A Reign of Steel Read Online Free PDF Page A

go, she felt her skin crawl.
    “What
is it?” Erec asked her.
    Alistair
looked away and shook her head, trying to make her feeling go away. But it
would not; it was an awful premonition, she was not sure of what.
    “Nothing,
my lord,” she said.
    She
settled back into his arms, trying to tell herself that everything was all
right. But she knew, deep down, that it was very far from all right.
    *
    Erec
woke in the night, feeling the ship moving slowly up and down, and he knew
immediately that something was wrong. It was the warrior within him, the part
of him that had always warned him an instant before something bad happened. He’d
always had the sense, ever since he was a boy.
    He
sat up quickly, alert, and looked all around. He turned and saw Alistair soundly
asleep beside him. It was still dark, the boat still rocking on the waves, yet
something was wrong. He looked all around, but saw no sign of anything amiss.
    What
danger could there be, he wondered, out here in the middle of nowhere? Was it
just a dream?
    Erec,
trusting his instincts, reached down to grab his sword. But before his hand could
grab the hilt, he suddenly felt a heavy net covering his body, draping down all
around him. It was made of the heaviest rope he’d ever felt, nearly heavy
enough to crush a man, and it landed all over him at once, tight all around him.
    Before
he could react, he felt himself being hoisted high into the air, the net
catching him like an animal, its ropes so tight around him that he could not
even move, his shoulders and arms and wrists and feet all constrained, crushed together.
He was hoisted higher and higher, until he found himself a good twenty feet
above the deck, dangling, like an animal caught in a trap.
    Erec’s
heart slammed in his chest as he tried to understand what was going on. He
looked down and saw Alistair below him, waking up.
    “Alistair!”
Erec called out.
    Down
below, she looked everywhere for him, and when she finally looked up and saw
him, her face fell.
    “EREC!”
she yelled, confused.
    Erec
watched as several dozen crew members, bearing torches, approached her. They
all wore grotesque smiles, evil in their eyes, as they closed in on her.
    “It’s
about time he shared her,” one of them said.
    “I’m
going to teach this princess what it means to live with a sailor!” another said
    The
group broke into laughter.
    “After
me,” another one said.
    “Not
before I’ve had my fill first,” another said.
    Erec
struggled to break free with all that he had as they continued to close in on
her. But it was to no avail. His shoulders and arms were clamped so tightly, he
could not even wiggle them.
    “ALISTAIR!”
he screamed, desperate.
    He
was helpless to do anything but watch as he dangled above.
    Three
sailors suddenly pounced on Alistair from behind; Alistair screamed out as they
pulled her to her feet, tore her shirt, yanked her arms behind her back. They
held her tight as several more sailors approached.
    Erec
scanned the ship for any sign of the captain; he saw him on the upper deck,
looking down, watching all of it.
    “Captain!”
Erec yelled. “This is your ship. Do something!”
    The
captain looked at him, then slowly turned his back on the whole scene, as if not
wanting to watch it.
    Erec
watched, desperate, as a sailor pulled a knife and held it to Alistair’s
throat, and Alistair cried out.
    “NO!”
Erec yelled.
    It
was like watching a nightmare unfold beneath him—and worst of all, there was
nothing he could do.

CHAPTER FIVE
                                                                                       
     
    Thorgrin
faced Andronicus, the two of them alone in the field of battle, soldiers dead
all around them. He raised his sword high and brought it down on Andronicus’s
chest; as he did, Andronicus dropped his weapons, smiled wide, and reached out
to embrace him.
    My
son.
    Thor
tried to stop