Page 103 of Silverbow
Elling wasn’t entirely sure he knew the answer himself. “I was given an order to shield, sir.” The demi-elf dropped his stare to the band of silver that encircled Elling’s throat. “Can you remove it?”
“Not without inciting a war.” Elling nodded his understanding. “I want you to deliver a message for me. Remind your king, every breath he takes is a gift I allow him, and if he collars one of mine, he too will be King of Ashes. Are we clear, Recruit?”
Elling swallowed, nodding at the message that would send his own head rolling across the floor of Haarstrond Keep. The silver haired man retreated, casting him back into the gale. Elling stared at the residue hovering over the silverband that lay in the street. If he survived giving the message, he might be able to do what that spirit wielder had.
twenty-six
Enya
The ring, look at the bloody ring.
“You fear your own kind, Oncith?” Kolvar asked scornfully.
“We all should fear whatever has them wielding like Simdeni and Mosphaera.”
Enya jerked at the chains the barrel shaped man tried to fasten around the stake. His second slap nearly unhinged her jaw. The cold metal of Oryn’s ring split her lip.Look at the bloody ring!
Kolvar stroked a hand down his beard. “On the off chance she did have company, we should move. Get her on a horse, Mik.”
Enya tracked a third demi-elf, a golden haired man with a bow as he darted for his horse. The woman with striking violet eyes stared at her, and though it was hard to tell with the hideous gag, Enya thought she might be smiling.Smiling, tied to a stake. She has got to be mad.
One of the fool men tried to claim Arawelo, but the mare snapped at him so fiercely, they decided to throw Enya over her back like a sack of grain. A man took her reins from a distance. Enya kicked in outrage when someone gave her a sharp slap across her backside, but Kolvar’s men only laughed.
She hung limp, unable to right herself with the shackles on her wrists and ankles. She watched little drops of blood fall into the grass as they set outsouthward, the motion making her woozy. For someone worth ten thousand gold marks, they didn’t seem to pay much heed to the fact that she could hardly breathe. She let the tears fall with the blood. It was all gone. It was over.
If she survived this ride, which remained to be seen, she would meet Peytar Ralenet. She supposed she ought to feel something about that, but she could do nothing but spiral into her grief.
“What have you got there?”
“Just some ring she was wearing around her neck. Think it fits me nicely, don’t you?”
“Let me see that, Mik.”
Enya squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath.
“It’s my bloody ring, Ascal.”
“Let me see it, burn you!”
“What is it, Ascal?”
“Gods above. Stop!” The bellowed command held a note of panic.
Enya let something between a choked laugh and a sob into the gag.
“What do you think you’re doing, half-man?” Kolvar barked. “This is my outfit, not yours.”
“Ascal?”
“It’s Brydove’s ring.”
“Nimala save us.”
A man suddenly leapt off his horse to stand at her shoulder, fumbling to pull the gag free. She could see only his boots and the burn scars twisting up his bare forearms when he reached for her.
“What are you doing with Elred’s Eagle?” He asked.
Enya choked and it wasn’t from the dust coating the inside of her mouth.Not a hawk, an eagle you light blinded fool.The realization struck her speechless.Oryn’s bloody signet ring was Elred’s Eagle. That makes him…
