The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5 by J.L. Blackthorne Read Free Book Online Page B

the
Typhorian was lucky that she appeared to succumb quickly, but now, what would
Kiella do?  Alone.  Were there more?  Had they really killed them all?  Sunset
was only a few hours away.  Soon, it would be nightfall.  The Gekken had
slaughtered the horses or severed their reigns, and those that lived were long
gone.  Even if the Gekken were really gone, she wouldn’t make it out of the
woods before night fell and the wolves prowled the forest.  Perhaps she wasn’t
the fortunate one after all.
    And yet, something stirred.  The Typhorian.  Astonishingly,
she stood.  Blood oozing from her belly, Kiella watched as the beautiful
warrior matter-of-factly tore the fabric from a fallen soldier’s garments and
used it to wrap tightly around her wound.  She then turned and faced Kiella.
    “You.  If
you had freed me earlier, many of them wouldn’t have needed to die.”
    Kiella was still in shock that Raveena was standing, or
breathing at all.  She stared at her for a moment, bewildered, as if she
thought she was an apparition.  Then, she gathered herself and responded.
    “It wasn’t
my decision.  I was following orders.  I couldn’t have freed you anyway, do you
forget, I didn’t have the key.”
    “Your
people.  Idiots.  Fools.  Worse than I ever believed.  I’ve known your people
were senseless morons, but this . . .  And now look, look at the price they
paid?  And my people . . . my people . . . I am the biggest fool of all, to
have trusted you.  To have put any faith in you.  To have thought you would
listen.  That you might hear reason . . .  I am such a fool.  I’ve got to warn
them.  I’ve got to get to my people . . . immediately.  They must know what is
coming.”
    Kiella held her tongue.  Yes, she wanted to defend her
people, but now hardly seemed the time.  She couldn’t believe her eyes as she
watched Raveena begin to walk towards the west.  Did she really think she would
make it all the way to her kingdom?  She would be lucky to make it to the edge
of the clearing.  She thought of the chickens whose bodies continue to move
even after their heads were cleaved, and their death had already been
determined.  She didn’t see much difference between that and the beautiful
warrior, as she limped across the field, acting as if she had no idea or
awareness that her insides had been severed and that her death was imminent. 
Yet, she continued on, and soon Kiella realized she’d better rush to catch up,
or be left truly alone there, in the wilderness, with no hope at all.
    “Please, let
me tend your wound.  I told you, I’m a trained medic” implored Kiella.
    “You and
your people have done enough.  Leave me alone.”
    “Surely, we
are better off together than apart.  You must let me tend that wound.”
    “Don’t touch
me.”  Raveena stopped and looked Kiella over.  “You may come, but don’t slow me
down.  And don’t question me.  You do what I say, when I say it.  If you make
yourself a nuisance, if you piss me off, I’ll kill you without a thought.”
    Kiella could tell that the beauty was not in the most sober
of spirits.  Whether she was hiding it from herself or not, Raveena’s eyes
showed the wear.  The dark, gorgeous eyes that could be so striking and vibrant
were now fading.  Kiella knew it was even more important that she go along for
Raveena’s sake than for her own.  She put up no argument and followed along.
    Raveena kept a pace that seemed unimaginable in her
condition.  They made good ground quickly, and had passed through nearly all of
the Merken Woods, which were to the west of the Raganean Forest, by late
afternoon.  Kiella had been wishing to ask for a short rest for quite a while,
when they came upon a quickly running stream and Raveena finally paused. 
Kiella took advantage of the moment to soak her aching feet and drink her fill
of the fresh water.  Raveena drank, and then carefully undressed and set her
clothes aside, so that she