Free WindSeeker by Charlotte Boyett-Compo Page B

men, but they
    would never dream of forcing those preferences on another, especially a child. Only those of the
    Domination, those consecrated to that vile entity, Raphian, force children into having sex with them." He
    could feel her trembling with rage.
    "They must be stopped, Conar!"
    "And we will stop them, beloved. There are men within the Temple who are resisting the Brotherhood of
    the Domination every day of their lives, but they can do no more against that evil than I could as a child."
    "I will not see you hurt ever again by their evil!"
    "With you at my side, I’m not worried, little one."
    "Your Grace!" Thom shouted.
    Conar felt the sting of the viper’s fangs as it flung itself at him from its place of concealment at the
    fountain’s base. He looked down at his punctured thigh and saw the reptile coiling itself to strike again.
    He went for the dagger at his thigh and the venomous creature struck again, snagging the back of his
    hand. He cried in pain and lurched backwards, dragging his wife with him, spinning her sideways, shoving
    her as far behind him as he could, protecting her with his own body, making sure she was out of the
    range of the striking viper. He felt the hit come again and again in his calf and he flinched, spinning around
    to confront the snake, wondering how the reptile could strike so many times, so fast, and so unerringly.
    An arrow sang through the air, burying itself almost to the flèche in the soft ground, severing the viper’s
    head from its writhing body.
    "Conar!" Liza screamed.
    He glanced up briefly to see Storm’s anxious face as he held a struggling Liza in his arms.
    It was the last thing Conar McGregor saw before darkness opened its gaping jaws and swallowed him.

Chapter 4
    "He took four hits before Marsh killed the damned thing," Legion told his father as they took the stairs
    to the sleeping chambers two at a time.
    "How the hell did a viper get in the garden?" Gerren snarled. He barely broke his stride as two Elite
    Guards snapped to attention, one throwing the door to Conar’s room open for his King. "There are no
    vipers in Serenia!"
    Thom glanced up from his place beside the unlit fireplace. "Highness, I am sorry." Shame filled his face.
    Gerren shook his head. "Not your fault." He glanced at Cayn, the Healer, whose hands were gently
    wrapping medicated linens around the fang marks on Conar’s thigh. "How is he?"
    Cayn sent him a look of concern. "He’s a strong, healthy man, Majesty, but four hits?" He shrugged. "I
    truly don’t know." His eyes went to Liza, who sat on the opposite side of the bed. "Others will do what is
    needed beyond the help I can give."
    Liza stared at the Healer. She gave a slight nod of understanding and her fingers tightened around her
    husband’s limp hand.
    Cayn stepped back from the bed. "Du Mer has been kind enough to let me use his room. Watch the
    Prince closely and, if there is any change, call me." He bowed to his King, let his gaze rest momentarily
    on Liza, and then left.
    Gerren turned to Thom. "The viper was placed in the garden?"
    Thom let out a long breath. "We think so."
    The King looked at Legion. "Hasdu?"
    "Aye, Papa, it would seem so."
    Thom cleared his throat, gaining everyone’s attention. "I’m to blame. If I hadn’t left him—"
    "Nothing would have changed," Liza told him. "You didn’t see the serpent; Conar didn’t see it; I didn’t
    see it." Her troubled eyes locked with Thom’s. "And if anyone should have seen it, Thommy, it should
    have been me."

    * * *
He dreamed.
    He stood on a hill overlooking the village of Iomal where he had first come to meet his beloved. He
    observed the meadowland ablaze with spring colors, the grasses swaying in the soft breeze, changing
    colors as they moved. Beyond, he could see the wavering heat of the desert sands wafting up to the
    heavens, and beyond that, the giant cottonwood trees of the forest that rimmed the high sand dunes. If he
    listened hard, he could hear the