Bonded: Book One of the ShadowLight Saga, an Epic Fantasy Adventure Read Online Free Page A

your complaint,
who is this girl and where is my daughter?" Hallad’s father raised himself
off his seat to his full height as his voice thundered throughout the
longhouse, leaving behind any of the sorrow Hallad had detected earlier.
    The crowd shifted uncomfortably. Even Hallad flinched at the
force of his father. Erik’s face heated at his words.
    "Emma is dead by the hand of this creature," proclaimed
Erik, waving to indicate the stranger. "Sucked into the Shadow itself."
    A gasp ran through the crowd. Thyre shrieked loudly. The godhi’s
jaw tightened, turning his attention on Hallad. The dense smoke of the room
blurred the battle shields gracing the walls of the longhouse—each, his father
had told him, with a story of its own. The smells of roasted boar and abundant
mead quashed the air in Hallad’s lungs. Hallad’s chest tightened as if a
boulder sat on it.
    "Is this true, son?" the godhi asked.
    Hallad twitched. The young woman stood stiff as a blade
beside him, but Hallad sensed her shudder underneath her skin.
    "Nei, it is not."
    Erik swung at Hallad, fist connecting with his cheek. Hallad
stammered backward, catching his balance, but refused to return the blow. The
spectators erupted, hollering for a fight. The godhi raised his hand in the air.
    "Enough!"
    The crowd fell quiet once more.
    "You boy," the old man said pointing at Rolf, "you
tell us what has happened."
    Erik glared at his little brother, raising his dark brows in
warning. Rolf moved forward nervously at first, then flipped his scarlet mantle
about him. Hallad recognized the gesture and gritted his teeth.
    By the gods, he thinks he’s reciting a lay.
    Rolf cleared his throat and launched into a colorful version
of the evening’s events. The crowd oohed at every turn of his tale, giving Rolf
the incentive to exaggerate. Hallad tried to interrupt, but his father held him
off with a shake of his hand, as engrossed in the telling as the crowd. When
Rolf described meeting the stranger, her unclothed state, the mystery of her at
the cove, the crowd murmured, "valkyrie" and "swan maiden."
    Rolf continued, stating how the godhi’s son had shot the
creature. The onlookers roared condemnation. Some prayed aloud for the gods’
pardon and protection. Thyre sobbed as Rolf relayed how the woman’s strange
behavior called the Shadow that devoured Emma. Onlookers openly wept. Men
cursed, rallying in word as "sent from Loki" and "shadow-spawn"
replaced "swan maiden" throughout the smoke-congested longhouse. As
the room overflowed with emotion, Rolf bowed his head as if finishing a grand
performance.
    "What will we do?" asked a man in the crowd.
    "Kill her," muttered another.
    "What if she’s a valkyrie? The gods would curse us for
taking their own."
    "The inquest," Rolf suggested.
    "The inquest."
    It swelled like a wave through the crowd until the godhi hushed
them.
    "By the law of the Hall, this girl has a right to speak
for herself. What do you say?" He searched the young woman longingly, as
if willing her to speak on her own behalf.
    She stood with her white hair draped around her like sleek
wings, her chin level, her bottomless eyes defying the crowd—yet she did not
utter a sound.
    Thyre flew out of her seat.
    "Enough husband! I demand justice. I will not be
allowed to give my own daughter a proper pyre. My own flesh and blood will
wander the earth forever without the rights said and runes carved at her
gravestone."
    For once, Erik and Thyre were in agreement, and Erik goaded
the crowd to put the woman to the inquest. The godhi raised his hand again,
causing a hush to wash over the crowd.
    "So shall it be." Avarr spoke slowly, choosing his
words with regret. "Prepare for the inquest."
    The godhi bent, whispering to a servant next to the dais. The
thrall nodded, pushed through the crowd and disappeared out the door.
    I will not survive if you let them do this.
    The words struck Hallad with the same timbre as the song in
the forest. He swiveled to the