Free Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Two by Dean Cadman Page A

passed them by, riding hard in a southerly direction, but none of them paying the slightest attention to either of them. They had also passed two crossroads during the last hour, neither of which was guarded, but why? Neala's stomach clenched as she came to the horrible conclusion,  Lusam must indeed be dead, and the men in black robes were obviously no longer needed to guard the roads out of Helveel. It was several minutes before she managed to regain her composure enough to think clearly. When she finally did, she went over all of the possibilities in her head again. One thing didn't make sense though; if Lusam was dead, why were all the men in black robes riding their horses so hard?
    Neala had travelled this road when she had escaped the clutches of the Hawks' guild in Stelgad several months earlier. She knew there was nowhere between Helveel and Stelgad to acquire fresh horses, and anyone riding an animal so hard could easily find themselves with a lame horse long before arriving at Stelgad. It made no sense at all to her. There had to be a good reason why so many riders would risk their horses like that. They were obviously desperate to reach Stelgad as fast as possible, but why? What could they want in Stelgad? Unless, Lusam had actually survived the attack, and escaped Helveel already, and was on his way to Stelgad to try and rescue her. But that also made no sense. This was the only road from Helveel to Stelgad, and if he was travelling on it, the riders would have been heading back towards Helveel to intercept him, not towards Stelgad at break-neck speed.
    “Oh, Gods!” Neala said out-loud, as realization struck her. Lusam must be trying to reach Stelgad by going through The Black Forest, it was the only logical explanation for what was happening.
    “What?” Skelly asked, feigning interest, and not bothering to look at her.
    “Erm.... Nothing.... I just needed the bathroom, but I can hold it for a while,” Neala lied. Skelly just grunted and continued riding.
    Neala had never entered The Black Forest, in fact she didn't know anyone who had, or even anyone foolish enough to try. The stories of the monsters that inhabited The Black Forest were enough to keep most people from even considering it. Knowing that Lusam had grown up well away from The Black Forest, she doubted he would even be aware of the dangers that may be awaiting him inside. She had heard the stories herself many times as she grew up in the thieves' guild, how anyone entering the forest at night was more often than not lost forever, never to be heard from again.
    Neala felt panic growing inside her just thinking about Lusam alone in such a place. She knew he had become powerful in his own right with his new magic, and more than capable of defending himself against any hungry animal, or hostile human he may encounter, but against what may lurk in the darkness, she wasn't so sure. Most people agreed the monsters within The Black Forest were remnants of the great war countless centuries ago, trapped there after the rift was closed by the Gods Aysha and Driden.
    There were three theories as to why the creatures had never left The Black Forest: first that they were somehow tied to the rift, and couldn't travel too far from its location: second was they were still controlled by either Aysha or Driden to this day, and forbidden to leave the forest: and third, Neala always thought the most unlikely, was the theory that the creatures could not cross water, and because The Black Forest was surrounded on all sides by water, rivers on two sides and the sea on the other, it became a natural prison for them. Whichever it was, it didn't matter, the fact that no creature had ever been seen outside The Black Forest since the rift closed, was a good enough reason for most people not to go poking around inside to find out why. Neala closed her eyes, and offered a silent prayer to Aysha, to watch over Lusam while he was in The Black Forest, and keep him safe.
    Neala