The Girl With Red Hair (The Last War Saga Book 1) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Michael J Sanford
across her throat, a gaping red mouth shouting of his failures. Blaming him. For all of it.
Together, they fell, eyes locked on one another. His knees hit the ground in time with her body. No words could be shared, but in that single moment Tannyl made a vow. And as he yelled, the ground shook. It kept him rooted in place and sent Sachihiro and Jaydan sprawling at his sides.
The woman glided atop the tremor, still grinning as if she’d won the world. Something bellowed from the void, deep and guttural. She clasped her hands together. Fae’Na continued to bleed in the dirt behind her.
“Ah, my dear prince has arrived,” she said as the first giant claw appeared at the edge of the abyss. “He has always had some trouble minding his father, so it would be best if you left us now. It’d be a shame for your lives to end so soon.”
Something large beat at the air inside the black pit, the sound reverberating around the Square. The woman in black leaned forward and placed a hand on Tannyl’s chin. Pointed nails held his skin at the breaking point. She smiled warmly and stepped back from the group, casting another glance at the pit. A second clawed hand had reached the surface. Even in his periphery, Tannyl knew the beast must be gigantic. And not of this world. None of this was of the world he knew.
“We have to get out of here,” Jaydan hissed in his ear.
Tannyl came shakily to his feet just as the great beast emerged. Wings that stretched beyond the Square unfolded and carried the creature of shadow high above the canopy. Its serpentine jaw was lined with teeth the size of swords, and its talons looked capable of cleaving a man in two with the merest flick of its scaled wrist. The roar it unleashed into the night air was gutting. It seemed to destroy the very whisper of hope Tannyl had for the world.
His senses told him that Sachihiro and Jaydan were already running. The woman had vanished as well, swallowed by the shadowy mist that slowly filled the Square. But he couldn’t leave yet. He had made a promise. Beneath the cry of the monstrous creature, he lunged for Fae’Na. He grabbed her face in one hand and her hand in the other. It was still warm and it opened to his, just as it always had in life. He accepted the item within and closed her eyes for the final time as the trees of the very forest shook all around him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, knowing it solved nothing.
Then he ran.
Chapter Three
ALEXANDER PULLED THE spit from the fire and blew on the steaming hare. It had been a good kill. He smiled as he took the first bite. It was largely tasteless and a bit dry, but the accomplishment… that was delicious. After eight days of journeying from the Plains without a successful kill he had begun to wonder how long he could survive on his own. The food his parents had packed ran out on the fifth day and he had been chewing on leaves since then. But the overcooked hare proved that he hadn’t made a mistake. At least not yet.
He leaned against a tree and sighed happily with each bite. When he had finished, he stowed his gear, making sure everything was in order and in easy reach. Just as Father had taught him. His glaive came next. A man is only as good as his tools. Alexander could just hear him now and smiled again, bringing whetstone to blade. Slow and smooth.
They had tried to stop him, of course, but only in the halfhearted way parents do. They knew he would leave; he had always said he would when his siblings had grown. And Alexander was a man of his word. Another lesson well learned. He looked at the night sky, glimpsing the edge of the Mother moon beyond the canopy. He breathed deeply. A man, he thought. That’s what I am now. A man.
A flash of light caught his attention and the concussion that followed stole his breath. His small fire sputtered and fell to smoldering coals. It was gone in an instant, but whatever it was couldn’t have been more than
Together, they fell, eyes locked on one another. His knees hit the ground in time with her body. No words could be shared, but in that single moment Tannyl made a vow. And as he yelled, the ground shook. It kept him rooted in place and sent Sachihiro and Jaydan sprawling at his sides.
The woman glided atop the tremor, still grinning as if she’d won the world. Something bellowed from the void, deep and guttural. She clasped her hands together. Fae’Na continued to bleed in the dirt behind her.
“Ah, my dear prince has arrived,” she said as the first giant claw appeared at the edge of the abyss. “He has always had some trouble minding his father, so it would be best if you left us now. It’d be a shame for your lives to end so soon.”
Something large beat at the air inside the black pit, the sound reverberating around the Square. The woman in black leaned forward and placed a hand on Tannyl’s chin. Pointed nails held his skin at the breaking point. She smiled warmly and stepped back from the group, casting another glance at the pit. A second clawed hand had reached the surface. Even in his periphery, Tannyl knew the beast must be gigantic. And not of this world. None of this was of the world he knew.
“We have to get out of here,” Jaydan hissed in his ear.
Tannyl came shakily to his feet just as the great beast emerged. Wings that stretched beyond the Square unfolded and carried the creature of shadow high above the canopy. Its serpentine jaw was lined with teeth the size of swords, and its talons looked capable of cleaving a man in two with the merest flick of its scaled wrist. The roar it unleashed into the night air was gutting. It seemed to destroy the very whisper of hope Tannyl had for the world.
His senses told him that Sachihiro and Jaydan were already running. The woman had vanished as well, swallowed by the shadowy mist that slowly filled the Square. But he couldn’t leave yet. He had made a promise. Beneath the cry of the monstrous creature, he lunged for Fae’Na. He grabbed her face in one hand and her hand in the other. It was still warm and it opened to his, just as it always had in life. He accepted the item within and closed her eyes for the final time as the trees of the very forest shook all around him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, knowing it solved nothing.
Then he ran.
Chapter Three
ALEXANDER PULLED THE spit from the fire and blew on the steaming hare. It had been a good kill. He smiled as he took the first bite. It was largely tasteless and a bit dry, but the accomplishment… that was delicious. After eight days of journeying from the Plains without a successful kill he had begun to wonder how long he could survive on his own. The food his parents had packed ran out on the fifth day and he had been chewing on leaves since then. But the overcooked hare proved that he hadn’t made a mistake. At least not yet.
He leaned against a tree and sighed happily with each bite. When he had finished, he stowed his gear, making sure everything was in order and in easy reach. Just as Father had taught him. His glaive came next. A man is only as good as his tools. Alexander could just hear him now and smiled again, bringing whetstone to blade. Slow and smooth.
They had tried to stop him, of course, but only in the halfhearted way parents do. They knew he would leave; he had always said he would when his siblings had grown. And Alexander was a man of his word. Another lesson well learned. He looked at the night sky, glimpsing the edge of the Mother moon beyond the canopy. He breathed deeply. A man, he thought. That’s what I am now. A man.
A flash of light caught his attention and the concussion that followed stole his breath. His small fire sputtered and fell to smoldering coals. It was gone in an instant, but whatever it was couldn’t have been more than
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