Of Blood And Fire Ryan Cahill (nice books to read .txt) 📖

the nights breeze as it drifted through the trees, but not Aeson and Larion’s voices. Calen turned his head to see if they were still talking, and he nearly leapt out of his skin when his eyes locked with Aeson’s. Calen spun his head back around so fast he made himself a little dizzy. Shit.

He didn’t dare look back to see if Aeson was still watching him. He wanted to keep trying, but the voices remained gone. He couldn’t even make out the tail end of a whisper.

He felt his eyelids grow heavy as the fire radiated warmth. It had been a long day, and a long night. How long had it been since he had slept? He let himself slide down onto the ground, resting his head against the log behind him, the heat from the fire warming his bones. He felt sleep taking over.

Draleid n’aldryr.

N’aldryr. Draleid.

Draleid.

Draleid.

Calen jumped awake, clasping his hand to his chest. His heart beat with such ferocity, he thought it was trying to escape his body. He used his other hand to wipe the forming droplets of sweat from his brow. He tried to slow his breathing, letting his lungs fill with air, holding and then releasing slowly. His thoughts were a whirlwind. The voice felt so real.

He looked around the camp, his pounding heartbeat returning to something resembling normality. The fire smouldered away, crackling every few seconds. Plumes of ember and dust shot up into the air as bits of wood gave way and collapsed. But the fire wasn’t giving off enough heat to explain why Calen’s skin was so warm; it felt like it could catch fire.

It was hard to see in fading firelight, but it looked like most of the group were asleep. Senas and Asius were awake. It was impossible to mistake their huge frames, even in the darkness of the forest. They spoke in hushed voices as they sat in front of the fire. Senas’s head rested on Asius’s shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but Calen could see her lips moving.

Another hulking silhouette was splayed out on the ground, with its head resting against one of the wooden logs, only a few feet from the two giants. Larion’s chest rose and fell with a slow, steady rhythm, the satchel he had been holding earlier still wrapped in his arms.

Draleid.

A whisper echoed in the back of Calen’s mind, a shadow from his dream. He shook his head, rubbing his palms into his eyes in an attempt to shake off the grogginess. A low grumbling snore let him know that Dann was most definitely asleep.

Something kept drawing Calen’s eyes to the satchel in Larion’s arms. As his eyes adjusted to the dark night, everything became a little clearer. The satchel was made of thick leather, with extra stitching along the seams and strong iron buckles at the top. He felt something emanating from within. Something pulled his eyes towards it.

Draleid n’aldryr.

The words echoed in his head over and over. A fog filled his mind. The forest and the camp faded from view, swallowed by the fog. All he could see was the satchel and a dim glow pulsing from within.

Draleid n’aldryr.

“Draleid n’aldryr,” Calen whispered, repeating the words out loud.

“What did you say?”

The fog vanished in a snap. Everything was back to normal, with the camp washed in a yellowy-orange glow from the fire.

Aeson was perched on the log that Calen’s head had been resting on. He had a notebook on one knee, a pen in hand, and a small inkpot on his other knee. He stared down at Calen, his eyes un-blinking.

“I… uh, have you been there the whole time?” Calen stuttered.

Aeson nodded. “For a while now. Just making a few notes before we journey to Camylin. What was that you said a minute ago, when you were half-asleep?” His eyes did not move from Calen.

Calen felt a lump in his throat when he tried to speak. “I don’t know. Just something from a dream I was having. Camylin? Is that where you are heading next?”

“Yes.” Aeson narrowed his eyes, holding his gaze on Calen for an uncomfortable moment, as though he were going to probe further into Calen’s dream. But he didn’t. He folded his notebook over and closed the lid on his inkwell, clicking the latch into place. “Asius has given us what we came for, and now we must set off for Camylin in the morning. With the fresh horses Asius has arranged, we can be there in a few days if we ride hard.”

Calen nodded. It took him a second to understand what Aeson had said. “Wait, what do you mean? We are not going with you to Camylin. We need to go home. I’ve already left my father’s horse and wagon in Milltown. That’s going to be impossible to explain as it is.”

Aeson’s expression did not change. He placed his pen into a small wooden box, the inside of which was lined with a soft purple material. “I thought we agreed that you going back was not a good idea. Those soldiers are going to come looking for you, and The Glade is the first place they will look. Surely, somebody in Milltown knows you well enough to inform them of where you are from. Friend or not, Calen, money talks.”

“We agreed that we would decide in the morning.” Panic set into Calen’s head. “If they’re going to The Glade, then we need to go back. What if they hurt my family because of what I did?” He couldn’t bear the idea that those soldiers might do something to his parents or Ella because of what he had done. He didn’t mean to kill that soldier.

Aeson rested his hand on Calen’s shoulder. “Get some rest, sleep on it. We can talk in the morning. There are not many hours of darkness left either way. We can work out a plan in the morning once we’ve all had some sleep.”

Calen gave a half-nod. “Yeah, I