The Sorcerer's Ring (Book 1) Read Free Page B

squares or buildings of recreation. There were just places of sleep, and dirt roads to stand in while the townsfolk discussed their next adventure.
    Eat. Raid. Eat.
    Raid. Eat. Raid.
    The town didn’t even have a name. That was how lazy they were. Not that they traded or dealt with anyone else. If it wasn’t for stealing from Cimmerian, she would think they were alone in the world. The only other evidence were the stories passed around after the town was good and drunk. Sitting in a circle in the middle of the main dirt road, they would laugh and jeer as they told stories of the Sages and what the world was like before the worlds collided. In slurred speech and vomit stained shirts, they would describe what Kingdoms they once belonged to—back when there were actual Kingdoms.
    Then they would begin fighting over who was better, both with words and fists and terminology that she couldn’t understand.
    Quietus. Langoran. Allayan. Prattlian. Delilah. Yama.
    She determined that they were all different races or types of people, but she didn’t know the significance behind them. To her, her people all looked and acted the same so she wasn’t sure why the labels mattered. And if anything, it gave her less hope in the outside world. If they were all from different races, and they were exactly the same in how they acted, then who could she connect to out there?
    “REMI!” the voice cried out again and Remi realized it had been her mother calling her. If she had realized that from the beginning she wouldn’t have stopped to take in the sights. She reluctantly shuffled forward as the rest of the adults waited patiently for her to arrive. None of them were arguing so now she was really worried. Her mother—a ragged and frail woman with too many dirty coats hanging off her shoulders—glared at her with contempt.
    “Did you see anything while we were gone?”
    “What do you mean?” Remi asked sheepishly. She noticed that Olivia had slinked off into the shadows.
    “Did you see anyone while we were gone?”
    “No. No one.”
    “Are you sure? You were in the town the whole time?”
    Remi knew the raid group saw her walking from outside the town’s border, so she knew there was no point in lying.
    “No, I went to look at the lights in the sky.”
    “It’s cold outside. What are you doing out there alone? If you got sick, someone would have to stay back and watch you instead of heading back out.”
    “The raid didn’t go well?” Remi asked, trying to get the attention off of her.
    “No, it didn’t,” her mother sneered, turning to spit on the ground. “And if we want to eat within the next day or two, we have to go back out…tonight.”
    “But you just got back. Aren’t you tired?”
    “Are you going to help?!” Remi winced and bowed her head.
    “No,” she muttered, and her mother crossed her arms.
    “Exactly,” she said. “So here’s what I want you to do. I need you to stay here in the town and not wander off anymore. If you see anything, you’re going to have to confront them and convince them that they’ve found the wrong place.”
    “We’ve never done that before.”
    “We’re going to be exhausted,” her father replied, appearing from behind her mother. He was as thin as she, just taller. Balding and sporting a long grey beard, when she looked at him, she usually thought of Death. That probably wasn’t fair to him, but he certainly never spoke much about life. “We won’t have the strength to fight off anyone that comes looking for us,” he continued. “That means you’ll have to step it up for once. Be useful.”
    “But what if they attack me?”
    “I don’t know. Ask your friend to help you. It’s not our problem. From now on, if you want to eat our food, you have to earn it. I’m sick of you lying around the house all day.”
    “It’s not my fault.”
    “That’s not my problem.”
    “Fine,” she seethed. “I’ll do it.”
    “Good,” he said, looking at the townspeople