Page 44 of Fires of the Forsaken
The three corpses were stacked in a neat pile beside the gaping hole. They were still clothed, although the other soldiers had stripped the bodies of their weapons, boots, belts, leather vests...anything useful.
I’d seen similar sights in movies, but there was adistinctdifference between fake bodies on a screen and corpses in real life. For one, I didn't know dead flesh turned purple and gray, almost like bad bruising. In the movies, they’d just looked pale. The stench of decay burnt my nostrils, even though I stood several feet away. It was suffocating. Nauseating. Andunnaturalto see a human so still, their limbs stiff, their eyes blank.
My gut lurched.
I rested my head against the tree, closing my eyes and breathing shallowly as the world tilted sideways.
“Are ye alright?” A voice asked.
“No,” I mumbled.
The sound of a cork being popped filled my ears, and a leather flask was pressed into my quaking hands. “Here,” the voice insisted.
Please be alcohol.I took a sip.
Bleh. It was water.
“Thanks.” I opened my eyes and came face-to-face with Belanna—
No.
This was her brother.
Hertwin.The two were identical: same carroty hair, same gray eyes, same tall and broad-shouldered build. The only differences? He had a beard. And she had boobs.
“Brandon? Right? Or, no, that’s not it...” I squinted and pointed at him. Normally I was good at remembering names, but I’d had a lot of them thrown at me recently. And this dude must’ve been hiding somewhere because I hadn’t seen him before.
He flashed me a smile. “Braxton,” he held out a hand, giving my arm a vigorous shake. “And I haven’t been hiding anywhere. Ye really do that, eh? Talk without realizing it?”
“Guilty. Sorry.”
“Nothin’ ye need to be apologizin’ for.” He had a booming laugh, but the mirth didn’t reach his eyes.
Belanna had said he was looking for someone at Bafrus. Someone who’d died.
I gnawed on my lower lip,beforemy mouth betrayed me again, and raised the flask in a half-salute. “Thanks for this. But you’ll be my best friend forever if you’ve got something stronger.”
This time, his chuckle was more genuine. “Ah, so it’s the good stuff yer looking for.” He took the flask back. “I’ll let ye know if I find any, but most have run out.”
“Damn it.”
“My sentiments as well.” Braxton popped the cork back in and re-attached the flask to his belt. “Ye've handled yer arrival here very well. When Belanna and I arrived, she cried every night for two years. She’ll never admit to that, of course.” He winked.
“And you guys were kids?”
“Aye. Must be near thirty years ago now.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It's hard to recall sometimes.”
Thirty years?
OMG. I was definitely gonna die here.
Braxton turned suddenly and I tilted my head up as Cheriour stepped beside me. He leaned against the tree trunk, crossed his arms over his chest, and fixed me with that impassive stare.
I almost thought he was going to say something. Maybe ask if I was okay.
But…nope. He turned to Braxton. “We’re a few hours away from Lamex. Belanna still hasn’t been able to confirm the condition of the village. Have you had any luck?”
“No. Even our most reliable birds have vanished.”
