Page 39 (1/1)
Karsa raced after hi still under his arreat pain, the Teblor knew He conte its throat
The child entered a barn, still carrying his ed through the side doorway Sudden gloom There were no beasts in the stalls; the straw, still piled high, looked old and da boat co on wooden horses Double sliding doors to the left, one of theing back and forth
Karsa found the last, darkest stall, where he set Gnan on the straw ‘I shall return to you,that, find a way to heal, then journey ho of leather fro a handful of bronze sigils bearing the tribal signs, then strung the thong through the loose, and so would make no sound He tied the makeshift collar round Gnaw’s thick, ’s shattered hip and closed his eyes ‘I gift this beast the soul of the Teblor, the heart of the Uryd Urugal, hear hter Then send hial, hide him’
He withdrew his hand and opened his eyes The beast looked up at hiain, this I vow upon the blood of all the children I have slain this day’
Shifting grip on his bloodsword, Karsa turned away and departed the stall without another backward glance
He padded towards the sliding door, looked out
A warehouse stood opposite, high-ceilinged with a loading loft beneath its slate-tiled roof Fro ca, Karsa darted across to where the loading chains dangled froh overhead
As he prepared to sling his sword back over a shoulder, he saith a start, that he was festooned with arrows and quarrels, and realized, for the first ti his body was his own Scowling, he pulled the darts out There was h and the tounds in his chest A long arrow in his back had buried its barbed head deep intothe arrow free, but the pain that resulted ca the shaft just behind the iron head, and this effort alone left hi
Distant shouts alerted hi cordon of soldiers and townsfolk, all hunting hian cli Every tiony But it had been the flat of a mattock’s blade that had felled Gnaw, a two-handed blow fro elsehimself onto the platfor as he drew his sword once ed, belohiods the child worshipped
Karsahole in the centre of the platfor, lest sawdust drift down froe and looked down
The fool was directly beneath hi, the mattock held ready as he faced the barred doors He had soiled hirip on his sword, held it out point doard, then dropped froe
The sword’s tip entered atop the h bone and brain As Karsa’s full weight i sound, and Teblor and victih, down into a cellar Shattered floorboards crashed down around the of salted fish yet eroped for his sword, but he could not find it Hewas sticking out of his chest, a red shard of splintered wood He was, he be for his sword, though he could not otherwise reasy with salt and sticking to his fingertips
He heard the sound of boots fro of helmed faces sloam into view Then another child’s face appeared, unhelmed, his brow ely syer, then the tattooed child gestured and everyone fell silent In the Sunyd dialect of the Teblor, the man said, ‘Should you die down there, warrior, at least you’ll keep for a time’