by Nathan Roden
“I do not intend to hurt you. I need you alive. But I notice that the inside of your home is still quite….vulnerable. Quite… flammable. You do not want me to be here when tomorrow’s moon rises.”
“What do you want?” Magdalena spat.
Simon chuckled.
“I want many things—but not on this night!”
Simon continued to bind the woman to the chair.
“What do you think I can do while bound to a chair? Sing for you?”
“I have to go outside and get something,” Simon said. “And I, of all people, know that you cannot be trusted.”
“If you’ve killed my guards, you have little time to accomplish anything. We both know that you won’t kill me—your curse is bound to me.”
Simon leaned close to Magdalena’s face. She turned away.
“It is true. I have considerable restraint while in my human form, My Lady. But remember this—countless days and nights I have shivered in an empty darkness. There have been nights when my hunger is so strong that nothing matters to me more than my next meal. In those moments, while my body regains strength by consuming another’s flesh—when my thoughts grow still and I am aware of the innocent blood that drips from my mouth onto the cold ground—
“In those moments, my foul mood knows no limits and I yearn for death.
“In those moments, I could snap your neck without a second thought, and then plunge myself into the deepest sea.”
Simon dragged Boone through the door and laid him on the floor in front of the sorceress.
“You will help him, or at the next moon we shall fly to Valhalla together.”
“Untie me,” Magdalena said. “Get him on the table and strip him down.”
Simon drew Boone’s sword. He stared at Magdalena as he leaned the sword against the hearth. He untied her. Magdalena examined Boone’s wound.
“Don’t even think about—”
Magdalena did not look up.
“I possess an outstanding memory. I have not forgotten your threats. I need for you to be silent.”
Magdalena gathered containers from her cupboard and sprinkled them into a cauldron. She chanted unintelligible words. Boone began to stir, and to moan.
“Open his mouth,” Magdalena said.
Simon lifted Boone’s head with one hand. He spread Boone’s jaws open with the other. Magdalena poured some liquid from a cup down Boone’s throat while she continued to chant. Boone swallowed. He coughed. He began to shake.
“You will have to hold him,” Magdalena said. “There will be a great deal of pain.”
Simon held Boone’s hands and laid his weight across him. His face was inches from the shaft of the arrow. Magdalena resumed her chants. They became quicker and louder.
The sorceress dipped a ladle into the steaming cauldron. She held it above Boone’s side and began to pour. Her chants turned into shouts. The liquid sizzled as it hit Boone’s flesh. His back arched in agony. He screamed and bucked against Simon’s grip. It was all Simon could do to keep Boone on the table.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page
copyright
Freebies
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-one
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
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About the Author
Sneak Peek of I, Dragon Book 1