Free The Madness of Gods and Kings by Christian Warren Freed Page B

the need to chastise him for something beyond his control. He was far heavier than she and not trained in the arts of stealth. Jungle life demanded she control her movements lest she get caught and killed by one of the great predators. The people of Delranan had no natural predators large enough to worry over. Bears were the only animal capable of killing a man and they were seldom seen outside of the mountains and deep forests. Or so she’d been told by Artiss Gran.
    Rekka took little comfort in that knowledge. That now familiar, eerie feeling of being stalked crept through her muscles. Her eyes never stayed on one target long enough to be caught in a trap. A professional tracker, she was unhurried in her task. Her sword rested lightly in her small hands. The weapon was an extension of her being. She’d spent countless hours drilling and training with the weapon until it became part of her. Rekka often questioned the need for such excessive techniques, never fully understanding or appreciating their value until this quest. She whispered silent prayers to the gods of light and continued the patrol.
    Any comfort Rekka might have felt did not translate over to Dorl. Born and raised in the north, he was accustomed to winter’s harshness. That didn’t mean he enjoyed the cold. He hated it as much as he could hate anything. The deep, wild lands of Delranan weren’t his choice place for operating. He much preferred the cities and larger towns to conduct his business. Worse, he didn’t have Nothol with him to watch his back. The sell swords had worked together for so long they perfectly complemented each other. While his blossoming love with Rekka made him a better person, he still wasn’t used to working with her in a tactical sense.
    Frustrated after sinking knee deep into yet another snow drift, Dorl cursed under his breath. “This is pointless. No one is out here.”
    Rekka shut out his complaints. Her unyielding brown eyes focused intently on the dry creek bed that had become a game trail a few meters in front of them. She looked to both sides, ensuring nothing was near and knelt down at the creek edge. She traced a hand over the snow, lightly enough not to disturb it.
    Dorl finally managed to pull his leg free and stumbled beside her. “What is it? Do you see something?”
    Rekka ignored him and hopped down the short drop into the creek. What she saw made her freeze. Her sword rose instinctively. Hundreds of horse tracks, mixed with military issue boot prints, filled the creek bed. She pointed. “We are not alone.”
    Dorl Theed gazed upon the seemingly endless stream of tracks and felt his world crumble. The tracks were less than a day old, if he was any judge. Not only were they not alone, but whoever else was here had a lot of strength. They needed to get back and warn the others.

EIGHT
    Into the Wild
    “We must back up and move, now,” Rekka said as she reentered the small camp.
    The glow of their fire, small as it was, could be seen from nearly a third of a league away, marking their position for any prying eyes. She smelled the smoke long before spotting the glow. Rekka was torn. They needed the fire. The chances of freezing this deep in the wilds was too great to ignore. Compounding matters was Anienam’s sudden malady. Whatever comforts Trennaron offered were quickly becoming distant memory. They were back in the north, where the weak perished without thought.
    Bahr rose from beside Anienam. “What do you mean?”
    She explained quickly, knowing time was expiring. Bahr listened as she told of the tracks and what it meant. He didn’t feel the same concern as she, but recognized the fact they couldn’t stay where they were. Artiss Gran had given him a warning before they left Trennaron. The Blud Hamr was one of the most powerful magical talismans ever created. Evil would be drawn to it like moths to a flame. As much as he wanted to believe the tracks were nothing more than hunters he couldn’t take the