Resurgent Shadows (Successive Harmony Book 1) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Kevin L. Nielsen
understand that, though he’d been mulling it over in his mind ever since the fight. Athore had called Loran a wizard, but he couldn’t accept that answer. Despite all the evidence to the contrary around him, Caleb still needed something rational to which he could cling. Otherwise the hunter within him would take over.
Caleb found the remains of a large fire where they must have camped the night before and what was left of an evening meal, but the smell dissuaded him from investigating any further. An unwanted memory reared up in his mind and threatened to overcome him at the sight, but he pushed it away. He followed the tracks north along the edge of an old highway, the asphalt all but hidden beneath a film of ash and debris. He kept at least half a mile behind them at all times, just close enough to see the small black cloud they kicked into the air. He shadowed their movements for most of the day. They stopped only once, late in the afternoon, but they were up and moving again within only a few short moments.
Caleb dripped with sweat and his throat was parched from the cool, dry air, but he didn’t slow, nor did his grip slacken on his rifle.
Night fell.
As darkness closed in, his other senses heightened to compensate for his decreased vision. The faint sound of gunfire made a staccato note of discord in the night, augmented by the concussive rumble of a distant mortar exploding. The Raleigh city-fortress was really under siege.
Though the darkness hid most of the normal landmarks of the area, he knew he was close. The hilly ground and deserted, decaying buildings of the old city would have hid the battle and the city-fortress walls from view even without the dark, but he knew from experience that the flashes from gunfire and mortar shells carried in the black and he’d soon be able to see them against the cloudy sky. He kept his eyes peeled upwards and was rewarded with a faint, flickering glow in the sky as he crested the top of one of the larger hills.
Memories swirled around in his mind at the sights and sounds, mimicking the shadows that danced around him. For a moment, he wasn’t there walking along the abandoned road any longer. For a moment, he was back within the Charlotte city-fortress, hearing gunfire and feeling the desperate wash of pain and fear slip over him. Then he was back in the moment again.
As he crested another hill, two figures, who had obviously been shadowing him, rushed him from either side. The one on the left raised a cudgel and Caleb spun to face it. His rifle bucked in his hands as he fired off a quick shot. The flash threw the short figure into sudden detail, revealing a shock of auburn hair bursting out around the edges of a conical steel cap and a startled expression on the squat man’s bearded face. The light reflected off more metal on the man’s chest. The shot went wide.
Caleb heard a muffled noise behind him and realized he’d forgotten the other figure. He twisted at the hip, dropping his rifle and reaching for his handgun, but he only made it halfway before something hard connected with the back of his skull and his vision exploded in a flash of white. He toppled forward into the ash in a sprawling heap, a trickle of blood tracing down the side of his face.
Chapter 2
Caleb’s eyes snapped open and, in that same moment of awakening, he reached for his gun.
It wasn’t there.
One hand dove under his shirt and felt the reassuring presence of his ring still dangling from its chain. The other hand checked for his concealed knives, one at the nape of his neck and the other in the top of his boot. Both were missing. He grunted away the headache that throbbed at his temples and banished the last remnants of grogginess. He got to his feet.
The room he was in was dark but not lightless. There was a faint trickle of light that streamed into the room from beneath the door that gave him a view of the stark walls around him. There was no sign of his captors. For a fleeting
Caleb found the remains of a large fire where they must have camped the night before and what was left of an evening meal, but the smell dissuaded him from investigating any further. An unwanted memory reared up in his mind and threatened to overcome him at the sight, but he pushed it away. He followed the tracks north along the edge of an old highway, the asphalt all but hidden beneath a film of ash and debris. He kept at least half a mile behind them at all times, just close enough to see the small black cloud they kicked into the air. He shadowed their movements for most of the day. They stopped only once, late in the afternoon, but they were up and moving again within only a few short moments.
Caleb dripped with sweat and his throat was parched from the cool, dry air, but he didn’t slow, nor did his grip slacken on his rifle.
Night fell.
As darkness closed in, his other senses heightened to compensate for his decreased vision. The faint sound of gunfire made a staccato note of discord in the night, augmented by the concussive rumble of a distant mortar exploding. The Raleigh city-fortress was really under siege.
Though the darkness hid most of the normal landmarks of the area, he knew he was close. The hilly ground and deserted, decaying buildings of the old city would have hid the battle and the city-fortress walls from view even without the dark, but he knew from experience that the flashes from gunfire and mortar shells carried in the black and he’d soon be able to see them against the cloudy sky. He kept his eyes peeled upwards and was rewarded with a faint, flickering glow in the sky as he crested the top of one of the larger hills.
Memories swirled around in his mind at the sights and sounds, mimicking the shadows that danced around him. For a moment, he wasn’t there walking along the abandoned road any longer. For a moment, he was back within the Charlotte city-fortress, hearing gunfire and feeling the desperate wash of pain and fear slip over him. Then he was back in the moment again.
As he crested another hill, two figures, who had obviously been shadowing him, rushed him from either side. The one on the left raised a cudgel and Caleb spun to face it. His rifle bucked in his hands as he fired off a quick shot. The flash threw the short figure into sudden detail, revealing a shock of auburn hair bursting out around the edges of a conical steel cap and a startled expression on the squat man’s bearded face. The light reflected off more metal on the man’s chest. The shot went wide.
Caleb heard a muffled noise behind him and realized he’d forgotten the other figure. He twisted at the hip, dropping his rifle and reaching for his handgun, but he only made it halfway before something hard connected with the back of his skull and his vision exploded in a flash of white. He toppled forward into the ash in a sprawling heap, a trickle of blood tracing down the side of his face.
Chapter 2
Caleb’s eyes snapped open and, in that same moment of awakening, he reached for his gun.
It wasn’t there.
One hand dove under his shirt and felt the reassuring presence of his ring still dangling from its chain. The other hand checked for his concealed knives, one at the nape of his neck and the other in the top of his boot. Both were missing. He grunted away the headache that throbbed at his temples and banished the last remnants of grogginess. He got to his feet.
The room he was in was dark but not lightless. There was a faint trickle of light that streamed into the room from beneath the door that gave him a view of the stark walls around him. There was no sign of his captors. For a fleeting
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