“Astrid,” his voice was crisp and authoritative. “Wake the women. The procedure is that all women go into the church. There is a backdoor in the cellar that leads into the forest. Do you hear me? Wake them quietly.” He pulled on his hose and tunic. “Do you have that?”
Astrid nodded curtly as she too began to dress. “Wake the women quietly.
Astrid coughed in the smoke. She sank to her knees. The air was choking her and the flames were so hot. The floor swayed beneath her. She wanted to sleep. The floor dipped and swayed again. Glass exploded all around her as the stained windows burst. Her vision clouded and she sank to the floor, not caring as the flames reached for her. A loud cracking sound signalled that the church roof had begun to collapse. Her hearing failed, replaced by a low ringing.Sigwulf ran through the burning church
Prologue.The following in an exert from ‘The Book of Faynon and Other Histories’.Property of the University of Kothmar. Faynon. This is what our planet is called. It is named after the God that we believe created it. Faynon. He is also the leader of the Gods and Goddesses who, together, created every living thing as well as the weather, oceans, the sun, the moon, animals, plants and many ot
PART IOutlawed & DespisedChapter 1. The sun was setting on that cold winter night. Darkness came and filled the small town near the main city of Derrell. The small town was a place that the city of Derrell desperately tried to distance itself from, or pretend it never existed. No matter how hard the city tried, the small town was known as ‘the small town near the city of Derrell’. The town had a name, but not one that many could remember so it fel
Chapter 2.The pair entered a dimly lit room to be assaulted by another dream, but this one was of heavily smoke, heady perfumes and male fantasy rather than an imitation nightmare. The room was also soundproofed as they could hear nothing from the raucous noise behind them, only a light swaying music from a harp played by someone in some hidden corner of the scented, smokey room. There was a glowing brazier in another corner that produced little light infused with the drugged and scented smoke. A chandelier hanging from the celling holding stuttering candles provided more light but the edges of the vast room were still plunged into darkness. Gaudy coloured silks covered the ceiling as gauzy buntings in different, fier
Cull waited for Sigwulf to exit the room before speaking again.“I swear that man’s father must have been a member of an Assassins Guild,” he mused then turned to see the tired expression of the blonde man. “What’s wrong, Vance? It’s unlike you to be this gloomy. The company you’ve been keeping lately perhaps?”“Sigwulf’s not that bad, Cull.”Cull growled. “Galadon Knights attract people like him.”“We never volunteered for knighthood, remember. They chose us.”Cull ignored the distinction.
Vance woke to the sensation of a cool and wet cloth being placed against the back of his head. The smell of intoxicating perfume as well as the sound of the swaying music told him exactly where he was. He twisted his wrists only to discover that they were bound tightly behind him as he lay on his side. He was to be sold as a salve, but only over his rotting corpse he vowed to himself. He groaned behind his foul tasting gag and tried to sit up. “Gently,” a light voice told him in a rich, womanly tone. “You will be sore for quite some time I believe. I’ve been knocked out a time or two myself.”The cool compress was moved away and soon
They blinked quickly as they were led from the dim room and into bright morning sunlight from a door Vance had not noticed earlier and cursed himself for his inattention. The air was cool and refreshing after the humid, smokey slave room. Most of the slaves shivered in the cool winter morning, goosebumps rising over each slave’s exposed skin. They were led on a twisting path through the sea of prospective buyers and to a high raised platform where Cull was waiting next to a large gong. Cull’s slave auctions were legendary and people from all over Kalthar would visit. The first woman, a slovenly older woman who was stripped naked and common looking with a bent back was pushed ahead
Sigwulf grimaced as the sounds of distant screaming reached his ears. Vance would have his hands full getting to their horses. Cull began to recover before Sigwulf kicked him solidly in the face. Cull screamed his anger and replied desperately by leaping to his feet as he produced his small dagger again, lunging at Sigwulf. The tall knight swept it contemptuously aside with his mailed arm and plunged his own sword into Cull’s face with satisfaction. The evil man fell back, clutching at his face as blood and worse spewed through his grasping fingers, a cry dying in his throat. Sigwulf drew the sword back, blood fountaining up from the dread