The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

Footsteps.

They came pounding across the turf, running from the pathway through which we had emerged. From the sound of them, they were making for the stronghold. Mag? No, the steps sounded too light.

I risked a look out. A young woman in a grey cloak was sprinting for the gate. I looked up at the surrounding hills. No shots came flying towards me.

Dropping my bow, I broke from cover and ran after the woman.

She was panicked, her dark skin flushed with exertion and fear. She did not hear me until I was almost upon her. At the last moment I leaped, and only then did she begin to turn to see me. I struck her hard in the side, and she crashed to the ground with me on top of her.

Her hand darted for a knife at her belt. I seized her wrist with one hand and struck her in the face with the other. It dazed her for a moment, and her head lolled to the side. I drew the knife and threw it away before flipping her over to lie on her face, dragging her arm behind her back and holding her immobile. With my free hand, I patted her waist and boot to make sure she was not hiding another weapon.

“I think it is over, Tuhin,” I called out. “Help me secure her.”

Tuhin emerged into the open, though they still walked hunched over, darting from rock to rock. When no more arrows were forthcoming, they straightened at last and came over.

“Here,” they said, drawing a pair of iron manacles from a pouch at their belt. These they clamped around the woman’s wrists, securing them behind her back. Together we hauled her to her feet. The woman’s eyes were wild, and they darted about frantically, seeking some means of escape. Her shoulder-length hair swung across her face with her movements, though it could not entirely obscure the sizable birthmark that covered her left cheek.

“None of that,” I told her. “I am afraid your time here is over. Please do not make more trouble than you already have. I would hate to have to sling you over the back of my horse as we ride back to the city. I have seen a long journey made that way once, and it was most uncomfortable.”

“I have done nothing,” the woman said. Her voice was low, but thin, and it shook with terror.

“Nothing lasting, though not for lack of trying,” I said. “But you shot my friend here, or one of your companions did. Tuhin, what penalty do you think the Rangatira will mete out for such a thing?”

“Oh, imprisonment and hard labor would normally be enough,” said Tuhin, raising their brows. “But then, I am a representative of the King’s law. The punishment for that shall be much more severe.”

“Dark below, you are frightening the poor girl,” called Mag.

I turned. She had just emerged from the path. Oku padded at her heels, looking up at her and whining. A great deal of blood had spattered across Mag’s clothes, and she had her hands on another one of the Shades. This one had her blue hood cast back, and her hair was wild as she struggled and jerked in Mag’s grip.

And I knew her.

The woman Mag had captured was a noble—or at least, she had been. Her family lived in Opara. They had served the Rangatira when last we had met, far back in my youth. I struggled to remember her name. Riri, that was it. And yet there was no trace of recognition in her eyes.

Shock and a flood of memories caused me to slacken my grip. The woman I was holding noticed it, and she bolted towards the stronghold, her arm tearing out of my hands. But with her arms bound tightly behind her, she could hardly hope to outpace me. I caught up after only a few paces, catching her and wrestling her to the ground once again. It was only when I looked up that I realized we were hardly a pace from the edge of the trench, and spans of empty air stretched before us to the hard ground far below.

“Careful,” I told her. “You almost went over. And if you are not cooperative with my friend, she may pitch you over regardless.”

“Are you all right there, Kanohari?” said Mag. She drew nearer, her hand firmly clutching Riri’s arms behind her back. “I caught one on my own. I thought you would be able to handle another, with help.”

“Cease your boasts,” I told her. “Are there any more hiding out there?”

“None,” said Mag. “I accounted for all of them. There were twelve. Only these two remain. I left this one alive because she is in charge.” She hefted Riri’s arms up, bringing her slightly off the ground, like a prize on display. Riri snarled and made a fresh break for freedom, but she could not budge with Mag holding her. “I heard her giving orders. The one you are holding escaped while I was killing one of her fellows, and I trusted you would catch her.”

“Assuming your faith is genuine, I appreciate it,” I told her.

I noticed something odd. Oku had remained close by Mag’s side. He kept nuzzling her leg, as though checking to make sure she was all right, and small whines issued from his throat. Mag ignored him.

“Well, now to get them both back to Opara,” said Tuhin. They pulled out another pair of manacles and went to bind Riri.

“There is one problem,” said Mag, as Tuhin did their work. “I saw no sign of the weremage.”

“There is more than one problem,” said Tuhin. When we blinked in surprise, they gave us both a stern look. “These are Shades.”

I did my best to look shocked. “These two?”

“And their companions,” said Tuhin. “They wear blue and grey, which we have been told are