Daughter of Hauk (The Raven Chronicles Book 1) by KateMarie Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

to get out of here without a fight.
                  “They killed Lexi.” Barek informed them as they were finishing up. “I saw her body out in the courtyard.” Mialee and Senyan lowered their heads in sorrow. “I say we see if we can’t bring her body with us. Arwenna can resurrect her, I’m sure of it.”
                  “It won’t be easy, but we can try.” Senyan agreed.
                  They moved on silent feet towards the courtyard entry. There seemed to be a trial of some kind going on. Barek craned his head and his face paled. Arwenna, Y’Dürkie, and Rhiannon were out there. The lead paladin, the one who had arrested them, was there as well. He stared in disbelief as a sword sliced through Arwenna.
                  Rage came over him and he bellowed a challenge as he saw Y’Dürkie and Rhiannon slain moments after Arwenna. He unsheathed his sword as the paladin and other guards began to run towards him.
                  Senyan touched his huge shoulder. A whispered command of, “Go”, reached his ear.
                  Barek stopped short in his charge as he realized he was no longer in the courtyard, but in a heavily wooded forest. Mialee was there, a look of confusion on her face. Her green eyes met Barek’s as they realized Senyan wasn’t with them.
                  “He must’ve teleported us and stayed behind.” Mialee slumped against a tree. “What are we going to do now, Barek? Even if he’s not dead yet, he will be soon enough. Everyone else is gone.” She looked lost.
                  Barek punched a tree hard enough to send bark flying. By teleporting them out and staying behind, Senyan had commited suicide. Barek didn’t like people dying needlessly. The need to avenge the deaths of his friends began to course through his blood.
                  “We head north,” he said decisively. “They may be dead now, but if we raise an army of our own and burn that cesspool to the ground, we should be able to find at least one cleric willing to live long enough to bring them back.”
                  “Just not one that is a follower of Silas. Considering Arwenna’s faith, I find it very disturbing that the militant arm of that church would be the ones executing her.” Mialee’s sharp eyes had recognized the symbol worn by the paladin.
                  “Understand this….that one is mine !” Barek began to amuse himself with thoughts of what he would do to the paladin responsible for executing his companions.
                  They headed north, only stopping to rest when exhaustion threatened to overtake them.               Barek had a destination in mind. His clan threw him out years ago for not being a pure orc. He knew he could persuade most, if not all of them, to march on Tanisal. It was a human city, after all. And orcs had no love of humans. Y’Dürkie’s tribe would want the chance to avenge her death, as well. As long as the two armies could agree to not fight each other until after the city was razed, all would be well.
                  After several weeks of hard travel, Mialee insisted on stopping at a small town they found on the way. Salsburg seemed peaceful enough, though the guards were wary of letting Barek in. There had been problems with orcs in the past. Barek made note of it. If there were orcs nearby, that was more for his army.
                  They found a quiet inn near the gate. The innkeeper was a pleasant enough fellow. He didn’t seem concerned about a well-armed half orc wanting a room. “Break anything, you’ll be paying the owner for it,” he muttered at him. Barek nodded in agreement.
                  “I don’t suppose you have any baths? We’ve been on the road for a while and my hair is just filthy!” Mialee batted her eyes at the innkeeper. He nodded to her