Merek's Ascendance by Andrew Lashway Read Free Book Online Page A

hear anything and he felt sore down to his very bones, but it was not raining.
    Small favors.
    He was so tired, so drained, he didn’t have the strength to voice the thought aloud. He wanted to roll over and pass out again, but fainting wasn’t really a true sleep. Each time (as embarrassing as it was to admit in only two days) he woke up feeling more tired than when he had fallen.
    And there were the bears.
    His head shot up as far as his pain would allow – two inches – as he remembered. The bears were caught in some kind of trap. He tried to move his legs, but their attention was apparently elsewhere. His arms were about as useless, even though Merek was silently impressed that he hadn’t dropped either his staff or his stone.
    Fat lot of good that does me.
    He took a few deep breaths, summoning the last vestiges of strength he had. He couldn’t just lay there, he had to get moving. He had to save those bears. He couldn’t figure out what it was that connected him to them, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that he do something. He clenched his fist, swearing to himself that he would channel everything he had to fight for them.
    It ear ned him the ability to roll on his side.
    Refusing to be discouraged, Merek stretched out an injured arm to the hillside. Digging his rock into the dirt, he started the slow ascent up the hill. His other hand, bereft of any fingers by the staff, simply smashed into the wet ground for purchase.
    I can just imagine Father. Yelling that I’m too weak. Too tired. I don’t deserve to save them. I’ll fail. I always fail. I’ve always failed you, and Mother. That’s what you’ve always said, right Father? And maybe you’re right.
    But not this time.
    He didn’t know what made him do it. He couldn’t pretend to know where he found the strength. But little by little, he crawled up the hill. His muscles burned, screaming in protest, but they followed his will anyway. He could barely keep his eyes open and his jaw shut, as all of his effort was being put into moving. Sweat poured down his body, the dirt sticking to him as he climbed.
    If there was anyone around, they would have been impressed that he actually made it. Merek was simply angry at himself for taking so long, and he tried to make up for it by pushing himself to his feet. He failed, and only managed to get to his knees.
    It was enough for him to see what he needed.
    The bears were gone, the net that held them gone too. The pain subsided long enough for Merek to crawl towards the spot where they so recently hung. His chest was burning, as if he had taken a kick from a mule.
    Getting struck by lightning… is… fun.
    The pain subsided a bit more, allowing him to finally stand up. He stood hunched, his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths as he tried to soothe his ravaged head. There was a hunter in the woods, no doubt. Probably two. The arrows… that was amateur work. His father would do something like that when he hunted animals he shouldn’t.
    The net, however… that was professional. Merek couldn’t know for sure, he had never seen a professional at work, but there was no mistaking it.
    “What… what am I supposed to do?” Merek panted, slowly straightening to his full height. “They’re probably long gone.”
    He looked down and saw the grass was all leveled, as if something large had crushed it. His gaze then shifted, following where the grass was crushed in a distinct trail. Wheels, if he wasn’t very much mistaken.
    “Then again…”
    Merek hesitated, wondering if he should go. What could he do against a professional poacher?
    Probably not much.
    Merek shrugged, accepting it. No, he probably couldn’t do much.
    He followed the trail anyway.
    “I’m used to failing. What’s one more time, really?”
    With that, Merek shrugged and followed the trail. He had no idea where it would lead him, but maybe he wasn’t too late.
    “Even if I’m not,” he muttered through clenched teeth, “what am