A Hero's Bargain by Rayne Forrest Read Free Book Online Page B

errol came.” Her voice cracked on the word. Ryder
had never heard the word ‘ errol ’ and had no reference for it.
    “The errol ? What’s the errol ?”
    “We do not know what the errol is. None of us has seen it clearly. It’s a creature that roams at night.”
    That wasn’t helpful promising. He
wasn’t fond of creatures in the dark. Not even the little fuzzy ones that grew
under his bunk when he was feeling too lazy to start the cleaning bots on his
ship. Poor Faithe. Well done, trusty servant.
    “All right. Seven seasons of Wae,
what is that?” He needed to obtain as much information as he could, but it
looked like he was going to have to pull it out of her bit by bit, and he
didn’t know if he could stay awake long enough to get the whole story. The pain
made him sleepy. It was his escape.
    She looked uncomfortable. “You do
not know of Wae?”
    “Perhaps it would be better if you
enlightened me. This Wae is a god?”
    “Yes. He is the god of the earth,
and the sky, and the water. He is the god of renewal.” She moved to put another
log on the fire, speaking while she worked.
    “The season of Wae comes as the
earth warms after winter. The sun returns, the forest blooms, and the deer bear
their young. We praise Wae for these things.”
    Ryder shivered, recognizing the
sensation as a prelude to more pain. He reached for the mug. “Should I drink
this now?”
    She nodded quickly. “Yes, you may
begin. Sip that slowly. It will take a little while before you feel the
effects.”
    He sniffed and tasted the
greenish-brown liquid. It wasn’t quite as bad as he’d feared. “Go on with your
story, angel.”
    “It was near the beginning of Wae.
The earth was still wet. There was a fireball from the heavens. We saw it but
were not overly concerned. There had been rain so we did not fear the forest
burning. Nevertheless, we went as quickly as we could to where the fireball had
landed.”
    “What did you find?”
    “A vessel.”
    His heart pounded. “A vessel? A
spaceship?”
    “Spaceship?” She bit her bottom
lip. “I do not know what a spaceship is. Is that what you came in?”
    “Yes. It’s a vessel that travels
between the stars.”
    That clearly frightened her and she
moved away from him.
    “Why does that scare you, angel?
What do you know of star flight?”
    She inhaled sharply, but met his
gaze. “There are many tales of such things and of worlds beyond our own, but
surely they are only fantasies.”
    “I hate to point this out to you,
but I’m here and I came on a spaceship.”
    Her voice was a whisper. “Why are
you here?”
    “I was stupid. I made a mistake. I
didn’t mean to come here.” He gusted out a long breath. “I think I remember my
ship…vessel…being destroyed. Is that a true memory?”
    She nodded. “I’m sorry but your
ship was destroyed. It burned. The fire was too hot for us to salvage
anything.”
    He wondered if that was true, but
he wasn’t in any position to antagonize her by calling her a liar. He needed another
good night’s sleep, if possible, and some food. A bit more rest, a bit more
time passing, and maybe the pain would be gone.
    Maybe he’d be able to feel all his
body parts.
    “So, seven years ago, give or take,
a ship crashed here and this errol has been attacking you ever since? Is
that correct?”
    She made a drinking motion with her
hand. He rolled his eyes at her and downed the remainder of the contents of the
crock. Her eyes widened as they flicked to the empty cup and back up to meet
his gaze.
    “That is essentially correct. We do
not know why the errol attacks us. We only know many of us have died.”
    “It kills?”
    “Sometimes, but not always.” She
looked back into the fire. “It keeps us from hunting and harvesting. Winters
have been hard. Many become ill. Food needs to be rationed.”
    She touched his arm lightly. Her
hand seemed cold, but he wasn’t sure. His body wasn’t sending the right signals
to his brain. The blanket that