AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The bright green of the softly rolling hills flash by, and the wind from our ride blows my hair away from my face. My pulse races and a smile curves my lips.
A decade ago, I would have sworn I wasn’t capable of looking a man in the eyes and taking his life, but I’ve yet to kill someone who didn’t deserve it. Rapists, abusers, thieves, and, worst of all, people who hurt children. None of them have escaped my blade. None of them deserved to.
Most of them were nameless, faceless nobodies. People who wouldn’t be missed. But a high priest’s murder certainly won’t go unnoticed. Which is why I intend to travel as far south as I can go and lay low there for a while.
The money I insisted on for killing the priest padded my already generous reserves. A sum I can live on for close to a year without taking another kill if I do all my own hunting and am careful with it. A year is more than enough time to let this blow over.
Something sizzles in the air as we crest a hill, and when Meera snorts, I know she feels it too. The invisible barrier separating one god’s land from another’s always feels like a whisper of lightning over my skin.
I can’t remember whose land borders Pramis’s to the west, but if we’ve crossed into another god’s territory, I’m far enough away from the city to give Meera a rest. Slowing her to a walk, I pat her neck and sit up straighter in the saddle.
Another few hours following this road and we should hit a village. A village with a tavern and hot food and strong wine. I don’t drink often, but after every kill, I raise a glass. Not to the dead but to their liberated victims who can rest easy knowing their tormentor is beyond the veil.
It’s a gruesome truth, but each kill heals a small part of me. It soothes the girl I once was. The girl who had no one to protect her from monsters.
I ride until the sun dips below the trees and the sky slowly shifts from blue to pink to purple and then descends into inky black. I’ve always loved the darkness. Even as a child, it comforted me. The way it swallows you up and shrouds you from the world.
I begin to wonder if I’ve misjudged the distance to the next village until we crest a small rise and a blanket of lights fans out beneath us. It’s not a large village, but hopefully there’s somewhere I can buy a hot meal and find a warm place to sleep.
Meera ambles through the narrow street. There aren’t many people out at this time of night, but a door to a large square building opens ahead, and music spills out into the dark.
I aim for it, dismounting and leading Meera to a small stable that’s little more than a lean-to with fresh hay and water in small bins. Tethering Meera to the post inside, I ignore her hopeful stare until she nudges my arm.
“You got greedy and ate it,” I remind her, but she nudges me again. “That was the last one, I’m afraid, but I’ll see if they have anything inside for you. Be good,” I add, chuckling when she huffs out a sigh and takes a single blade of hay between her teeth.
I run my fingers through my windblown hair and round the side of the tavern, letting myself in to the soft sound of voices singing a gentle hymn I don’t recognize. A few people glance up when I cross to the bar, but no one seems eager to ask any questions or pry into my business. Exactly the way I prefer it.
“What can I get for you?” a man with a thick gray beard and eyes so dark they’re almost black asks.
“Spiced wine and whatever’s hot to eat.”
“Got a good goat stew.”
My stomach rumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten since this morning and I won’t be picky. “Sounds delicious.”
The man grunts, pouring wine into a glass and disappearing through a door behind the bar. He returns with a large bowl and a plate of bread and sets both in front of me. My mouth waters, and I dig in with my spoon, closing my eyes at the first bite of perfectly cooked meat.
“You’re not from around here.”
“No,” I agree. “Just passing through on my way south.”
He takes a long look at my unbound hair and black coat but doesn’t comment on either. Instead he says, “Need a room?”
I hesitate. Normally I stay close to Meera while traveling. Find a secluded spot to sleep and let her alert me to danger close by. But I slept in the woods while I watched the priest to avoid anyone at a tavern being able to recognize me. A bed sounds nice after a week on the ground, but it’s not worth the risk.
“No, thank you.”
He doesn’t say anything, just moves down to the other end of the bar to pour another round for the two old men arguing, but he watches me, his eyes darting up to check on me every few minutes. I finish my meal quickly, draining my glass, and leave my payment next to my plate on the scarred wood.
A hint of chill in the air races down my spine and raises goosebumps over my skin when I push out of the tavern’s comforting heat. I briefly consider going back inside and asking for the room again, but Meera nickers when she sees me, and I banish that thought. I feel safer in the open with her by my side than I would behind the locked door of a strange tavern.
We’re a team, Meera and I, and have been since I rescued her from an abusive master five years ago. I pat her neck and push enough hay into the corner to make a nest. Almost like a bed, but not quite. It’ll do for tonight.
As soon as the sky is light enough, we’ll keep heading south, and once we settle somewhere safe, we’ll both enjoy a much deserved rest.
Chapter Three
Thunder rumbles in the distance behind me, the wind kicking up with the storm. A bead of sweat gathers between my shoulder blades and drips down my back as I circle my opponent.
