Rogue Legacy by Jeffrey L. Kohanek (classic reads .txt) đź“–
- Author: Jeffrey L. Kohanek
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Dark shiny leaves grew on bushy branches, thick with black birds chirping heartily, the sheer volume drowning out all other sound in the area. Lyra’s gaze shifted past the tree and found a gully just beyond it, dark in the shadows of the surrounding foliage. Without a word, she veered off the trail, toward the tree. When she drew near, the birds burst into flight, a black wave swallowing the sun for a moment. The flock of birds turned and twisted, flying southeast until it faded beyond the hills.
Lyra bit her lip as the birds disappeared behind a hilltop. A flock of black birds was a sign of La Mordai, warning that the goddess would soon greet someone in the halls of death.
“Was that a bad omen?” Tiri asked.
Lyra shrugged. “That depends on what you believe, I guess.”
A new sound arose from beyond the tree, one that lit a spark of hope and brought a smile to Lyra’s face. Before she could say a word, Tiri darted past her. Lyra followed, running through the underbrush and down into the gully. Tiri reached the brook first, laughing as she squatted beside it and began to scoop water into her mouth. Lyra knelt beside her at the water’s edge and did the same, not caring that the front of her tunic received as much water as her mouth.
With their thirst quenched, the girls refilled their water skins, climbed out of the gully, and rejoined the trail that led north.
A crunch woke Lyra, her eyes flickering open in the darkness. She pushed herself up on an elbow and peered over Tiri’s shoulder in the direction of the sound, into the gloomy woods beyond their dormant fire.
Another noise sent her heart racing, the hair on her arms standing on end. She leaned close to Tiri, clamping her hand over the girl’s mouth as she whispered.
“Something’s out there.”
Tiri’s body went rigid, but she made no sound. A rustle and a crack followed, the sound closer than before. Lyra lifted the blanket off her and Tiri, setting it aside as she tugged on Tiri’s arm, indicating that she rise.
As both girls stood, Lyra spotted movement…a dark shape emerging from the trees. Tiri gasped and Lyra’s sense of alarm solidified to ice-cold fear when a pair of glowing red eyes appeared.
Lyra pulled Tiri backward, turning her toward the old oak they had camped beneath.
“Climb up! Now!”
Without a word, Tiri began to climb the tree. Her foot slipped and Lyra scrambled to help her sister, hoisting the dangling foot as Tiri pulled herself up. A rumbling growl drew Lyra’s attention. She turned to find one of Cal’s gigantic dogs glaring at her from across the camp, perhaps twenty feet away.
With a loud, angry bark, the dog leapt toward Lyra. She dove and rolled, rising to her feet as the dog scrambled after her. It launched itself at her and Lyra dove again, rolling into their travel pack. As the dog turned and collected itself for another attack, Lyra hastily pulled the short sword from the pack. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she scrambled to her feet and urgently removed the towel wrapped about the blade.
“Lyra!” Tiri screamed.
The beast charged. Lyra pointed the sword toward it as she retreated, tripping when her heel clipped the rocks surrounding the fire pit. She stumbled as the dog leapt toward her, its massive jaw open wide and its red eyes glowing with madness. The dog struck her and she slammed to the ground, hitting her head as everything fell to blackness.
Pain. Lyra felt pain and wondered, Am I supposed to feel pain if I’m dead? Breathing was difficult, almost impossible. Something jutted into her stomach, causing more pain. Her head hurt, thumping with the beat of her pulse. A pulse. I’m alive. I’m alive and it smells like dog.
Lyra opened her eyes to a face full of black hair, nasty and smelly. Breathing was difficult with the weight of the dog on her, even worse with the pain of whatever was digging into her stomach. She heard Tiri crying from somewhere nearby.
“Help,” she croaked, lacking the air Lyra needed to shout.
Hearing no response, she gathered as much air as she could muster, her chest aching with the weight on it.
“Help,” Lyra’s voice squeaked.
“Lyra?” Tiri’s voice shifted to alarm. “I’m coming!”
Four painful breaths later, Lyra felt the weight on her shift. Tiri grunted, and the dead dog shifted again. Pressure from object digging into Lyra’s gut eased as some of the weight shifted off her, allowing her to breathe more deeply.
Now able to move her left arm, Lyra pushed on the dog’s body, sliding herself out from beneath it as Tiri grunted and heaved, trying to move the dog in the other direction. When half of Lyra was clear, Tiri stopped pushing on the dog and instead began pulling her from beneath it. With Lyra finally free and clear, Tiri collapsed and hugged her sister as both girls gathered their breath.
“It’s alright,” Lyra took a breath. “I’m alright.”
Tiri sat up. “I was so scared. I thought you were dead.”
Lyra propped herself up on her elbows, wincing as the world tilted. Her head hurt.
“Apparently, I’m not that easy to kill,” she groaned. “But my entire body hurts if that counts for anything.”
“What happened?” Tiri asked.
Lyra found the tip of her short sword poking from the dog’s back.
“I got lucky.”
Groaning as she rose to her feet, Lyra said a silent prayer to Yanetta in appreciation of the luck given. She lifted her shirt and felt her sore stomach, tender but intact. A glance toward the sky revealed a faint glow to the east, a precursor to the impending dawn.
“The sun will be up soon.” Lyra drew the dagger strapped to her leg. “Gather some wood for a fire.”
“Why? Aren’t we leaving?”
“I thought you might like a hot meal.” Lyra grinned as she knelt beside the dead beast. “Have you ever eaten giant, psychotic dog before? I hear it’s quite the delicacy.”
With heavy legs, Lyra and Tiri climbed the saddle that connected two mountains. Despite their relatively low elevation compared to the peaks surrounding them, Lyra felt like they had been going uphill forever. In the lead, she crested the ridgeline first, pausing to gaze at the view as Tiri caught up to her.
To the north and to the west, an open plain spread out to the distant horizon. The wind flowing across the expansive field sent ripples across the green ocean of grass, making it appear alive. The mountain range they stood on encircled the plain, containing it from the east and south edges, while another range, barely visible through the haze, stood to the distant northwest.
“It’s beautiful,” Tiri remarked. “Do you know where we are?”
Lyra shook her head. “I don’t have the slightest idea.”
She spotted dark shapes in the distance, near the eastern boundary of the grassy fields.
Pointing, Lyra said, “I think those are cows.”
Tiri peered in the direction indicated and shrugged. “Maybe. It’s hard to tell.”
“Come on.” Lyra began navigating the downslope. “When we get closer, we’ll know. If they belong to someone, people will be nearby. If they’re wild, we’ll have something good to eat tonight.”
Unbidden, thoughts of eating the dog meat resurfaced. Lyra resisted the urge to gag. She reminded herself that they were in survival mode. Still, she found herself praying that they could discard the leftover meat in favor of a side of beef…or anything else.
By the time they reached the edge of the plain, the sun was nearly at its apex. It was warmer on the valley floor, in the open and without any shade. Lyra removed her cloak and stuffed it into the pack in exchange for the sword. She then led Tiri into the grass, the tall shoots coming to Lyra’s chin. Swinging the sword side-to-side, Lyra cut a path toward their destination.
Despite the wide-brimmed hat she wore, sweat poured down Lyra’s face, stinging her eyes. After an hour of cutting a path through the
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