Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers Read Free Page A

the death blow. Sebastian steeled himself for the impact of the blade against his neck. But then there was a loud hiss: another arrow seemed to bloom like a strange flower out of the creature's chest and his face contorted in agony. He fell backwards onto the ground and lay there, writhing and gasping for breath.
     
The second creature was still shambling forward, but now he was no longer staring at Sebastian but at something or someone behind him. The beast raised his sword and then a lithe figure leaped past Sebastian to meet the attack – a tall, dark-haired warrior dressed in animal skins. The two swords clashed together, striking sparks, and the creature grunted, disengaged his blade and tried to swing again. But the newcomer was too fast for him, ducking under the blow and driving a smaller, lighter blade straight up into the beast's throat, dropping him in his tracks.
     
Now more of the newcomers came into view from behind Sebastian and raced past the first warrior, into the jungle where Cornelius and Max had gone. As they ran past the fallen beast, one of them finished him off with an almost casual flick of his blade.
     
The first warrior made no attempt to follow the others but turned to look at Sebastian. He heard his own voice give what seemed like a distant gasp of astonishment. The warrior was a young woman. She was gazing down at Sebastian, her dark brown eyes like those of some wild creature. She crouched down in front of him, opened her mouth and said something that might have been a question, but Sebastian could hear nothing above the slow rhythmic thudding of his own heart.
     
He tried to speak but could not shape an intelligent sound. He was dying now – he was sure of it. His head seemed to fill with bright light that bleached out everything around him except the woman's face and her brown eyes, which were still staring at him in open curiosity. She reached out a hand and touched his face. Her fingers were warm and he dimly registered that they gave him a feeling of comfort. Perhaps the last he would ever know. He thought of Jenna, away on her ship somewhere, gazing out across the endless ocean and never knowing that he had fallen in this lonely spot. He would have cried if he could have stayed awake.
     
But the white light obliterated everything and then a darkness fell, deep, black, sweeping him into its cold embrace.
     

C HAPTER 3
TIME HEALS
For what seemed like the longest time, he only had glimpses of life . . .
     
His eyes would open for an instant and he would register what was happening. But his eyelids were heavy – they came crashing down again, shutting off his vision. He could not tell how long passed between each glimpse. Every time he woke, it was with a sense of surprise.
     
The first time his eyes opened, he registered that he was lying on his back and could see Cornelius just a short distance away, his face lit by the glow of a lantern. The little man's baby-like features were creased into an expression of anguish and there were tears on his cheeks. Sebastian would have liked to ask him what was wrong but he could not stay awake long enough to do so.
     
The next time he woke, he was staring at a ceiling made from what looked like woven leaves and branches. He was aware of a deep, rhythmic drumming from somewhere nearby, and the air around him was smoky and scented with a strange musty perfume. Then he drifted back into oblivion.
     
More visions followed, each as brief and insubstantial as the last:
     
 
     
His eyes opened. A couple of dark-haired children, dressed in animal skins, were staring at him intently. He tried to say something to them but sleep was tugging at him and he could not resist. He went down into darkness . . .
     
 
     
His eyes opened. An old, white-bearded man was pushing his fingers into a large bloody hole in Sebastian's chest and the pain was unbelievable. As he gasped and stared, there was a sudden wrench and the fingers emerged, gripping a large