The Girl With Red Hair (The Last War Saga Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

collapse. If he was lucky.
    Tannyl unstrung his bow and stuffed it in the empty quiver, drawing his hunting knife in the same motion. He despised leaving the shelter of the forest and always preferred a bow to the knife, but now…
    Before he could move, music played across the Square. Tannyl started and stared as Sachihiro began strumming a disjointed tune on his lute amid the chaos. The elf Hunter swore and bolted for Fae’Na. Clearly, the musician had lost his mind. If Sachihiro survived this, Tannyl would kill him. Jaydan fell to a knee as Tannyl raced past, tendrils of smoke drifting up from his body. But Tannyl’s eyes never left her. She was all that mattered, and he was all that was left to protect her.
    A brief pulse of light played between her and the musician. Then quickly, a second flash of blinding light. It seemed to emanate from Sachihiro, but that couldn’t be. Tannyl knew him to have command over a few simple charms, but nothing more. The third pulse of light brought with it a dull whump and a wave of pressure that sent Tannyl sprawling to the dirt, launched fifteen feet back the way he had come.
    It was the second time in the same night that his senses had been culled. He recovered far faster this time, and was on his feet in an instant, charging again.
    “What an amusing display of magic,” the woman holding Fae’Na said, her voice hiding a dangerous edge. “You’re even more interesting than I had thought.”
    Sachihiro nearly collided with Tannyl as he scrambled away from the newcomer. Tannyl felt Jaydan at his back shoulder. The Healer was breathing heavily. Alive, for now. That was good.
    The jeweled dagger at Fae’Na’s throat held firm, a thin line of blood wetting its edge. Tannyl made to move again, knife at the ready, but Fae’Na’s eyes told him to stop. She was one of a few that he heeded without question, and though it burned at him, he complied. It was growing increasingly difficult to suppress the emotions that threatened to tear through him.
    “Let her go,” he hissed through clenched teeth, blade still held high.
    The woman tossed back a strand of dark hair as she laughed. Her eyes were pits of fog and her mouth was wet with anticipation. His body and mind warred with one another. The shadowy winged serpents continued to swirl around the two women. The gnashing of spectral fangs sounded like laughter.
    “That’s her,” Sachihiro whispered.
    Tannyl heard Jaydan curse under his breath. He was certain the Healer was channeling again, though he knew without looking that Jaydan wouldn’t be able to complete the act without killing himself.
    “Go,” Fae’Na managed to say.
    He shook his head. His eyes burned. Never , he said within. “Let. Her. Go.”
    “Oh, Tannyl, that is not what you truly wish of me, now is it?”
    Tannyl’s eyes flicked from the woman’s to Fae’Na’s. There was little he missed. But now it felt as if he stared through a fog. He felt as if he were underwater. The weight was oppressive. He jabbed at the air.
    “Hurt her and I will kill you where you stand,” he said. “Last chance.”
    The woman’s eyes softened and she shook her head with a laugh. “No, Tannyl, you won’t. Though, unfortunately, I cannot yet kill you or your friends either. And trust me, no one is more perturbed by that fact than me, but it’s true all the same. We’re at a bit of an impasse, it would seem.”
    She looked at the gaping maw in the center of the Square. It spewed black vapor and promised death. When she looked back at Tannyl, their eyes locked and she smiled a perfect smile. He wanted nothing more than to cave it in.
    “ However, I have been allowed to take from you,” she continued, her voice like poisoned syrup. “Everything you care for. The others can attest to this, and now you, dear, sweet Tannyl. I will take from you.”
    Tannyl never saw the blade move and Fae’Na never uttered a sound. But she was falling, and Tannyl could see the wound opened