Spellscribed Tales: First Refrain Read Online Free Page B

Daelen's attention perked up; that was the sound of a dog tackling a man.
    Seconds later, the commotion got closer and closer to the stone wall separating the households. A dog, spattered in blood on its hide and dripping from its mouth, sailed over the stone wall and landed in the middle of the training floor.
    It was only a few feet from Talen, who immediately yelped and sprang backwards. The dog, surprisingly unharmed from his long jump, turned to the boy with a snap of its jaws. Daelen stepped forward, drawing a dagger from his belt, but hesitated when he saw his sons spring into action.
    Talen had jumped out of immediate danger, but the dog got sidetracked as Balen wound up a fist the instant the dog started moving and drove it into the side of the dog's head. Though it was a dead-on hit, the blow was sloppy and only stunned the animal for a moment. Joven had frozen, but he was the farthest away from the beast.
    Talen jumped forward while the dog was stunned, driving a full strength kick into the creature's flank. A dull crack sounded through the yard and the dog yelped before snarling and snapping at the boys as it twisted to its feet. Though injured, the dog was hungry and would not give up.
    Balen swung at it again, and Daelen would have jumped in if it had not been for fear of striking one of his sons. The boy's fist clipped an ear, but otherwise struck air. The starving animal didn't like the idea of being ganged up on by two young boys, and whirled on the third who was several paces away.
    Daelen surged forward, raising his dagger. The dog charged across the stone brick floor at Joven who still had the plate over his head, the effort of holding it up forgotten in the shock of the moment. The dog was faster than the father, lunging for Joven's neck.
    The boy brought the plate down with all his might, the metal edge of the plate catching the dog at the back of its skull. The weight of the plate plus all of Joven's across the neck was too much for the beast and with a sickening crunch it slammed into the floor. Joven's hands slipped from the sides of the plate, stinging as his grip finally gave out, slicing his palm
    s open.
    Daelen stopped within reach of the dog and stared at his son as Joven looked over his cut palms with not pain on his face, but bewilderment. Daelen knelt down next to the dog and checked the body. It was most certainly dead, its spine crushed by the hard edge of the plate. A small dent marred the smooth curve of the plate where it had struck bone; the metal had not been forged with combat in mind.
    "It's dead." Daelen declared. Someone was shouting from the other side of the stone wall. Leona was shouting back in response, so Daelen focused on his youngest.
    "Are you all right?" Daelen asked. "Are your hands the only things that were hurt?"
    Joven stared at his hands, the look of bewilderment remaining on his face. He looked to the dog, then back at his hands. "I... Yeah," Joven finally replied, his voice shaky. "I killed it."
    "Yes you did." Daelen replied, watching his son over carefully. "How do you feel?"
    Joven looked up at him, confused. "Weird. And my hands hurt." He replied carefully, thinking.
    Daelen checked the boy's eyes and hair. They remained the same. Sometimes the Furie could come upon someone when they made their first kill. It would be beyond his comprehension how Joven could have been affected by the spirit of rage, but he had to check. The boy's response was promising though.
    "All right. Leona will bandage you up. You two, get back to your exercise." Daelen commanded, scooping up the dead dog and flopping it over his shoulder casually. "I'll talk to our neighbor about the dog."
    He crossed the training yard where Leona was still shouting back and forth with the family clustered on the other side. As he approached, he could pick out several angry voices demanding that she return their animal.
    "Leona, go take care of Joven." he said. Leona looked to him, saw the look in his