The Spell of Rosette Read Online Free

down to the densely treed valley. She couldn’t see it, but she knew it was there, a dark outline against a deeper darkness—the forest of Espiro Dell Ray. If she could get to those trees that guarded the borders, she could disappear. She would be safe.
    ‘Assalo!’
    She stopped suddenly, feeling the vibration of hoofbeats pounding up the paddock. They reverberated through the ground and up her legs as the tall black horse appeared. He halted above her, pressing his chest into the fence, soft wickers blowing from his nostrils.
    ‘It’s all right, Assalo,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll get you out of here, but we have to be quick and we have to be silent.’
    The horse pawed the ground, churning up grass and dirt, his four white socks bright in the early night.
    Kalindi Rose climbed up the embankment and stroked Assalo’s neck, flipping strands of his long black mane over to the other side of his crest. He lowered his head, pushing it between the rails to smell her boots before nipping at her bare legs. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and took a deep breath.
    ‘Come on,’ she said, pushing off from him and sliding down the embankment. She hit the road running. ‘To the gate. Follow.’
    He trotted along the fenceline above her until a whizzing sound cut through the air. They were firing at Assalo! She dropped to the ground when she heard the thud of an arrow finding its mark. She scrambled up and ran, choking on the bile in her throat.
    Assalo screamed so loudly, she couldn’t hear her boots crunching on the gravel, or the involuntary gasps coming out as she sucked in the air between cries. His agony reverberated into the night, drowning out every other noise, drowning out her thoughts.
    She reached the edge of Espiro Dell Ray, her lungs burning and her face streaked with tears. She didn’t stop. She plunged into the forest, keeping to the edge ofthe main road. By the time it had dwindled into a narrow track, she couldn’t hear Assalo any more. She couldn’t see anything through her tears.
    After an hour of feeling her way in the dark tangle of branches, vines and dead wood, she stumbled into a hollowed-out redwood trunk. With her hand on the mossy bark, she steadied her breath, checking for the presence of other creatures. It felt vacant. She crawled through the opening, pressing herself against the back wall and bringing her knees up to her chin. She sat there staring into the night, listening.
    Crickets hummed and wings flapped. A nighthawk called from far away, answered by an even more distant cry. No one followed.
    After another hour of listening, she dug into the leaf mould and curled up, sobbing herself to sleep.
    ‘You made a right mess of this,’ Archer growled, bending to grab the dead man’s hands. He started to drag the body out of the kitchen. ‘Get his legs.’
    Rogg gripped the ankles, hoisting the other half of the corpse. ‘I didn’t start it, Arch.’ He nodded to the body. ‘This bugger did.’
    ‘ She said to get the vial and not hurt ’em—any of ’em.’
    Rogg laughed. ‘He ain’t hurting now. Besides, that other witch didn’t care.’
    ‘Idiot.’ Archer glared as he backed down the hallway. ‘That other one had her own purpose. It’s the High Priestess who’s got the gold. What if she won’t pay us now?’
    ‘Didn’t think of that.’ Rogg stared blankly at Archer as he manoeuvred the body through the front door frame. He frowned. ‘What if she curses us?’
    ‘She won’t.’
    ‘She’s a witch.’
    ‘I can handle her.’
    ‘And our pay?’
    ‘We’ll get it.’ Archer winked as he lifted the body higher to keep the head from bumping down the front steps.
    ‘How?’
    ‘We’ll trick her.’
    Rogg didn’t respond immediately. He dropped one of the booted feet to scratch his matted hair. ‘Can you trick a witch?’
    ‘She’s only a woman, Rogg.’
    ‘I don’t know about that.’
    Archer ignored him, his face twisting into a smile. ‘She said, “ I