Tested (The Life of Uktesh Book 1) Read Free Page A

edge of his clearing, Uktesh glanced quickly with his eyes and he noticed that he was surrounded.
    “Boy I have with me twelve of the most vicious, dangerous, and violent men I could find.  Also the craziest.  Who but the craziest would dare attack the Beletarians.  While I’m pretty sure this is a mistake, I’m going to let you live.  Now don’t get me wrong if we attacked, you would certainly kill some of us.  But you’d have no chance at killing all of us.  I’ll let you live only if you promise to leave and never go back to your village.  What say you?”
    Uktesh felt himself grow cold, he looked around and wished that he had his bow with him, instead of in its hidden spot.  As casually as he could, as his heart hammered in his chest, he took the hint from the man, and formally asked, “I would know the name of the man who forces me from my home.”
    The leader nodded, “I am known as Thulmann.  What say you?”
    “I would know the home of my foe.”
    Again Thulmann nodded to himself, “I am from Manori, in Sinia.  What say you?”
    Uktesh nodded, and still speaking as formal as he knew how to said, “I say you have a bargain made this day, for I would surely have killed you first.”
    Thulmann threw back his head and laughed a heartfelt bellow.  Uktesh’s heart beat faster and he noticed that his palms were starting to sweat when he wiped away the sweat flowing down his forehead.  He narrowed his eyes, dried his hands on his pants, and set his feet for a fight. I f this is my day to die, I will die with honor.   He raised his sword off the ground.  Thulmann nodded to his men and they backed away, Uktesh didn’t know if they’d change their minds and come back, so before they could Uktesh ran to the tree where he hid his bow.  He pulled it out as gently and quickly as he could, strung it, and knocked an arrow in it ready to go.  The sound his own sword being sheathed behind his back sounded like thunder to his ears.  Uktesh hurried forward towards the village, he slid around branches, avoided stepping on twigs or dried leaves, and moved from shadow to shadow.
    Uktesh by now had realized that someone had set fire to the village, or at least a part of it.  He slowed to a walk, then started to crawl as he approached the edge of the tree line of his village.  He pushed a branch out of his way to give him a better view of the village. 
    Shadowy figures ran through the town, some with weapons, and some without.  Here or there he saw pockets of resistance, inn  each pocket the invaders were killed three to one or in some places four to one, but the invaders had the numbers to spare.  The branch hit his face again, and he pushed it out of the way, as his eyes darted faster and faster to catch a glimpse of his father. 
    The branch smacked him in the face again, and brought tears to his eyes.  Again he pushed the branch away, this time he noticed that a sword was the cause of the branch hit him.  Uktesh rolled onto his back and saw Thulmann standing over him, “I told you not to come back here boy.”
    His heart in his throat, he fought the panic that had begun to set in, “I’m not in the village,” his voice cracked and ruined his defiance.
    “Close enough boy.  You make this hard on me. I have a daughter your age and wouldn’t I beg for mercy for her? She’s too young to be killed. Her whole life ahead of her. And you!  You!  You’re barely past her age? What did you think that you could do here, other than die?”
    “My my father,” he tried to continue, but the lump in his throat made it impossible to speak. 
    Uktesh saw Thulmann’s shoulders slump, “Boy your father is dead. If not now than in mere minutes.  Go away from this place and these people.  You don’t have the presence of a killer, and I should know.”  He shook his head then sheathed his sword, “I should not do this, but I feel as if you don’t belong here, you’re too happy, the peace of