Page 25 of 1000 of You
“Yes. So?”
“They were spared the agony oftheir own deaths. They did not have to suffer. They did not suffer, because wetook that suffering for them.”
She slowly nodded. “Muam, I am weary of this. I am sick of waking up andknowing I will die again.” She hiccupped slightly and sniffed. Her warm tearssoaked through his torn and dirty tunic. “If not for you, I would end my ownlife as soon as I awoke, and not wait for the Ancient Mother to decree it.”
“I feel the same way. I no longercare if anyone else knows what we are going through. But we cannot stop hopingthis will all end…eventually.”
The sound of something scratchingat the door caught their attention. A voice called down from overhead. “Thedogs are trying to get in! Hurry back up here!”
Muamhelped her over to the ladder, and they began climbing up to the overheadstorage area, when something struck the door with a loud bang. Immediatelyafter, several dogs started howling and barking, and their scratching becamemore frenetic.
Someone grabbedMuam’sarm as he reached the top of the ladder and hauled him over the edge. At thesame time, the door below gave way, and they heard several hounds rush inside.The group of children watched in alarm as the dogs sniffed around the interior.When a couple of the animals investigated the ladder, one of them beganclimbing up the wooden steps.
“They are coming after us!”Karliffyelled. “Get out of here! Run!”
“Run where?”Muamdemanded. “Is there another ladder?”
“It does not matter! We have to getout of here!”
“We have to jump down to thestream,” another voice noted.
“That is crazy! It is too far tojump!”Kiretargued. “There are rocks below!”
A dog’s massive head appeared overthe edge of the storage area. It reached out with a paw as it struggled to geta foothold on the flooring to hoist itself up. Grabbing a sack,Muamwadded it up and ran at the animal. The dog growledand snapped at the sack asMuampushed against it,knocking the hound off the ladder. The animal landed on the floor below with acry of pain, but two more animals were already ascending the ladder.
Govagrabbed his arm. “We cannot keep trying to knock them down. They willeventually reach us.” She was right. He knew it, and he was certain the othersdid, as well.
“Is there away to climb down the outside of the mill?” he yelled, trying to be heard abovethe din coming from below as the dogs, sensing they were closing in on theirprey, kept up the baying and barking.
Theyhurried to the other end of the storage area, where the roof opened up.Muamgazed out in the distance. Other than a lone fireburning far away, there was no other sign of life or activity. Overhead, thespirits of those whom the gods had deemed worthy sparkled in the darkness.
“There aremore dogs outside,” one of the other boys pointed out. “Look.”
Muamguessed there had to be at least a dozen in the pack.As he peered over the edge, one of the animals that had clambered up the laddermanaged to get footing on the floor. Snarling, the dog rushed them. There was ascream, and one of the children tumbled down to the stream below. The dog cameafterMuam, but he managed to take a swipe at it withthe bundled bag he still held. The dog yelped as it slid off the roof andplummeted to the ground where several in the pack converged on it.
“Muam.”Govagrabbed his arm. “Wewill not survive this. You and I know this. If we try to climb down or jump, wecould break a leg, or worse, and the dogs will tear us apart.”
He pulledher thin, trembling body against him. “Our only way to avoid that is to jumphead first, and pray we die instantly when we hit the rocks.”
Anothergrowl indicated another dog had reached the top of the ladder. Knowing they hadno time left,Muamgave her one final kiss. “Untilthe next time, my love,” he promised. Letting her go, he dove off the roof. Thelast thing he saw before he hit the stream wasGovafollowing directly behind him.
Chapter 14
England, 1557
His headhurt. His arms hurt. His legs were throbbing. There was a pressure against hislower back so persistent, his muscles screamed in agony.
Muamslowly opened his eyes. He was propped upwards, but hewasn’t standing. Flexing his fingers, he figured he was tied to something. Apole of some sort. He tried to raise his head in order to get a better lookaround, but something prevented him from doing so. Neither could he adjusthimself to relieve some of the pain.
Wherever hewas, it was dark. What he assumed to be a lit torch flickered somewhere. Butworse than how he felt was the stench. He caught the sound of groaning fromseveral throats, which told him he wasn’t alone.
Outof the corner of his eye came a slight movement.“Robart.Robart, can you hear me?”
Muamblinked to clear the film covering his eyes. Only itwasn’t film. This room was soaked in smoke and dust. He coughed and tried toclear his throat. “Yes, I hear you.”
“Canyou move?”
Hedidn’t have to try to answer that question. “No. My arms and legs will not obeyme.”
