Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 74
74 "Shekka, you're a real mess, and I say that with love." "Go to hell, Wardo." "From the looks of things, you beat me to it." She brandished a bloody piece of broken arrow at his face, but she was off by about three feet. Her eyes had faded to the...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 73
73 There was a giant pit dug at the base of the Cora statue, at least four strides wide; a gaping, crumbling hole. There were wooden stakes planted all around the edge, anchoring dozens of chains that fed into the shadowy depths like spokes on a...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 72
72 It was the longest, most tiring journey of his life. The sun had already started to crest the mountain by the time they finally made it back home. The gate swung open with a groan, scraping the ground clear of snow. It made a shape like a pair of...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 71
71 Everything was painful. His head, his jaw, the fingers on his right hand, but worst of all was his chest. There was something hard and heavy pressing against it, holding him down. Every time he tried to breathe, it stung him like a giant thorn. It...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 70
70 There was no pain, no cold, no sadness. There was only peace and the smell of something sweet, carried by a warm, summer breeze. James opened his eyes. The sky was blue, but not just any blue. It was the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 69
69 Impossible. There was no way it could be true, and yet there was no mistaking that voice. It was the same one he had listened to his entire life, telling him to clean his room and feed the chickens and haul water from the well, the same voice that...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 68
68 Luke jerked awake, completely smothered in darkness. He covered his mouth and nose, not wanting his panicked breathing to wake his siblings. Perhaps sensing their big brother's distress, Valery nuzzled against him, moaning softly in her sleep, and...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 67
67 There was no light save for the pale glow of the moon. No flicker of orange flames shining through the gaps in the trees, no beacon to guide him. He was sure they would have made a fire by now, but there was nothing, only emptiness. Even all the...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 66
66 Off in the shadows, Dorin was staring at this display of affection, his body and soul completely numb. He was still alive, but he didn't know how to feel about that. Not happy, that was for certain, but not sad, either. There was just this tired...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 65
65 There were eight of them, all lined up, their hands and feet bound tightly. Danado limped down the line, inspecting each of them in turn, the rage in his heart slowly coming to a boil. Seffer was unconscious, with a huge bump growing out of his...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 64
64 The log was half-buried in the snow when he saw it, dead and rotted, almost invisible. If it wasn't for the broken branches sticking out of the top, they would have walked right by it, probably to die. "Why did you stop?" Tim asked. His voice was...
Ander - Chapter 5, Subchapter 63
63 There was no dead Wolf sprawled in the snow, no pools of blood, no dead Danado staring up at the night sky with his tongue hanging out and an arrow growing out of his forehead. Seffer's arrow had struck a lumpy, uprooted tree stump with two dead...