[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

"Forgive me. Forgive me. I had to do it."
Silkie knew that he was searching with his arcane senses for the best spot to
insert it.
"I am." Casual calculation added distance to Heironim's eyes. "There."
He popped the blade into Cullen's belly with a flick of his wrist, working it
in all the way to the quillions with small twists.
Cullen jerked and gasped.
If Truth Dies [Lycan Blood Vol III]
by Janrae Frank
89
Silkie flinched as a long, ululating howl of anguish broke from Cullen. Her
lips tightened, but she gave no other sign that what she saw bothered her;
although her heart had broken.
Ellie shoved her knuckles into her mouth to keep from screaming with him.
"It can take as long as four or five days for a lycan to die of a wound like
this," Heironim explained in a detached voice.
Page 41
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
He adjusted the angle of the blade, bringing another scream from Cullen, and
left it inside him. "You'll be our guests until then."
Cullen sagged forward as much as the spikes would allow, breathing hard,
making animal noises in his throat.
"Cullen."
Rage built in Silkanna, bringing other memories. The knowledge of what each
piece of her jewelry did returned to her. She stepped off the porch and moved
to the middle of the yard before facing the old mansion she had turned into an
elegant brothel.
Silkanna cocked her head and reached to touch a huge square-cut ruby dangling
from a silver chain around her neck.
With a word and a gesture, she sent a wave of fire to engulf the Crimson Lady,
turned and headed for the barns.
Most of the horses were gone, but Silkanna located a sturdy proud-cut gelding
and two pack horses. She saddled the gelding and got the pack frames onto the
other two animals. Once she had her bags tied down, Silkanna mounted and rode
out into the night, heading north where instinct told
If Truth Dies [Lycan Blood Vol III]
by Janrae Frank
90
her she would find her Brandrahoon. And then they would pay.
* * * *
Jordi rode Bessy down into an elm hollow, leaving the road behind in early
afternoon on the third day.
He had suspected that he was being followed, but had resisted an impulse to
try and lose them before reaching an area that he and Bessy knew well. It
would have defeated his purpose if he found himself cut off and cornered.
Sunlight breaking through the patches in the leafy canopy sparkled like
diamonds on the thick black mulch covering the ground. Birdsong filled the air
in a farewell to summer as the cold nights alerted the migratory flocks that
their time of departure had arrived. Seeing them swirling together in skies
always left Jordi wishing he had wings.
Bessy communicated danger to Jordi and bolted into a run before he could even
begin to locate it. Arrows whizzed around them. Shooting from horseback was an
inexact science, which weighed against Bessy's talent for evasion made them a
hard target to hit. She darted through thickets so dense it would have
challenged a fox to traverse, slid down the side of a hill on her rump, and
ran again.
The cleared pastures of his brother's farm opened before them, dotted with
cows, and beyond that a field of tall wheat waved in the afternoon breeze
marked off by a low stone fence. Their attackers had a clear line of fire.
Jordi threw a command to Bessy who put on a burst of speed, and zigzagged
across the open ground. He stiffened in pain, his
If Truth Dies [Lycan Blood Vol III]
by Janrae Frank
91
eyes widening in shock as the arrows struck him in the back.
One pierced his shoulder and the second went through his back and lodged in
his right lung. He sagged in the saddle, his chest and shoulder burning as if
they were on fire, and Jordi clutched the saddle horn to stay on Bessy.
His horse sensed his distress through their link, and put all of her heart and
soul into running. Bessy jumped the fence and dashed into the concealment of
the wheat, heading for the house beyond it.
A horn sounded, piercing Jordi's diminishing awareness. He realized that his
brother's family had to be out in the fields working and if they were carrying
war horns, then they were probably armed as well.
Page 42
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
A cry went up as Jordi's assailants came down the hillside.
Bessy trotted into the yard of the house and stopped. Jordi stumbled as he
dismounted, staggered three steps, and sank to his knees, clutching at wounds.
He saw Siusan and one of his nieces running toward him. Jordi coughed hard,
bringing up blood and froth that dribbled down his chin and dripped onto his
bloody shirt. Blinking in an attempt to clear the gathering darkness from his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]