. A herd of horses could have stampeded past and she wouldn't have stirred.
She set down her staff and grabbed hold of the bandit's body, dragging it around the fire into the grass. It was hard work. The man was skinny, no doubt about that, but he was well over a foot taller than she and probably close to 180 pounds. Sora, who barely capped five feet, couldn't believe her own strength. She thought of the long hours of practice she had put in over the past twelve months, the poles her mother had made her jump, the rope climbing and the bucket lifting. Apparently all that training paid off.
When the camp was clear of bodies, she moved next to Laina and reached down to touch the girl's shoulder.
Laina shot bolt upright, twisting wildly, her scrawny fist swinging through the air. Sora caught her wrist with ease and tried not to laugh. “It's just me!” she said, grinning in irony. She slept through that whole fight, but lay one finger on her....
Laina stared at her, blinking owlishly, her mouth slightly open. She didn't bother apologizing. “Oh. I was having the strangest dream....”
“Right, and I just hid two bodies in the grass. We need to move camp.”
“Huh?” Laina grunted.
Sora pulled the girl to her feet and led her to the unconscious—or perhaps, dead—bandits. Laina paled visibly at the sight of the crushed face, then turning her eyes to the other body, grimaced. “Oh, him. ”
“I was going to ask you...” Sora started slowly. “Do you know why they followed us? It seems like they've gone out of their way. They were very focused on you.” She thought back to the knife in the grass, the way it had hovered over Laina's sleeping body.
Laina nodded, obviously shaken. “Let's get out of here,” she said.
“Right, but...”
“I told you back in the jail cell!” Laina exclaimed, her eyes bright in the darkness. “They're going to come after me now. Once a Raven, always a Raven. If you abandon them, they kill you. It's just how it works.” She turned away fiercely, her movements short and tense.
“But... but you escaped from jail. You're starting a new life, remember? And you're so young!”
“Age doesn't mean anything!” Laina exclaimed. She was already heading toward her horse, taking clumsy strides through the grass. “When you become a Raven, you enter their family. It's a gang, get it? And if you leave, they kill you. It's part of the deal. You're either all in or all out .”
Sora nodded slowly at this. She understood what Laina was saying... it just seemed so barbaric. But not as barbaric as the Catlins, she thought. And truthfully, not as barbaric as the guards back in the jail cell, who would gladly execute a young girl. She sighed to herself. Barely a year away from her manor, and she was still being surprised by people. Would it ever end? She thought of Crash, of the way he had first treated her, like a spoiled, naïve little girl. Perhaps it was still true. Maybe she just hadn't suffered enough to understand how the world worked. Well, that is rapidly changing, she thought with a grimace.
Laina was gathering her belongings, packing her saddlebags and readying her horse. Her haste was disturbing. Sora realized they must be in a worse situation than she had originally thought. You're either all in or all out. The Ravens had followed them far into the fields—a lot farther than the soldiers had. I shouldn't have let that last bandit escape, she thought, her gut sinking. Now they would return in force.
What have I gotten myself into? Sora started to roll up her own sleeping blankets, biting her lip in worry. How long until the Ravens found them again?
She and Laina mounted their horses a few minutes later. Laina looked at
Her eyes returned to Laina. The girl was still asleep. She was like a corpse, dead to the world. Sora smirked. A herd of horses could have stampeded past and she wouldn't have stirred.
She set down her staff and grabbed hold of the bandit's body, dragging it around the fire into the grass. It was hard work. The man was skinny, no doubt about that, but he was well over a foot taller than she and probably close to 180 pounds. Sora, who barely capped five feet, couldn't believe her own strength. She thought of the long hours of practice she had put in over the past twelve months, the poles her mother had made her jump, the rope climbing and the bucket lifting. Apparently all that training paid off.
When the camp was clear of bodies, she moved next to Laina and reached down to touch the girl's shoulder.
Laina shot bolt upright, twisting wildly, her scrawny fist swinging through the air. Sora caught her wrist with ease and tried not to laugh. “It's just me!” she said, grinning in irony. She slept through that whole fight, but lay one finger on her....
Laina stared at her, blinking owlishly, her mouth slightly open. She didn't bother apologizing. “Oh. I was having the strangest dream....”
“Right, and I just hid two bodies in the grass. We need to move camp.”
“Huh?” Laina grunted.
Sora pulled the girl to her feet and led her to the unconscious—or perhaps, dead—bandits. Laina paled visibly at the sight of the crushed face, then turning her eyes to the other body, grimaced. “Oh, him. ”
“I was going to ask you...” Sora started slowly. “Do you know why they followed us? It seems like they've gone out of their way. They were very focused on you.” She thought back to the knife in the grass, the way it had hovered over Laina's sleeping body.
Laina nodded, obviously shaken. “Let's get out of here,” she said.
“Right, but...”
“I told you back in the jail cell!” Laina exclaimed, her eyes bright in the darkness. “They're going to come after me now. Once a Raven, always a Raven. If you abandon them, they kill you. It's just how it works.” She turned away fiercely, her movements short and tense.
“But... but you escaped from jail. You're starting a new life, remember? And you're so young!”
“Age doesn't mean anything!” Laina exclaimed. She was already heading toward her horse, taking clumsy strides through the grass. “When you become a Raven, you enter their family. It's a gang, get it? And if you leave, they kill you. It's part of the deal. You're either all in or all out .”
Sora nodded slowly at this. She understood what Laina was saying... it just seemed so barbaric. But not as barbaric as the Catlins, she thought. And truthfully, not as barbaric as the guards back in the jail cell, who would gladly execute a young girl. She sighed to herself. Barely a year away from her manor, and she was still being surprised by people. Would it ever end? She thought of Crash, of the way he had first treated her, like a spoiled, naïve little girl. Perhaps it was still true. Maybe she just hadn't suffered enough to understand how the world worked. Well, that is rapidly changing, she thought with a grimace.
Laina was gathering her belongings, packing her saddlebags and readying her horse. Her haste was disturbing. Sora realized they must be in a worse situation than she had originally thought. You're either all in or all out. The Ravens had followed them far into the fields—a lot farther than the soldiers had. I shouldn't have let that last bandit escape, she thought, her gut sinking. Now they would return in force.
What have I gotten myself into? Sora started to roll up her own sleeping blankets, biting her lip in worry. How long until the Ravens found them again?
She and Laina mounted their horses a few minutes later. Laina looked at
Similar Books
