Malediction (Scars of the Sundering Book 1)
Page 34
Kale wiped his daggers on his cloak and returned to his sister’s side. Delilah squirmed out of Lady Milena’s grasp. “We’re not leaving Pancras.”
The minotaur winced and stood, holding his hand to the back of his knee. He shuffled around to face Princess Valene and bowed. “I can see myself out, Your Highness, with your leave.”
“Bind your wound, Pancras. We will discuss the ramifications of this debacle later.”
Prince Gavril grunted as the guards locked shackles around his wrists. He lashed out at one of them, catching the man below the chin. The other guard bashed him in the back of the head with his cudgel. He doubled over and glared up at Pancras.
“There will be a reckoning for this, minotaur. Make no mistake.”
Kale pulled Pancras away before he could retort. He determined from the minotaur’s expression that limping took all of his energy, and as the stain spread across Pancras’s robes, that the wound was not as minor as his friend let on.
They returned to their suite, ignoring the murmurs and furtive glances from the various palace servants loitering in the hallways and courtiers who came to see what the commotion was about. Kale took heart from Pancras’s apparent lack of concern for the princess, and although he was confused about who were truly their allies in all this, he felt confident Pancras knew.
“I’ll send for a healer.” Lady Milena helped Pancras through the doors into their suite and into one of the armchairs in front of the hearth. Edric and Kali looked up from their game.
“Can’t you go to a meeting without getting cut up?” Edric snorted and threw his dice.
Kali hopped down from her chair and ran over to Kale. “What happened? Are you all right?”
Kale nodded and hugged her. “Fine, I’m fine. Pancras was injured, and the prince was arrested.”
Delilah pushed past them and climbed into the chair next to Pancras. “I’m fine, too, thanks.”
“I’ll post a guard for your safety. Permit no one entry until I return.” Lady Milena closed the doors behind her.
Kale ran over and locked them. He looked at his sister and Pancras. “What now?”
* * *
Pancras pulled up his robes to inspect his wound. It burned like fire and oozed dark blood. The gash on the back of his leg missed his knee by no more than a finger-width. A bit lower and the halberd might have sheared off his lower leg. He clasped his hand over the wound.
“Kale, I have strips of cloth in my room. In a box on the table, I think. Could you bring them here?” Pancras needed time to think without Kale pestering him for their next move. He expected Prince Gavril to react poorly, but not violently.
“What happened?” Kali rested her hand on the arm of Delilah’s chair.
“Are you in or out, Kali?” Edric rattled the dice for emphasis.
“Dolios curse your dice, Edric!”
Pancras cocked his eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder at the dwarf. Edric shrugged and poured himself more ale. The minotaur chuckled. Some things never change. “The prince reacted… poorly when confronted with his own treachery. He attacked us.”
Kale returned with Pancras’s bandages. “They’re not going to throw us in jail again, are they?”
“I don’t trust these humans, Pancras. We need to leave.” Delilah took the bandages from her brother and hopped down to bind the minotaur’s leg. “Now.”
Pancras shook his head. “We should wait until we hear from the princess. We don’t need a mob of Gavril supporters hounding our steps.”
Delilah mumbled something under her breath, which Pancras thought might be a threat to destroy the entire city. He was certain she couldn’t actually do that but put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
“It will be all right, Delilah. We must trust the princess.”
Kali cleared her throat. “He has a point. Princess Valene has been sympathetic toward non-humans in the city in the past. If she’s helping you, she’s a damn sight more trustworthy than the prince.”
“Nobody asked you, Kali.”
Kali huffed and stood. Kale led her away. Pancras rubbed his forehead as Delilah bandaged his leg. A log popped and crackled in the fire. He stared at the dancing flames, losing himself for a moment until Delilah tightened the bandage, sending a wave of pain shooting through his thigh.
“Sorry.”
“Delilah may be right.” Pancras winced as he stood. He patted Delilah on the shoulder and offered the drak a smile of thanks. Hobbling toward the tapestry depicting the Battle of Badon Hill, his thoughts turned to the shadow demon.
Perhaps it’s truly gone. I did not feel its touch fighting the prince. He heard the draks bickering but ignored them and focused on the tapestry. The individual threads making up the pictures took on a life of their own as he concentrated on them. Pancras followed a gold thread as it wound around the picture until he lost it and picked up a different thread heading in a new direction.
Much like our lives. He fingered his focus, secure on his belt. The minotaur turned and regarded his friends. Edric still sat by himself, fidgeting with his dice while he drank. Kali stood near Kale while he and his sister argued over their next move. Delilah’s disapproval was palpable, almost as audible as her huffs of disapproval that accompanied every input from Kali.
Pancras smiled as warmth spread in his heart at the familial scene. “It’s time to take action.”
His words silenced the room. All eyes turned to him.
“It’s dangerous to stay here. I think we should take our chances on the road. We’ll buy tents on our way out of town and put this place behind us.”
The minotaur limped over to the draks and put his hand on Delilah’s shoulder. “No longer will the humans decide our course. Gather your things.”
By Hans Cummings
The Foundation of Drak-Anor
Wings of Twilight
Iron Fist of the Oroqs
Scars of the Sundering
Malediction
Lament
Salvation (Coming Soon!)
The Zack Jackson Series
Zack Jackson & The Cult of Athos
Zack Jackson & The Cytherean Academy
Zack Jackson & The Hives of Valtra
Seven Galaxies (formerly published in the Sojourn Speculative Fiction anthologies)
Forgotten Dreams
The Pleasure Pools of Persiphia
Scars of the Sundering
Book 1 – Malediction
Book2 – Lament
Book 3 - Salvation
Hans Cummings
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Hans Cummings
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
Edited by Laura K. Anderson
http://rootshalfhidden.com/
Cover design by Eric Hubbel
http://hubbelcreative.deviantart.com/
Cover Art by Lily Yang
http://www.lilyyangart.com/
Heraldy by
Axel Löfving
Cartography by Anna B. Meyer
http://http://ghmaps.net/
World of Calliome Logo by Gwyneth Ravenscraft of G-Sharp Productions
http://www.g-sharpproductions.com/
Acknowledgements
For Tink, without whom this would not have been possible.
Thanks to Michael R. Hicks, J.A. Konrath, Chuck Wendig, and Michael A. Stackpole for encouragement, advice, and inspiration. You all help give me the drive to make this possible.
Special thanks to Mike Wolff, Craig Majors, Rabia Gale (Lady Q), and the fine folk in the Fear the Boot and KindleBoards message board communities for all their encouragement and feedback.
Hans Cummings
Author/Publisher
Author of the fantasy duology: The Foundation of Drak-Anor: Wings of Twilight and Iron Fi
st of the Oroqs as well as the Zack Jackson science fiction series, Hans Cummings published his first novel in 2011. Three of his short stories appear in Fear the Boot’s Sojourn speculative fiction anthologies. He is Nuvo’s Best of Indy — Best Local Author 3rd place Honoree for 2014.
Hans is a volunteer for the tabletop gaming industry ENnie Awards and maintains a gaming blog http://doctorstrangeroll.wordpress.com in addition to his writing blog http://vffpublishing.com.
Hans earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Indiana University in 2006. He grew up in Indiana, Germany, and Virginia and returned to Indiana when he was 21. He currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife. Hans’s hobbies include tabletop and computer gaming, cooking and smoking meat, and igniting young people’s curiosity and passion for science and exploration.
Learn more about this and other works by the author at: http://vffpublishing.com/
Use Twitter? Follow the author @hccummings
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Acknowledgements