The Queen's Blade Prequel I - Conash: Dead Son Read Free Page A

lean softness. Rivan's warmth soaked into his
cold hands, and he squirmed closer still, emboldened by the
feline's friendliness.
    Conash sat and
stroked the cat for a long time, filled with wonder that this wild
creature allowed him to touch it. The cat's purr did not falter,
but when the tired child lay down beside him, Rivan stood up and
walked away. Conash followed, desperate for company, even though
his aching legs wobbled and tiredness made his eyes droop. Rivan
wandered along, glancing back often, and Conash trudged after him
with dragging feet.
    “Conash!” The
faint shout drifted through the forest.
    “Papa!” he
screamed.
    “Conash!”
    His father's
voice rang with anguish, and Conash sank onto the soft leaves,
relief draining the last of his strength. Rivan had vanished, but
rustling leaves and the snap of breaking branches marked his
father's approach.
    “Papa!”
    His father came
into view between the tree trunks, bars of moonlight sliding over
him as he ran towards the boy. Falling to his knees, he swept
Conash up and hugged him, kissing his son's hair in a frenzy of
relief.
    “Thank God!
Thank God!” he muttered.
    Conash clung to
his father's neck, the heat that radiated from Jarren's
sweat-dampened chest warming him. Jarren stood up, cradling the boy
in a tender embrace, and strode through the trees.
    “Misha!” he
bellowed. “I have him!”
    A few minutes
later, Conash's mother ran up to them, gasping, and held out her
arms. The boy turned and reached for her, and she pulled him into
her soft embrace, crushing him to her bosom until he squeaked and
wriggled. She wept over him, kissing his hair, cheeks and lips.
    “My baby,” she
crooned. “Thank Tinsharon! Where was he?”
    Jarren jerked a
thumb behind him. “In the forest.”
    “Gods, I
shouldn't have sent him to find mushrooms. This is my fault. My
poor sweet baby boy.” She hugged and kissed Conash again, wiping
the tears from his cheeks. “I'm so sorry, baby. Are you all
right?”
    Conash nodded,
clasping her neck. “I'm all right, Mama.”
    “Come, let's go
home,” Jarren said.
    Conash gazed
over his mother's shoulder while she carried him home, hoping for a
glimpse of the wood cat that had helped him. Jarren bellowed for
Rykar, who was also out searching the woods, apparently.
    At the house,
Jarren lighted lamps and Misha sat Conash on the table to inspect
him, washing his scraped knees and dirty face.
    “Where did you
go?” she asked.
    “I got lost,
Mama.”
    “I'm just glad
you're safe, my sweet.”
    Rykar stomped
in and flopped down on a chair, scowling. “Trust him to get
lost.”
    “Shush, Rykar,”
Misha admonished. “He's just a baby.”
    “He's six!”
    “Don't be
horrible to your brother.”
    Rykar snorted.
“He's always getting into trouble, falling down, hurting himself.
He's a wimp!”
    “Rykar!” Jarren
turned from the stove, where he had set a pot of water on to boil.
“Your brother's not as strong as you.”
    “He's not even
as strong as Orcal, and he's only two.”
    “That's
enough.”
    Misha sat down
and clasped her belly, which was swollen with another child, due in
a moon-phase. Conash slid off the table and went to climb onto her
lap to hug her.
    “I'm sorry I
got lost, Mama.”
    She held him
close, kissing his cheek. “It's all right, baby. You gave us a
fright, that's all.”
    Conash rubbed
her belly. “Is the baby all right too?”
    She smiled.
“The baby's fine.”
    The boy looked
up, filled with a preternatural sense of approach. The scent of
humus came to him, stronger than usual, mingled with a hunger that
was not his own. A wild longing rushed through him, and he turned
to face the door, which Rykar had left open. Jarren frowned at his
son, swapping a worried glance with Misha.
    Conash looked
up at his mother and smiled. “I made a new friend, Mama.”
    “Who?”
    The sense of
approach grew stronger, and now the scent of goats came to him,
mixed with a faint pang of trepidation. He