Read 05 - Warrior Priest for Free Online Page A

voice. “Nothing made
sense to me until I met Wolff. Everyone else is so twisted and broken. Everyone
I ever met seemed damaged, one way or another, but not Wolff. His faith was
always so unshakable. So bottomless. All I’ve ever wanted was to become more
like him.” He frowned and looked at Anna with fear in his eyes. “But recently,
he seems unsure of himself. Maybe after witnessing so many horrors, even he
could lose his faith?”
    Anna smiled and shook her head. “Anyone can feel afraid, Ratboy, but with
such a devoted friend as you by his side, I think he will find his way.”
    Ratboy’s eyes widened. “Friend? I’m not sure he’d—”
    “Ratboy,” called a voice from further down the valley.
    They looked around and saw the towering figure of Wolff, shielding his eyes
from the light as he walked out from beneath the blackened trees.
    “Yes, master,” replied Ratboy, leaping to his feet and stepping nervously
away from Anna. “I’m just here with the priestess. She needed to use my knife.”
    “I’m sure she has little use for your weapons, my boy.”
    Anna rose to her feet and made a futile effort to dust down her robes. She
barely reached Wolff’s chest, but sounded undaunted as she addressed him.
“Apparently, I’m in your debt, Brother Wolff,” she said brusquely. “Surman was
quite determined to make charcoal of me.”
    Wolff massaged his scarred jaw as he studied her. “Surman’s a clever man,
sister, but I doubt he could’ve turned a whole village against you. Not without
some cause.” He peered intently into her eyes. “What might that cause have been
I wonder?”
    Colour rushed into Anna’s face and she laughed incredulously as she turned to
Ratboy. “What did I tell you? These hammer hurlers are all alike: sanctimonious
killers, the lot of them.”
    “I merely asked you a question, sister.”
    Anna shook her head. “Questions lead to bonfires, Brother Wolff. At least
where you and your brethren are concerned.” She turned to leave. “I’d be better
taking my chances with the damned.”
    Wolff placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on the haft of his
warhammer. “An answer please, sister.”
    There was an awkward silence as Anna looked from Wolff to Ratboy. Then her
shoulders dropped and she nodded. “My crime was a simple one, Brother Wolff.
I’ve been working my way around this province for months now, trying to salvage
a little hope from the chaos.” She sat down heavily on the grass and sighed.
    “It’s been a losing battle. The woods are crawling with…” she shook her head
in despair, “ unspeakable things. I was travelling with a regiment
of halberdiers from Wendorf, but even they weren’t safe: with all their armour
and weapons they were powerless to stop the awful things we saw. They were
heading to the capital, but I decided to stay here and see if I could help these
poor people. I suppose I’m deluding myself though. What could I really do? The
whole of Ostland seems on the verge of collapse.”
    “Believe me, sister, we’re well acquainted with the situation,” replied
Wolff.
    “Really? Do you know how scared these people are? Those villagers were so
glad to see me when I arrived. They were terrified of their own shadows. They
begged me for help, so I gave it to them. Healing those I could and praying for
those I couldn’t. The Weeping Maiden doesn’t make petty distinctions though. I
found a man, dressed in mockery of the creatures that haunted his nightmares. He
was covered in his own filth and praying to his livestock, so I attempted to
help him.”
    “Was the man corrupted?” asked Wolff, crouching next to her.
    Anna’s eyes filled with tears as she gestured at the smouldering ruins that
surrounded them. “Look around, Brother Wolff. Everything is corrupted.
This province has been ripped apart. Such terms have lost their meaning. Living
or dead. Sane or mad. They’re the only distinctions worth making nowadays.”