Revenge Of The Elf (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

beat faster. She squinted to see even the barest trace of smoke.
    He loved that fire. Said the warmth made him feel more relaxed. That the nerves twisting constantly in his body seemed dulled when he pressed against the pipe. It was a ridiculous thought. How could he enjoy the heat after all that happened?
    “Stupid thing to do,” she'd told him many times. “Get away from it. It's too hot.”
    He always smiled, refusing to move. “So? What can it do to me? Give me another burn? I already got enough. What's a few more?”
    She was never able to look at him then. Never saw his sorrow as he noticed her discomfort, but she felt it. Felt the helplessness ooze from him. Couldn't think of anything comforting to say.
    Now, looking at the cabin, fear prickled the back of her neck.
    The shadows leaked across the valley, lapping at the light.
    Where was he?
    She half expected to see him hobbling along the path toward her. Sometimes he tried to walk further than the porch.
    Maybe he'd managed to walk further today. Maybe he wasn't near the house.
    She scanned the land looking for any other sign, and saw nothing.
    Quickening her pace, the elf chewed hard at her lip, the rising panic drumming in rhythm with the ache in her head.
    And then she saw the hoof print in the mud.
    Horse.
    She knelt beside it and the thrumming in her brain stopped abruptly as her mind kicked into gear.
    More than one horse.
    Up to a dozen of them.
    Heading toward the cabin.
    She caught sight of a few bootprints too, half-hidden by a thin layer of slush.
    The sudden rush of horror enveloped her heart.
    “Talek,” she croaked. Began sprinting toward the cabin. “Talek!”
    No answer.
    She sprinted, ignoring the winding path to dash into the fields. She ran like a crazed goblin, dodging ditches and leaping the larger boulders.
    Nearly slipped on a patch of snow but caught her balance and kept running.
    The tight grimace on her face grew harder. Fear swelled in her guts, dragging her forward. Dizziness ate at each step as alcohol, still sitting comfortably in her belly, surged through her blood.
    She could smell it.
    Not the stale vomit. Not the wretched stench of her own body. But the quiet dry stink of death.
    And even before her eyes made out the crumpled shape on the shadow-drenched porch, she knew what she would see.
    “Talek!” she screamed. Her throat was raw and her vision blurred as tears clawed from her eyes. Up the stairs without noticing them. Tugging at his corpse and scooping him up into her arms, eyes wide in disbelief as she saw the handle of the knife buried in his chest.
    “What the fuck?” Her hand circled the handle, but she couldn't bring herself to touch it. Couldn't bear to remove it, as though pulling it out might cause his body to disintegrate in her arms.
    Instead she let out a soul-cleaving sob and pulled him close. Nostrils filling with the smell of him and the poisonous stink of old blood.
    He was cold.
    Horribly cold.
    She wept freely, gripping him so hard as though trying to absorb him into her.
    The elf's sobbing was a river of grief, bubbling violently through her.
    “I'm sorry,” she said through a curtain of tears. Every sound she uttered felt like she was trying to push her fist through the eye of a needle. “I wasn't here. Again, I failed you. I'm sorry. Talek. So sorry.”
    She rocked him in her arms until a small part of her mind clicked into focus and told her to let him go.
    How long she'd knelt there with him, she couldn't say. But it felt like days. Was probably only minutes. Her mind, an overwhelming fog inside her skull, acknowledged he was dead. Reluctantly, she lay him gently on the cold porch.
    Death was nothing new to her. She'd seen the Old Skeleton's face and felt the dry breath of the Shadowed Halls blow across her spine many times.
    But this was different.
    This was Talek.
    The back of her hand brushed his cheek, amazed by the emptiness which existed within his body.
    It was a shell. A