Llewellyn’s Song Read Free

pine needles and a sticky
patch of sap before something caught her foot and yanked her backwards with
incredible force.
    Her glosseer fell from her hand and she saw it
twinkle then vanish in the snow. The tree branch tore from her hand and she
fell, hitting her head hard…
    * * * * *
    Night. Cold. Wind calling to her. Tamara! Tamara! Feeling came back slowly but everything was eclipsed by the cold. She managed
to open one eye, then the other. Her lashes stuck together. Dried blood? Stars
spangled the sky. Night. Night? Hadn’t it been…evening? The sky blurred, then
cleared, blurred again, then cleared. Tree branches moved across her vision.
She blinked. No, trees didn’t move, but she moved, or rather, something carried
her.
    She tried to understand in what position she lay, but aside from
her eyes, staring upwards, nothing else responded. Not her arms, or legs, or
fingers. Only her eyes, and now she felt her heart pounding, pounding in sheer
panic as she became aware that something carried her, but her body felt heavy,
strangely numb. Why couldn’t she move? Terror pulled whimpers from her throat,
but she barely heard them for the pounding of her heart. What carried her, and
where did it take her?
    Time went mad then, as she watched the stars wheel across
the sky. Did she sleep? Sometimes she woke in panic, so she must have slept.
Waking only terrified her more, for each time she had to remember all over
again. Sometimes she awoke to the sound of footsteps, other times she awoke to
the vision of her glosseer falling into the snow, her hand outstretched
to catch it.
    Whatever carried her never faltered, never slowed, and paid
no heed to her screams or sobs.
    She woke up again shivering from cold. The sky had a gray
cast to it—dawn came. Had she screamed? She must have, for her throat hurt with
each breath. She couldn’t remember anymore. She didn’t know anything anymore. A
faint vision came to her, a golden globe sparkling as it fell. She fell. The
sky lurched and suddenly she hit the ground. It didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt.
Nothing.
    The sun peeked over the horizon and cast its light into the
cave where she lay. She could see the light arrive, silently, creeping across
the cave floor until it touched her fingers. She knew where she was now. A
cave. But what had attacked her? She hadn’t recognized the shadowy figure that
had surged out of the trees. She’d never seen that sort of demon before. A
demon yeti? The thought made her pause. Well, at least she thought. Her mind
seemed clear, but her body had been broken. She saw blood on her fingertips and
try as she might, she could not move them. Even the cold had ceased to bother
her. She must be dying. Would the creature wait until she died to eat her, or
would it kill her first? A slight rasping sound alerted her. She held her
breath until the creature walked into her line of sight, and then she started
to scream.
    * * * * *
    Llewellyn had started down the worst part of the slope when
he heard the scream. Instantly he froze, searching for the origin of the sound.
It rose to a pinnacle of sheer terror and pain. It came from below him.
    Dropping his gear, he flung his cloak down and seized his
knife, bow and quiver. Then he picked his way carefully down the steep cliff,
not letting the screams lure him into rash haste. It could very well be a trap.
His kind were not welcome in this country, and he knew it.
    With one eye, judging distance became tricky, but he managed
to descend the cliff and stay under cover. Using the boulders and stunted
trees, he edged toward the sound. It grew fainter, as if all strength had been
spent. He saw now where it came from. A narrow opening in the rocks that looked
like it led to a cavern.
    Not good at all. To enter would be like entering a trap. The
sun slanted inwards, so as soon as he stepped in front of the opening his
presence would be known. He glanced at the sky. Another two hours before the
sun would move enough to let him slip