Free The Troll King (The Bowl of Souls Book 9) by Trevor H. Cooley Page A

Tarah said. There was something about this Jhonate that rubbed her wrong. “Everyone knows I’m a woman.”
     
    “Alright, Jhonate. We should . . .” Sir Edge’s eyes went suddenly distant. “We need to continue this conversation later. Deathclaw is under attack by a group of trolls.”
     
    “Where is he?” Jhonate asked in surprise.
     
    He closed his eyes and pointed to the east. “A few miles away.”
     
    “Trolls this far from the swamps?” Qurl asked in surprise. “How many?”
     
    “More than a dozen,” Edge replied. “He is acting like it’s not important, but their numbers are increasing. I need to go and help him out.”
     
    “Let us go, then,” said Jhonate.
     
    “I’ll come with you,” Willum said. “My axe needs some energy and troll blood should do the trick.”
     
    “Alright. Fine,” Edge replied and Willum ran over to Alfred, climbing onto the warhorse’s saddle.
     
    Gwyrtha padded up to the named warrior and presenting her flank, eager to get going. To Tarah’s surprise, the rogue horse grew in size, swelling until she was twice her previous size. Jhonate leapt up onto her back, sitting just behind the saddle, waiting for Sir Edge to join her.
     
    He hesitated and turned towards Tarah and Djeri. “You two should stay here and pack up your camp. We’ll be back to take you to Roo-Tan’lan. Oh, and Jerry . . .”
     
    The named warrior bent to whisper something into the dwarf’s ear. Then he mounted his rogue horse and bolted out of the camp, Willum galloping at his heels.
     
    Qurl frowned after them, irritated that he hadn’t been invited. He signaled to two of his men, who approached him. “You two stay here with our guests until the rest of us return.” He nodded to Tarah and waved his arm, then he and the rest of the Roo-Tan warriors ran off in the direction Sir Edge had gone.
     
    Tarah looked at Djeri and smiled. “Well, I think that went well.”
     
    The dwarf was wearing a scowl. He motioned to the two Roo-Tan men that had stayed behind. “Why don’t you two put that fire out? We’ll get our things together.” Then he gripped Tarah’s arm and pulled her over to where Neddy stood. The mule was watching them with his highly intelligent eyes and Tarah wondered how much of their conversation he had understood.
     
    “You know what Edge told me before he left?” Djeri asked, his voice an intense whisper and his human-like green eyes wide. “You want to know what he just whispered in my ear?”
     
    “ That your armor was too shiny ?” Suggested Grampa Rolf, appearing next to a nearby tree. Making sarcastic remarks about Djeri was another of Esmine’s favorite things to do. The rogue horse didn’t like the fact that he was immune to her magic. Tarah was also suspicious that Esmine was jealous of how close she was to the dwarf.
     
    “What did he say?” Tarah asked.
     
    Djeri struggled to keep his voice down. “He said, ‘Have your girlfriend get some clothes on while we’re gone’.”
     
    “ Ooh. I had a feeling he might have figured it out ,” said Grampa Rolf with a chuckle. He had taken a piece of wood and a knife out of his pocket and was whittling.
     
    “He saw me?” Tarah’s cheeks colored. She had been so involved in the conversation with the others that she had almost forgotten she was naked under the illusion. “He hid it well. I didn’t even notice him check out . . . things.”
     
     “He couldn’t see through the illusion himself, but his rogue horse told him,” Djeri said.
     
    “Oh,” she said. “I thought I’d gotten away with it.
     
    “You thought you’d gotten a- . . .” The dwarf’s mouth worked as he tried to think of what to say next.
     
    Cletus chose that moment to appear. His arms were full of Tarah’s clothes and armor. “Here’s your stuff, pretty Tarah,” said the gnome. “Put it on so you won’t be blurry anymore, okay?”
     
    Tarah let out a sigh of relief and took the clothes from him.