The Shattered Land: The Dreaming Dark - Book 2 Read Free

acting in unison could chew through the leather and fibrous cords that lay beneath Pierce’s armor plates. Daine had seen the flail pass through the swarm; it was clear that steel would not win this battle, and even if Lei had the energy to produce another flame blast, Pierce would be caught in the burst. Daine swung his sword toward Lei.
    “I need fire. Quickly.”
    Lei had anticipated the request and was already rummaging through her many pouches. She produced a pinch of powdered volcanic glass and a vial of dark oil; she sprinkled these on Daine’s blade, her features tight with concentration. Within seconds the blade was wreathed in magical flame, shedding flickering light across the sewer tunnel.
    Daine sprinted toward the dark mass surrounding his friend. He was still dizzy; the blackouts always affected his balance, andthis was the worst yet, but there was no time to surrender to pain. As he closed on the cloud of buzzing beetles, he kept his blade spinning before him, creating a brilliant wall of flame. Dozens of insects fell to the flaming blade.
    Then the horde engulfed him.
    The world went dark, lost in a buzzing cloud of insect wings. Centipedes were crawling up his legs, wriggling beneath chainmail and cloth in search of flesh. Flies were swarming about his face. Daine closed his eyes and covered his mouth and nose with his left hand, continuing to spin his blade from side to side. He ground his teeth, ignoring the pain of a hundred stings and bites. As moments passed, the cloud of insects began to thin, and he pulled his hand away from his face to crush the creatures that had crawled beneath his armor. Opening his eyes, he saw that Lei had joined the fray. The upper end of her staff was shrouded in flame, and she was staying on the fringes of the swarm, thrusting the flaming brand into the mass of vermin. A moment later Pierce burst out of the heart of the horde, crushing insects by the handful.
    Daine held his ground, lashing out against the diminishing horde. “Pierce, are you hurt?”
    “No.”
    Over the last few months, Pierce had been growing increasingly taciturn. He’d never been especially talkative; he was built to serve as scout and sniper, and silence was in his nature. Still, Daine felt that there was a change—that his warforged friend was retreating into his own mind—but this was hardly the time to explore feelings.
    “See if you’ve got anything in your pack that you can use to make fire.”
    “Understood.”
    The next few minutes were a horrible blur, the smell of burning chitin blending with the buzzing of dying insects, but the vermin were no match for the flame, and eventually the last of the insects fell or fled. This time Daine was taking no chances, and they crushed and burnt every last shell. He knelt in the carpet of ash and searched for any signs of movement, but minutes passed and no new insects emerged.
    “Lei?”
    The artificer produced a small crystal half-sphere from a pouch—a device she’d crafted to sense the presence of magical energies. “There’s nothing here, Daine. Whatever power regenerated these creatures earlier, we seem to have broken it. Greykell should be pleased.”
    Daine stood up, brushing crushed bugs from his byrnie. “Great. That and a crown will buy me a cup of tal.”
    Lei looked at him. “I seem to recall that helping the people of High Walls was your idea.”
    “Doesn’t mean it was a good one.”
    Pierce plucked his flail from the ashes. Perhaps he was ignoring the conversation; perhaps he simply had nothing to add. Either way, he kept his silence as they began the long walk back to the surface.

    There was little conversation as the group made their way through the sewers. Daine knew that Lei wanted to hear about the blackout, but he didn’t feel like talking. Every vision took a toll on his body and spirit. His head was still pounding, and he was exhausted. The memories were far worse than the physical pain: The smell of the