The Crowned (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga, Book 6) by Jeremy Laszlo Read Free Book Online Page A

glass
panels in her helm. She still grew stronger by the second, but even now was
incapable of bending the thick steel bars.
    The cart her cage inhabited moved ever westward, the driver
not even stopping to relieve himself. Had it not been for the sound of his
heart beating in his chest she would have sworn the man was dead on more than
one occasion. But no, the bastard lived.
    The terrain had turned from hills to plains and back again
throughout the previous night and the morning. Now it felt as if they slowly
climbed upwards, the air carrying more chill with every hour. Sara, however,
was relieved to see that not far ahead they would be entering a forest. She
would much prefer the dark shadows over the sharp piercing pains she got
whenever she opened her eyes out in the open.
    A quarter of an hour later the trail they followed turned
into the trees. Though many of the trees had lost their leaves, a good
percentage were pines and other evergreens that did wonders at blocking the
sun.
    Sara was relieved when the constant pain vanished, and
changing her position she sat upon her knees to better get a lay of the land. Ahead,
just as before the forest, it was apparent that they were indeed climbing, and
the trail they followed was well worn by the recent passage of Sigrant’s army,
supplies, and war machines. A few miles ahead it appeared that the trail
turned, but other than that she could find nothing of interest to make note of.
    The miles passed and just as Sara had believed, the driver
led the steeds and the cart around a sharp bend in the trail, and immediately
the scenery changed. Here the trail narrowed uncomfortably, the boughs of the
trees interlocking overhead to cut out the vast majority of the light. The
driver slowed the steeds as the cart began to buck and jump, as it bounced over
great roots that crossed the path.
    Where moments before the path was clear and showed obvious
signs of Sigrant’s army’s recent passage, this portion of the trail looked
ancient and unused.
    Rounding another bend, the trail narrowed once more, causing
branches and the trunks of trees to scrape the sides of the cart and bash and
clang off the bars of Sara’s cage. Hitting a root the entire cart bounced, and
Sara was thrown against the bars causing her armor to clank as she sucked in a
quick breath, having been caught off guard. The driver looked back at her and
smiled wickedly, amused by her uncomfortable ride. Another root and again the
cart bounced. This time her cage shifted slightly. Noting the change, Sara
moved to the front of the cage, hoping it would slide forward once again.
    She waited only moments before they rode over a particularly
rough patch in the road. Her cage bounced and slid again towards the front of
the cart and Sara shoved her arm between the bars, her fingertips brushing the
driver’s cloak. Another bump and he was inches away again. Sara sighed in
defeat.
    Then, rounding yet another curve in the trail, Sara got what
she wished for. Root after thick root crossed the path they traveled, making
the cart bounce uncontrollably. It creaked and squeaked from the strain as the
cage slid and bounced, shifting its weight across the bed of the cart. Closer
and closer the driver came, and then she had him. Grasping his cloak, Sara
yanked with all her might, pulling him up and off his seat to smash backwards
against the bars of the cage with a crack. The reins falling slack, the steeds
took it as their cue to pick up the pace. Reaching through the bars, she
grasped the man’s head in one arm and grabbed his jaw with the other. Rending
bone and meat from his skull she tore the two asunder, assuring herself that he
would never smile at her misery again. Then, reaching into his belt, she found
the pouch she sought and, pulling it between the bars, she loosened the strings
upon it and produced a key from within.
    All the while the steeds pulling the cart raced faster and
faster down the rough and all too narrow trail.