01 - Empire in Chaos by Anthony Reynolds - (ebook by Undead) Page B

he allowed her to stop and rest
when she needed it, and he gave her food—strange, savoury flat cakes that
stemmed her hunger instantly.
    Was she his slave now? Would he take advantage of her once he deemed them far
enough away from the village, and beyond pursuit? She had decided that she would
not sleep the previous night at all—she would wait until the elf was asleep,
and she would escape from him. That plan had come to nothing, for she had
dropped into a deep and fitful sleep. She had been plagued by horrible dreams—she saw her father’s face, twisted and grinning, burning blue orbs where his
eyes should have been. When she had finally woken, the elf was already up and
waiting for her. Tonight, she thought. Tonight I will escape from him. Having
caught her breath, she began clambering up the incline, slipping in the dark,
moist earth, the muscles of her legs burning. Drawing near the pale-skinned elf
she raised her gaze to meet his, her eyes defiant. His hard, cold, lavender eyes
held hers for a moment before he indicated for her to continue up the incline
with a quick nod of his pointed chin.
    He was tall, taller even than her father had been, though he was inhumanly
slender. But not weak, she decided. No, he was far from weak. He was lean and
sinewy, like a rangy wolf, and his every move was perfectly balanced and
elegant. There was a harshness to him that made every movement he made seem
fuelled by bitterness, and she often jumped at his swift, sharp movements.
    Dressed in soft, grey leather, he wore a pair of thin, empty scabbards
strapped to his thighs. Over his back were two empty quivers. The soldiers had
clearly taken his weapons away from him. Still, he did not seem any less
dangerous for being unarmed.
    His eyes seemed to mock her, to speak of her frailty. Annaliese was
determined not to show weakness in front of him.
    With her head held high, she moved past him and continued climbing the hill,
trying to ignore the pain in her legs.
    She rose over the incline and began to move along the ridge. Lost in her own
misery, she walked for some time before she felt a hand upon her shoulder. She
gasped involuntarily.
    It was the elf, of course, and Annaliese cursed herself for showing her fear.
    He pointed into the undergrowth, but she couldn’t see anything. She shrugged,
furrowing her brow, and the elf gave a slight, disdainful shake of his head, and
indicated for her to follow him.
    They moved some thirty yards through the ferns towards an ancient and
contorted oak tree, where the elf halted. He swept off his long grey cloak in a
quick movement and threw it over a low-hanging branch, fixing it there with
simple leather ties. He pinned the corners of the cloak into the ground, using
twigs a makeshift pegs. It had taken only seconds, but he had constructed a
basic, yet highly effective one-man shelter. He indicated for her to sit beneath
the cloak; but she stayed where she was standing, glaring at him, After a
moment, he shrugged his shoulders, and pulled the twig-pegs from the moist soil
and swung the cloak back over his shoulder. He pulled the hood over his head, so
that his face was all but hidden in it depths, his eyes glittering.
    A moment later it began to sleet, icy rain coming down in sheets. The water
slipped off the elf’s hood like oil, and Annaliese pulled her coat around her
tighter. She thought she saw a hint of amusement in the eyes of the elf, and she
lifted her head high, her mouth set in a grim line.
    The elf stabbed a finger towards her, then at the ground. He was telling her
to stay here. He repeated the action, and she nodded her head.
    Then he was gone, slipping away into the trees like a shadow. In an instant
he had disappeared.
    This was her chance to escape, she knew. But she had no idea where she was,
and if there were more of those monsters lurking nearby. These dense woods were
rife with outlaws and killers. There were even some who claimed to have