Fifth Quarter by Tanya Huff Read Free Book Online Page B

inside the garrison for far too long; it was time to fly. After all, wasn't this what they were being trained to do? What difference was there between sneaking out of the garrison after lockup and sneaking into an enemy camp?
     
    What difference ? Lips twisted into a trembling parody of a smile. Nine lashes .
     
    Wood pressed against shoulders, belly, and thighs, the breezes felt cooler than they should against bare, exposed skin.
     
    Getting out had been easy. They'd danced through the shadows of the town, picked up the proof the bet required, and danced back. The feeling of freedom had been exhilarating; even the night air had seemed sweeter. They'd almost made it.
     
    We should have made it .
     
    From behind, the lash snapped out, striking a practice blow at nothing.
     
    Swallow with a throat gone suddenly dry.
     
    Shake off the comforting clasp of fingers. The corporal had bound them together before lashing their inner wrists to the punishment beam.
     
    We would've made it if I'd seen that rotten board . Impossible not to tense, anticipating the pain. I should've ...
     
     
     
    … seen that rotten board . Vree struggled to pull herself out of the memory before the lash could fall. She'd gone through it once when she was fourteen and had no intention of going through it again. And then she realized. That hadn't been her memory. "Bannon?"
     
    "No…"
     
    "Bannon!"
     
    "Vree?" She could almost feel him pulling himself together, drawing all the scattered bits into a confused and fearful whole. "What…?"
     
    They realized they were bound at the same instant and for a moment their combined memories of pain and humiliation threatened to overwhelm them. Only exhaustion kept their struggle against the binding from tipping over into panic.
     
    A frenzied throbbing that threatened to smash the bones of her skull dragged Vree out of the gestalt. Fighting the instinctive urge to push Bannon away, she clung to herself and finally forced her body to still.
     
    "That's better. You haven't a chance of breaking free."
     
    The tone was urbane, amused. The voice was almost familiar.
     
    Gritting her teeth, Vree heaved her eyelids up.
     
    Bannon—not Bannon—stood watching her from a double-body length away. He'd put on a pale green robe that didn't quite fit and his expression contained more curiosity than threat. Beside him, piled on the end of the bed, were not only the weapons she'd been forced to carry in her makeshift pack, but also every weapon that had remained on her body.
     
    Shit.
     
    Not that it really mattered because she was obviously going to be given no chance to use them. She'd been tied, with what appeared to be silk scarves, to the heavy, northern-style chair she'd seen from the doorway. Although bruised from the fight, the greatest amount of damage seemed to have been caused by the sudden desperate grab for her brother's life. Her head still rang as though all seven armies were marching through it.
     
    "You must be the sister."
     
    It was so weird hearing the timbre of Bannon's voice changed by a stranger's inflections. Vree flinched as long, cool fingers took firm hold of her jaw and raised her head.
     
    "You look very much alike. Do you know that?" Bannon's lips smiled. "Of course you do. I have to admit, I never thought to meet you—although you were close to the surface of your brother's thoughts, he believed himself to be alone and I certainly didn't expect you to be following so close behind. Had I known, I'd have lingered long enough to take care of things." He released her and wiped his fingers fastidiously on the billowing folds of his robe as he straightened. "Mind you, I couldn't possibly have expected you to gather the poor boy to your bosom, metaphorically speaking, and come trotting after me determined to shove him back into his fleshy shell. If asked, I'd have declared it an impossible situation. Obviously, I would have been wrong." His eyes narrowed. "That doesn't often happen. I