The Decaying World Saga (Book 1): Tribes of Decay Read Free Page A

His throat was dry and he wasn’t sure he could speak if he wanted to. He took one long breath and then tried to sit up. He regretted it immediately. Two things became apparent; he was pretty sure his head was going to split open and he was chained to the floor by his wrist.
    Rowan’s eyes adjusted to the dark and he focused in on a small slit in the covering on the far side of the dwelling. The pale light told him it was after dark and the bindings told him his fate was yet to be decided. He knew Arkin never wanted him as a husband for his daughter and he’d guessed many times that Darian would be chosen for Mia. Mia’s devotion to the lesser cousin was the only thing that kept her father at bay.
    Arkin’s resentment for the boy began as an act of heroism. The attack that ultimately took the lives of Rowan’s parents also set his future in stone. Arkin made a decision to save Rowan on that faithful night and it cost him his wife. That choice created a deep-rooted animosity that revealed itself every time he looked at Rowan.
    The sound of distant conversation pierced the hide covering. Rowan tried to make out the words, but he couldn’t. He could guess what the council was debating, but he was too frightened to consider it. His thoughts drifted to Darian and a sudden wave of emotion rushed over him.
    The agony of his situation engulfed him and it was all he could do to keep from howling at the top of his lungs. His heart opened up as the memories of his cousin swept through his mind. He wept like never before, aching with each passing moment. He laid in painful silence as he tried to regain control of himself. The sound of someone else’s hushed words pulled his attention away from his thoughts.
    “Who’s there?”
    There was a deep breath followed by a series of movements somewhere behind the dwelling. Rowan studied the stretched hide that covered the top of the structure until a small slit produce a familiar face. Mia’s eyes were burning red and the darkness couldn’t hide her pain. She took a hesitant glance at something out in front of the dwelling before pulling the cover back far enough to slide in and drop down.
    “Your father’s going to kill you,” Rowan whispered.
    “You should talk.”
    She grabbed him and pulled him close. The two kissed more passionately than either of their years could account for. She finally let him go and Rowan sat back, out of breath.
    “I was worried about you,” Mia admitted.
    “I need to get you worried more often.”
    “That’s not funny,” she said. “The entire council is discussing what to do with you.”
    “The chains kind of gave that away,” Rowan said, pulling on his binds. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
    Mia’s eyes went to the floor. She couldn’t bear to look up at him as she spoke.
    “What happened to Darian?”
    Rowan’s throat dried up all at once. He tried to say something, but nothing came out. His heart thumped in his chest. A vision of Darian pulled into the abandon building’s doorway flashed through his mind.
    “We went to the edge of the outlands,” he continued before she could tell him how foolish they were, “there were so many of them.” He struggled with the words. “It was like an army of the infected moving toward the city.” He pressed his hand against her chin and raised her head. “We got trapped.”
    A single tear streamed down her cheek when her eyes met his.
    “I have to tell them,” Rowan said. He tried to stand up and was left hunched over when the chains didn’t come up with him. “We have to do something.”
    “What do you mean?” she asked. “You’ll be lucky if they just banish you.” She cried harder the moment the word banish left her lips.
    Rowan looked over at the slit in the covering and whispered,
    “Banish.”
    Mia stood up and searched for something on a small table across the room.
    “We have to get out of here.”
    “I didn’t do anything,” Rowan insisted.
    Mia spun around and