Read Shadows of Time: Shadow Maiden for Free Online

down to look close into the
Chief’s face. His smile stretched an unnatural expanse, like a bow
drawn back too far. Sooner or later it would snap.
    “I have a deal for you, my fickle friend. A bounty , I believe to be the correct word for it. I assume
you’re aware of the city in the sky. Silly me, how could you not?
It’s impossible to miss. How would you like the glorious
opportunity to be the first of your kind within these walls? The
first to, how should I say this? To spill royal blood ,”
Luthen said, leaning in closer, peering at the Chief with a hollow
gaze. “That could be quite a victory for your kind. To think, your
war party could be parading back into your filthy village with an
array of Elven heads to decorate your lodge with by this time next
week. And to top it all off, any loot, any trinket you find,
anything of value is yours. So long as the queen is mine. What do
you say, friend ?” He extended his hand out, the empty word friend still slipping through his gritted teeth, and took
the Chief’s, pulling him back up to his feet as if he had only
stumbled.
    The Phooka burned holes into him, his eyes
full of rage. Yet he stood still, contemplating the elf’s offer. He
shook his hairy head in agreement, squeezing Luthen’s hand
hard.
    “When and where? We will be ready with all
the fury of our
people.”        
    “Splendid,” Luthen said, snatching his hand
free from the Chief’s rough grip. “Meet me at the base of the city,
tomorrow night. As soon as the moon rises above the mountains.”
    And this, my dear Lestel, is how you seek
revenge.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    “I can’t run anymore. Please, I have to
stop.” Amaeya’s words were nothing more than a wisp of
breathlessness.
    Amaeya had been running alongside Merrick for
what seemed like hours. Her legs burned and shook with each step
and stumble further into the woods. Finally, as soon as the dawn
trickled into the blackened night sky, they collapsed, panting and
sweating, icy air stinging their lungs.
    “There. We’ve stopped.” He fell back onto the
ground, sweat pouring down his face.
    She leaned against a tree trunk, eyes closed,
breathing heavily from her open mouth. Merrick’s coughing jerked
her away. She reached out her hand to him, grabbing him by the
arm.
    His clothing, it’s damp. No wonder he’s
ill.
    She immediately tore off her tattered cloak
and wrapped it around his heaving shoulders.
    “There, there, I’ll have you warm in no time.
The way you’re carrying on you’d think you’d never gotten chilled
before.”
    He looked up at her, his blue eyes dulled and
distant. “I’m fine, really. It’s just so damn wet. Chilled is one
thing, chilled and wet is another thing. This doesn’t happen where
I’m from.”
    “Where are you from? The moon? You’re so odd,
it wouldn’t surprise me.”
    He laughed, which resulted in another fit of
coughing. She pulled him closer, trying to warm him. The chirping
of crickets flooded her senses. She had forgotten how lovely they
sang under the brimming moon.
    “Somewhere very far away from here. Somewhere
I hope you never have to go, and yet I feel like I’ve left so much
behind,” Merrick said, his eyes distant and cloudy. “Let’s get some
rest. While we can.”
    She nodded, for the most part to herself.
Merrick had already shut his eyes, his breath nothing but a faint
wheeze. She nuzzled her face against the scratchy cloak, thinking
about her family and friends from years past, wondering what they
would be like if they were still alive. What would life have been
like if she had never been stolen from her home so many years ago? Probably married off to some dowdy farm boy, raising a litter of
children, biding my time until they finally grew up and did the
exact same thing.
    She remembered as a child always fantasizing
about adventures and faraway places that were only told about in
whispers, yearning for her life to become a bed time story of her
own. Until, that