The Soul Sphere: Book 02 - The Final Shard Read Online Free Page B

wanted.
    “How can you stand this?” Jazda asked.
    Rowan smiled and laughed softly. “The food? You get used to it.”
    “Not the food. The feeling of being hunted.”
    “You do not get used to it,” said Tala. “But we can hunt as well.”
    “I suppose,” Jazda said. “But night after night of poor sleep is wearing on me. And from what you’ve told me you’ve been living this way for months. The enemy need not attack if he can simply get us so tired that we step over a cliff on our own.”
    “I doubt the creatures pacing us are sent by the enemy,” Rowan said, “although they no doubt have spawned from the evil he has inflicted on the world. I’ve found you can sleep well enough when you trust your companions on the watch.”
    “I trust you. But I’m used to a solid eight hours. I think when we get home I’ll sleep for a week straight.”
    Suddenly Rande was with them, speaking in hushed tones. “Something is coming close. The horses grow more restless than normal.”
    Weapons were drawn. “Which way?” asked Rowan.
    Rande pointed southeast, past the horses.
    Rowan started to circle to the left, while Tala went to the right. As she was moving away, she told Jazda, “Stay with Rande.”
    “I can fight,” Jazda said with a scowl.
    “I do not doubt it,” she replied as she slipped silently into the night.
    As Rowan passed by the horses and out of the light of the campfire, he saw his blade had begun to glow. He heard the soft pad of something drawing near, and the intensity of the blade’s light increased. As he shifted his gaze away from his own weapon, they were upon him.
    The first leapt at him, its black teeth snapping at his throat while its paws thudded against his chest. “Demon dogs!” he shouted, hitting the one on him with a forearm. It rolled once and then sprang back to the attack. Rowan felled it with a swift slash, while a second was caught in mid-lunge by Tala’s arrow. This one slunk away into the night, whimpering as it did so.
    The dogs were powerfully built and large, standing three feet at the shoulder. Their fur was all black, as were their teeth and tongues. Only their red eyes kept them visible in the darkness. They numbered eight, but they were intelligent enough to sense that the two who had come to meet them were proficient with the arms they carried. The dogs went after the horses instead, which were tethered together around a pair of trees.
    The horses reared and kicked frantically, while the dogs harassed them and bit deeply into their flanks. Soon four of the dogs brought one of the horses down, and once they did so they finished him quickly.
    Jazda held his position by the fire, his eyes alert and searching, waiting for one or more of the dogs to attack. The knife he held was long and sharp, but it was no sword, nor was he an expert in its use. He thought it to be feeble protection at best. While he contemplated how he might deal with a pair or more moving on him at once, Rande burst past him. “Rande! No!” he screamed.
    “I have to save the horses!”
    Jazda raced after him, but the boy was quick, and was swiftly in the midst of the fray. Rowan and Tala converged as well, looking for an opening.
    Rande kicked one of the dogs in the ribs with all his strength. It crumpled to its knees while the air rushed from its lungs, but it regained its feet quickly, and turned its hell-lit eyes upon the boy. Fresh blood glistened on its teeth.
    An arrow zipped between dog and boy, finding its target. The arrow plunged into the dog’s well-muscled chest and flames spit from its mouth, scorching the left leg of the nearest horse. The horse screamed in pain and reared.
    Rowan and Jazda were trying to work their way into the cluster of terrified horses and attacking dogs, but found themselves blocked by the bucking and kicking of their steeds. Jazda kept shouting Rande’s name over and over, trying to call him away from danger.
    The numerous distractions caused Rande to break