Bones of the Empire by Jim Galford Read Free Book Online Page A

would be done for. He knew full well what a wizard could do, and he had to keep moving or he would be at her mercy.
    Snarling, Raeln ducked under Liris’s hand as she raised it and came up with his elbow under her chin. He knew he could not really hurt her—not for long—but stopping her spell from going off would let him live a little longer so the others could run. Before Liris or the others could regroup or recover, Raeln spun and ran for Dalania’s voice, trying to get to her before Liris decided to kill her out of spite, not that Dalania had proven to be any threat so far.
    What felt like a wave crashed into Raeln’s back, hurling him forward onto the snowy ground. He slid, scraping up everything from his nose to his toes, his back aching from the impact. Only a few feet away, Dalania stood barefoot on the sloped ground, backing down the hill slowly toward where the others had run, staring at him with fear. He could see she would not leave him…he would have to keep fighting or Dalania would get herself killed beside him. He could accept dying, but not if one of the people he was watching over died first.
    Behind Raeln, the creak and pop of crossbows being reloaded warned him that he had little time left. Between the spells of the three Turessians and the remaining undead archers, the entire area where he and Dalania stood was about to become deadly.
    Raeln struggled to get up, but his back flared with pain, slowing him. He stumbled toward Dalania, hoping if nothing else he could get between her and the archers. When he fell, she would have no choice but to run. It was a bleak way to address the fight, but one he had known might come. That had been exactly why he had given Estin and Feanne the orders he had. Someone had to live or the entire journey was pointless.
    From the corner of his eye, Raeln saw Yoska reappear among some sparse trees behind the undead archers. He darted through them, slashing at the nearest crossbows, cutting the strings and causing them to fire wildly. He even managed to kick the weapon from one corpse’s hands. The man might be old, but Raeln could not fault his skill.
    A blast of flame from one of the Turessians washed over the area, reducing the snow to steam, and Raeln spread his arms in a vague hope of shielding Dalania. Almost at the same instant, the remaining crossbowmen fired.
    Raeln stood trembling as the flames died around them. Aside from the pain from his earlier wounds, nothing felt different. Looking down, he found Dalania with her hands toward the Turessians, her face twisted with strain and her eyes glowing faintly. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a faint transparent wall cooling from a red shimmer, with seven crossbow bolts embedded in it. As he watched, the barrier vanished and the bolts fell to the mud.
    “Dalania, run!” Raeln insisted, but Dalania grabbed his arm to help him try to stay upright. “Go!”
    With her free hand, Dalania motioned toward the nearest Turessian, slamming him against the mine wall with magic. As soon as he hit the wall, thick green vines erupted from the stones, wrapped him and squeezed. For all the strength of the Turessians, he appeared unable to extricate himself quickly.
    Raeln tried to turn to fight in an effort to slow the remaining Turessians. As he came around, the other Turessian man picked up a rock and threw it. It hit him in the stomach far harder than Raeln had thought a small stone could. With a choked gasp, Raeln stumbled, feeling blood running down his side from a hole an inch below his ribs. He could not breathe well enough to speak or shout and felt as though he were drowning.
    Dropping to his knees, Raeln had difficulty keeping track of the others as his head pounded. He was only barely able to register seeing Yoska slammed into a tree by Liris and then thrown to the ground, as two undead leaped onto him. Yoska curled up as the zombies beat at him, clawing for his face and trying to bite at his arms.
    Dalania stepped