by Gwynn White
There,” Oren announced what felt like hours later. He rubbed his hands together, seeming to clap away sparks of his silvery mind magic as if it hurt him to hold it any longer. His voice sounded more fatigued than I’d ever heard, worn from exertion. The light from the stars above was still dim and broken here and there by the forest’s canopy, but I thought I could see his eyelids bobbing in place, struggling to stay open. “Two days wiped,” he said, smacking his lips together to hide a yawn.
“That’s great! Really, Oren, I can’t thank you enough.”
“What do we do with him now?” Arwin asked.
We all looked down at the body of the legate. Karver looked almost peaceful in sleep, and I wondered if, by some happy accident, Oren’s tampering had unburdened him of other pressures he had faced over the past two days—including sleeplessness, humiliation at being bested by two “kids,” and just physical exhaustion from having traveled so far in so little time.
“Leave him here,” Oren advised. “He has no fatal injuries. The worst that could happen is that some large animal will happen upon his body while he remains unconscious. A rather fortuitous turn of events that would be for us, actually.”
I couldn’t think of a better alternative. We had wasted so much time already in fleeing and then fighting Karver, and now with the cart we had been traveling in utterly destroyed, the journey to Cleighton was going to take even longer.
“Which direction is Briarsworth?” I asked, not wanting to reveal our true destination.
Arwin realized what I was doing, and I saw her smirk out of the corner of my eye. She didn’t try to catch my gaze or do anything else to draw attention.
Oren peered upward and seemed to consult the night sky, and even as I watched him watching the stars, I realized the faintest glow of light could be seen to one side.
“That way’s east,” Oren announced, pointing in the direction of the glow. “If we follow the rising sun, we should arrive at Briarsworth in no more than a day.”
“A day?!” With quick strides, Morena shoved her face into his, and though she was tall for a woman, she still had to edge up onto her toes to find her forehead level with his chin. “I am not walking that far in these clothes.”
“Why not? They are already filthy.” He gestured to the finely woven sandals on her feet, which bore thicker soles in the back. They had been scuffed and nicked by our run through the forest fleeing from Karver, and now one shoe rested lower to the ground than the other. “Your shoes are still attached and you still have feet. Nobody is carrying you, so unless you want to stay here…”
Morena scoffed. “As a priest of the Lord of Clouds, you should watch your tone. I have never been spoken to in such—”
Oren cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Look, lady, I came late to the priesthood and left early. Only reason they took me is because—”
Now it was he who stopped short, and I sensed he had been about to reveal something long kept hidden. “What is it?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” he grunted. “They chose wrong.” He rubbed at the stubbly growth on his head and looked eastward. “We should get moving. Even though light is coming.”
Sadly, this wonderful tale was never finished as the author suddenly passed away. Sales from his books go towards the Tom Shutt Foundation, which supports young and aspiring authors.
To read finished works by this author. Go here:
Tom Shutt Books
About the Author
Tom Shutt was a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who wrote urban fantasy with generous helpings of humor and a sprig of mystery thrown in for good measure. Once voted in as a close fourth place for junior prom king, he had been resting on his laurels ever since.
He lived on the perpetually green East Coast with some cats, dogs, and a basement full of mistresses. His favorite authors were Jim Butcher, George R. R. Martin, Jonathan Stroud, and Eoin Colfer. He knew how to hide a body from the police, and the research for his novels had likely landed him on a few security watch lists. He enjoyed reading, gaming (Halo, Civilization, BioShock, Call of Duty, Minecraft), playing pool, chasing deer, hunting deer, riding deer, and lying about what activities he did with deer. His favorite shows included Supernatural, Game of Thrones, iZombie, and anything created by Joss Whedon.
Download your FREE extra content now
Thank you for reading our novels. We hope you found some new-to-you authors whose books you love. Make sure you download it before August 15th or the link will expire!
Now for that link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/o80gzucknj