Sanctuary (Dominion) Read Online Free

as they were, had the tinge of another language in them, one I didn't recognize. I would have asked him about all of this but at the time my mind was in such disarray that I couldn’t formulate any proper sentences. It was all I could do to keep from spouting gibberish and sounding like a drunken lout. So I just gaped at him and said nothing. Fortunately, he spoke instead.
    “What is your name?” he asked. It took me a moment to remember that crucial piece of information.
    “Daniel,” I said, then cleared my throat. “Daniel, sire.”
    “Stay in the church, Daniel, and you will be protected.” His eyes never left the door. “This building is your sanctuary.”
    I nodded. Vigorously.
    “Thank you,” Aedre said, her soft voice shaking the stillness within the church. I turned to see her clothed again, although she hadn't managed to fasten all the laces on her dress yet. Caenwyld had been right about one thing. Her beauty was right out of a dream. Even though her long blond hair was wet and matted and her face red and puffy, she still looked as beautiful as she had when her parents brought her to the church this morning. She would have made a fine bride. I chased that thought away, though. Not because it was inappropriate, but because it was another reminder of the nightmare we'd just survived.
    As if to reinforce that stark realization, Aedre walked with hesitating steps to the center of the church, toward the bodies lying on the ground. The anger in her eyes was gone, replaced by misery as she crouched down next to her mother, Liova, who’d been gutted several times. She lay still on the floor, clutching her midsection, her eyes and mouth still open in silent agony. Aedre caressed her face, ignoring the blood covering her mother’s body, and she cried again, but not the whimpering from before. This was deep, passionate anguish. An emotional outpouring that mirrored the brutality the two of us had just witnessed.
    She leaned over and buried her face in her mother’s bosom, embracing her as best she could. I turned away in shared grief. Arkael's expression, however, revealed no emotion. He saw the same thing I did, but where I couldn't bear to watch, he stood still and aloof, as if death and loss and sorrow meant nothing to him. He seemed as alive as the walls around us, and as emotionally invested. I envied him for that. But I also couldn't help wonder what else he'd seen in his life that a scene like this had no effect on him.
    The front door flew open, and I jumped in surprise as a cold wind tore through the church, flickering both the torches on the wall and the half-melted candles on the altar. Three burly raiders marched inside, dressed in heavy leather jerkins, dark colored breeches, and boots muddied from the climb up the beach. A fourth stood at the door, the brute who'd held me down, but he didn't dare enter the building. The first three kept their distance, cautiously assessing their new enemy as Arkael held his sword out in front of him. Aedre backed away, and I went to her, pulling her behind the altar. Behind our protector.
    “Everything will be fine,” I whispered. “Pray to God, and He will save us.”
    Aedre nodded, shut her eyes and mouthed a prayer.
    "This is a holy place!" Arkael called out. “Those who bring death through that door will face God’s justice!”
    The raider in the middle turned back to the brute.
    "Him?" he asked and the brute nodded, keeping his gaze down so as not to look directly at Arkael. "No bloody way."
    “I seen it!” the brute protested, then backed away, almost out of sight. “It was him!”
    More raiders pushed through the door. Nearly a dozen now stood before us, and one came to the forefront with a scowl on his face. He was tall, with a thick body that could almost be called rotund if anyone had dared to utter that word around him. He wore leather like the others, but he also had a rusted chain vest draped over his shoulders that only hung down to his belt due