A Darkness Unleashed (Book 2) Read Online Free

trunks.
    “The river is still narrow this far north..” Boris splashed his stallion through a shallow patch. “We can make a few more miles on the far side before we find shelter to camp.”
    The horses followed Boris and Balthar. The water never rose above Jaerd’s stirrup, yet he still shivered at the froth around his steed’s knees. Tilli put her legs up on her pony’s neck to keep them dry, and Brawny churned through the icy water. The wolfhound shook himself several times on the far bank before dashing off into the trees.
    Earl Boris set a quick pace east from the river, stopping only once he found a large Bloodwood stump with an overhang. There they built a camp, and Magus Britt set about heating a pot to make a simple stew.
    “I wish Tallen were here,” Jaerd sighed. “He certainly knows how to handle a camp stew.”
    Dawne nodded emphatically, while Earl Boris grumbled his agreement.
    The Battlemage shrugged his shoulders. “I’d be glad to have someone else take over, especially if one of you knew of a way to heat the pot without a campfire to draw attention.” He drew down his eyebrows on Jaerd and the others. “I thought not.”
    An hour later, Jaerd wrapped himself in blankets, his baby sister curled up next to him, their bellies full, and a makeshift shelter over their heads. Soon sleep overtook him.
     

     
    A strong, supple hand shook Jaerd to consciousness. A single bright eye stared at him from the darkness.
    “A scouting party closes.” Gael’s soft voice carried to Jaerd’s ear. “I cannot lead them away.”
    Jaerd snapped awake, his heart pounding adrenaline directly to his brain. Dawne jerked up next to him as he slipped his sword from its sheath.
    “Stay here,” he whispered to his sister.
    Night still hung thick about the forest when Jaerd left their little canvas shelter, but the cloud cover had blown away to reveal a nearly full moon peeking through the wide trunks of Bloodwood trees. The shadowy forms of Boris, Joslyn, and Khalem Shadar stood ready, while the moonlight glinted off the steel tip of one of Tilli’s arrows.
    Gael disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Jaerd took position on flat ground just in front of where Dawne hid. He heard her whisper a swift prayer for the protection of the Waters.
    “Better to pray to steel,” he muttered, tightening his grip on Shar’leen.
    Magus Britt spoke low, and Jaerd recognized the odd hum of a magically channeled whisper. “I’m going to try to blind them. Close your eyes until the flash goes off.”
    Jaerd did as he was told, and in the absolute blackness, his ears reached out for the tiniest pinprick of sound. The great trees above him creaked and sighed in a slight breeze. Dawne shifted where she huddled behind him. Leather squeaked as Boris tightened his grip on his longsword.
    A soft crunch floated to Jaerd’s ears, followed by a snap. He heard a hiss and a harsh whisper. The words did not entirely resolve, but they held the tone of an angry command. Then he heard a heavy sniff, followed by a terse voice.
    “I smell wolf too, I think, not just horse and human. I don’t…”
    Brightness echoed beyond Jaerd’s eyelids. The moment it faded, he threw them open to behold a half dozen orcs covering their faces in the dim echo of Joslyn’s flare. Before Jaerd could even lift Shar’leen above his shoulder, a snarling shape darted from the cover of a short pine. Brawny’s white teeth glistened in the half-light, as they ripped through the neck of an orc in the lead.
    Jaerd followed the wolfhound, his heart lifted by the beast’s courage. The first two orcs he killed offered no resistance, blinded as they were by Joslyn’s initial burst. But once Jaerd turned from the collapsing body of the second orc, a dozen more appeared from behind a Bloodwood, unblinded by the light.
    He threw himself at them, a scream of feigned courage bursting from his throat. Shar’leen flew about at his command, parrying where she needed and