Windswept
Page 20
“Get a room!” Sigrid yelled from across the now-empty roost.They ignored her and kissed once more before Tahl put her down.
Eva’s head spun and her heart hammered.
“I should have gone with you,” Tahl said. “I was an idiot and I’m wrong and I’m sorry. I thought I’d lost you.”
Eva didn’t say anything, just pulled tight against him, overwhelmed by the familiar scent of his tunic and the reassuring feel of his arms around her. A small part of the gray bleakness in her heart warmed, like the coming spring months away. Come what may, for the moment she was home.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We know what it is,” Adelar said in an irritated voice. “But what does it do?”
Eva shifted in her seat, rear tired from hours of seated debate listening to the Scrawl Elders postulate on the purpose of Aleron’s Dark Wonder. They couldn’t make sense of most of the runes carved on the front or back. Unlike Eva’s Wonder, it constantly pulsed red light but never grew brighter or dimmed. Although she knew how important it was to figure out the relic’s purpose, Eva couldn’t help her mind from drifting to Tahl’s kiss the night before, to the way his arms held her and —
“Your majesty.” The elder who spoke had so many runes covering his head that it looked dark like frostbite. His words jolted Eva from her daydream. “One thing is certain — no matter how it is used, this artifact was created to forge chaos and spread death. There are markings upon this cube that are only described in the darkest of the surviving Palantines texts — vile blood magics and sacrificial powers.”
“It is obviously of great importance to the Smelterborn,” Andor said. “The riders who recovered it said the golems were drawn to it like a moth to a flame.”
“Indeed, lord commander.” The female Scrawl who spoke had her head shaved to a stubble, except for a long dark braid coming out the back. Before the council had convened, Andor had told Eva she was one of the members of their fated Eastern Expedition all those years ago. “Unfortunately, whatever lore surrounded this Wonder may only be accessible to the person — or thing — that controls the golems.”
Eva started at that. For some reason, she’d never before considered that the Smelterborn weren’t relics gone awry thanks to some sort of failing rune magic. Thinking back to their coordinated efforts to recover the dark Wonder, it seemed obvious now that something had to be directing them.
“There’s one inscription here that we’ve deciphered,” the female elder continued. “ It seems to be a key of sorts, but whether it is to unlock the cube itself or a kenning incantation, we do not know.” She frowned and held up the red and black stone for the assembly to see.
“And what does it say?” King Adelar asked.
“Your majesty, I do not know if it is wise to utter such things here…” Eva felt a chill at the sudden hesitation in the Scrawl Elder’s voice and the memory of the flying automaton’s awful shrieks echoed in her mind. She realized she didn’t want to hear the inscription either.
“A translation then,” Andor suggested. “If you please.”
The Scrawl woman cleared her throat. Looking around the room, Eva saw Ivan frown and Chel making the sign against evil. Others shifting in their seats, looking everywhere but at the Wonder.
“In the fires of hate, I forged a future far greater for Palantis than Talus ever could.”
The words falling like hammer blows in the silent chamber.
Silence reigned.
“Talus?”
Eva and everyone else’s head whipped to where Seppo stood behind Soot. None looked more surprised than the smith, who craned his head around to look at the golem.
“You got something to say, you old bucket of scrap?” Soot asked, annoyed.
“Talus…” Seppo repeated. He took several slow steps around the edge of the table and approached the Scrawl woman in the center of the court ring. Everyone’s eyes shifted to the Dark Wonder as Seppo reached out to touch it with an iron finger. At the last second, he jerked his iron hand back before it made contact with the stone, like a person afraid of being burned. Another long moment passed and the golem nodded to himself.
“My name is Talus.”
Want to know what happened to Aleron when he left Rhylance?
Thanks so much for reading Windswept. I can’t wait for you to see of the trilogy ends with Windbreak! I mentioned this at the end of Windsworn but just in case you missed it there, you can get a free, exclusive short story about Aleron, Sunflash and Chel ONLY by joining my mailing list. I never send more than two emails per month, and they’re always filled with other reading recommendations, special deals, sneak peeks and more! If you’re already a subscriber, thanks for your support!
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Also by the author
Gryphon Riders Trilogy
Windsworn (Gryphon Riders Book 1)
Windswept (Gryphon Riders Book 2)
Windbreak (Gryphon Riders Book 3) - Coming December 2017
Teutevar Saga
Into Exile (Teutevar Saga Book 0)
Out of Exile (Teutevar Saga Book 1)
Return to Shadow (Teutevar Saga Book 2)
Other works
Lone Wolf Anthology: A dark and heroic fantasy collection
Swords for Hire: A Frontier Fantasy and Medieval Western Story Anthology
Valiant (short story)
Author Bio: Derek Alan Siddoway
Derek Alan Siddoway is the author of Teutevar Saga, a medieval western/frontier fantasy series, and Gryphon Riders, a young adult fantasy trilogy. He was born and raised in the American West at the foot of the Uinta Mountains. An Undaunted and Everyday Author, Derek spends his free time reading, obsessively filling notebooks, adventuring outdoors and celebrating small victories. He's also a sucker for Star Wars and football, namely the University of Utah and Minnesota Vikings.
For more shenanigans, find Derek online in the following places:
@D_Sidd (Twitter)
Teutevar Saga (Facebook)
derekalansiddoway.com