King's Folly (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

to know that I was ordered to assist the Archlord?”
    “By whom?”
    “The night before the duel, a Whisperer from Iilenshar sent me a message, asking me to assist the Archlord without question. If I knew you’d be involved, I wouldn’t have accepted.”
    “Who gave the order?”
    Acacia pressed her lips together. Her eyes flickered to the slumbering seer. “A Cleric of Chaim,” she said, simply.
    “I’m honored you would have defied a holy man to avoid me.” Oenghus grinned wolfishly. “I don’t care one bit about my hairy hide, but no one touches my Sprite.”
    “Except the seer.” She smirked at his scowl and then turned serious, standing to meet his eye. “With the Sylph as my witness, I’ll watch over her as I would my own daughters, Oenghus.”
    “You have children? Must be an uptight lot.”
    “There is nothing wrong with a little discipline.”
    Oenghus loosened his leather breast plate. He leaned against a rock, slid his forearm through his shield’s straps, and folded it close. His right hand rested on the massive rune-etched hammer, Gurthang . Ready for battle at a moment’s notice, Oenghus relaxed. Acacia slipped a hand beneath his armor, resting it over his rock hard flesh and the heart beneath.
    “Never could resist a woman with calloused hands.”
    Slanted eyes narrowed. “I’m surprised you can feel a thing under that layer of fur.”
    “You’d never go cold.”
    “Does comparing yourself to a dead animal pelt usually work with the whores?”
    “I like a sharp tongue too.”
    “Remind me to introduce you to my Commander. He has a sharp tongue and calloused hands.” Before Oenghus could comment, she bowed her head in prayer. A warm glow surrounded her hand. Slowly, the Gift seeped into his body. She drew out the poison and mended flesh, leaving the Nuthaanian snoring contentedly.

Four

    THE EARTH SHOOK . Rock pelted her head and dust brought tears to her blinking eyes. Chaos echoed in her ears. Isiilde was being shaken, dragged to her feet, but every muscle ached and her recovering body resisted. Marsais shouted, propelling her with an arm towards a wall of stone.
    Reapers filled the cavern. Steel flashed in the glowing light. She tripped on the uneven rock, falling into a shallow pool. Marsais slipped bandaged hands under her arms and dragged her upright. Terror urged the nymph forward.
    “Back up!” Oenghus shouted. The paladins gave ground, fighting in a tight knot of shields. Reapers littered the floor. The creatures of scale and shadow lapped up the life that trickled from their dead kin’s bodies. The sight of their eager forked tongues rolled her stomach.
    Something scratched and growled at the back of the cave. Oenghus raced across the uneven rock. With a mighty heave and word of power, he drove Gurthang against a boulder. The barrier cracked and splintered and fell to pieces, shaking rocks loose from the ceiling. Marsais pressed her against the wall, protecting Isiilde from falling stones.
    A giant bristling beast charged into the cavern. Grey and scarred as the granite, the bear opened its mouth, challenging the Reapers with an earth-shaking boom. Her heart froze. The noise was deafening. And the massive bear went after the Reapers like a dog after a bone.
    Marsais goaded Isiilde towards a bleak hole in the rock. Panic gripped her frantic heart. She resisted. Acacia grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, plunging into the void with Marsais on her heels.
    The captain muttered a prayer. Her shield glowed to life, easing Isiilde’s fear of the deep dark. The cave was not cramped, and it smelled surprisingly clean, of earth and grass and berries. The jostling of armor echoed off the rock as the others took refuge in the den.
    “There’s bound to be another way out,” Oenghus called from the rear.
    “There is a passage.” Without waiting, Acacia walked into the darkness. The passage was wide and jagged with fallen stones on the floor, as if something had torn its way