Sentinelspire Read Online Free Page B

own.”
    “And a fine weapon it is!” said a voice from above.
    Keeping the arrow aimed at the spearman, Berun risked a quick glance up at the rocks. Kneeling on the very boulder from where he had watched the tiger was a massive shape silhouetted by the dying blue of the sky. He knew that voice, and even as he studied the silhouette, other shapes joined it—one man to the right and two to the left. Last of all, the massive form of the steppe tiger joined the group. Berun knew who was above him.
    The silhouette stood and sidestepped so that a shaft of sunlight, orange as an ember in the evening dim, fell on him. He was half-orc, nearly seven feet of grayish skin over knotted muscle, his coarse black hair falling in a series of braids over his shoulders and down his back. Two incisors, one yellow and one silver, protruded from his bottom lip. Tattoos that suggested thorned vines decorated his arms and face. A bone-handled knife was sheathed at his waist, and the pommel of a sword protruded above one shoulder.
    “Lower the bow,” said the half-orc. “We’re here to talk, not fight.”
    Berun hesitated. If he could feather the spearman, he might make it down the ravine. Maybe. But even if he could, he’d never outrun the steppe tiger.
    Berun lowered the bow. He let the tension leave the string, but he kept a good grip on the arrow between his fingers.
    “Well met, Kheil!” said the half-orc. “Been a long time.”

Chapter Four
    T he half-orc took his time climbing down the rocks. The other men—and they were all men, as near as Berun could tell—kept watch from above, their hands lingering near their weapons. One had a crossbow, latched and ready. Two others held bows with arrows on the strings. Even though Berun could see no hard details, only suggestions of substance amidst the silhouettes and shadows, he could read the tension in the men’s stances. Five stood there at the moment, and Berun worried that more might be on the ridge above him. The tiger lounged with them. She crouched on the boulder the half-orc had left. She looked around, the only one at ease.
    The half-orc jumped the last distance into the pool then waded to shore. Dripping from the waist down as he emerged from the water, his eyes never left Berun. He walked near and stopped an arm’s length away. The half-orc stood a full head taller than Berun, and where Berun was lean, the half-orc was a mass of muscle. He grabbed Berun by the chin and forced him to look up.
    “It is you,” said the half-orc, almost in a whisper. “Talieth swore, but I never thought …” The half-orc studied Berun’s features. “I saw you. Saw you taken. How …?”
    Berun jerked his chin out of the half-orc’s grasp and looked him in the eyes. “What do you want, Sauk?”
    The half-orc flinched. Hurt sparked in his eyes, then it kindled and his gaze turned to anger. “What do I
want?
That’s all you have to say to me?”
    Berun glared at Sauk, holding the half-orc’s gaze. “What do you want, Sauk?”
    The half-orc glared back, breathing like a bellows, then he swung his fist. It felt like a knotted log as it struck Berun on the side of the face, and he went down hard. Floating orbs were just beginning to leave his vision when the top of Sauk’s foot caught him in the ribs, driving all air from his body.
    “What do I
want?”
the half-orc shouted.
    Berun struggled to take a breath, and what little he managed caught in a ragged cough. The punch had driven the inside of his cheek against his teeth, and blood filled his mouth. Coughing and retching, Berun fought to regain his breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw his bow and arrow on the rocks beside him. He couldn’t remember dropping them.
    The half-orc grabbed Berun’s vest above the shoulders and hauled him to his feet. Stars swirled his vision, but Berun could see that Sauk’s rage was spent. Regaining his breath, Berun turned and spat blood onto the rocks, then shook himself free of the half-orc’s