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

stopped herself, for she had come dangerously close to insulting the Lord. “I do not understand. I would think you were joking if I did not know better.”

“I assure you I am not,” said Tagata. She looked at the tent flap mournfully. “We will lose many of our kindred today.”

Kaita shook her head. “I do not understand this sign. Does the Lord mean we will see a Dragon? That is impossible.”

“I doubt it means that,” said Tagata. “He tells us what he sees, but it is as I told you before. Things are not always … entirely clear.”

Her frustration mounting, Kaita took several deep breaths in an attempt to find calm. But it only seemed to further stoke the fires of her anger, like bellows to a forge.

“This message … I know it is related to the sight you told me of,” she said slowly. “But this seems worse than useless. It seems to promise a hope that I cannot envision.”

“Rarely do I understand the Lord’s signs when he relays them to me,” said Tagata. “But you must keep faith. Every victory we have seen so far, every stride we have taken in our mission across Underrealm, has come because of the Lord—from his cunning, and from his sight that pierces the veil of time.”

Again Kaita shook her head. “You say you have followed his wisdom before, and it has not led you astray. Because I believe in you, I will choose to believe in this. But if our enemies should come upon us, and I see no other choice, I will devour the magestones, Tagata. Whether Mag and Albern are alone or not. I will not let them kill me—or you—without using every tool at my disposal to kill them first.”

She half expected Tagata to be angry with her. After all, she was threatening to break the promise she had made to Rogan, and through him, to the Lord. But Tagata only looked upon her with profound sadness.

“Your choices are your own, dear one,” she said quietly. She placed a hand on Kaita’s shoulder. “But I hope you will rethink this. Woe betide you if you take the stones outside of the ordained time. His love will be no protection to you, then.”

Kaita quailed for a moment at the strength of certainty in her voice. But then she shook herself, steeling her resolve. “I have said what I have said. Let us muster the troops and march from this cursed land.”

HROOON

Horns blew outside the tent. Kaita and Tagata both whipped their heads towards the sound. It came from the south, where their sentries were posted on hills overlooking the land all around.

“And let us do it as soon as we possibly can,” muttered Kaita.

The horns were still sounding as Kaita took her raven form and launched into the air. Tagata stood beneath her, head tilted upwards, watching her take flight. The sky was still mostly dark, and Kaita blinked hard, trying to make out shapes on the ground below. The campfires had made her night-blind.

There. Two figures running west across the hills. Kaita’s heart leaped. Two figures? That could be …

She dove closer and recognized me. The person beside me was not Mag, but some other soldier who was unknown to her.

Fierce bloodlust thundered in Kaita’s veins. I was practically alone. She would not even need magestones to—

Then she spotted Mag and our squadrons not far off. A quick count told her our number, and she wheeled out of her dive.

Her heart burned with conflict. Only two squadrons. That was barely anything, compared to the force that had attacked them yesterday. Mag and I, with just over two dozen friends. That was isolated, was it not? It was close enough. She could attack us with the strength of magestones, and her promise to Rogan would be—

She growled in her mind. It was close enough to the terms for Kaita, mayhap. But not for Tagata. And Tagata had the stones. Kaita did not think she could lie straight to the shadeborn’s face even if she wished to, and she did not wish to.

But mayhap there was another way. She circled back and landed in the Shade camp, resuming her human form and running to Tagata.

“They are here!” she cried. “Mag and Albern. They are just over that hill, Tagata, and they have only two squadrons with them. We could crush them with little more than a thought.”

Tagata looked around the camp. “We have wounded kindred, Kaita. They will not be able to join us in a chase.”

“Leave them here,” said Kaita. Tagata’s nostrils flared, but Kaita raised her hands. “They will be safer here, anyway. We can draw the threat away from them. They will be able to escape when we—that is, if they need to.” She swallowed hard, for she had almost announced aloud that they were expecting to lose this battle.

But she could see that she had convinced Tagata. The shadeborn turned to the camp, and her great, bellowing voice rang out.

“Kindred!” she cried. “Our enemies await the kiss of our blades over those hills. We will destroy them in the Lord’s name! To arms! Death!”

“Death!” cried the Shades.

The camp became a scramble. All who could walk fought to be the first to don their sword belts, to heft their shields and ready their armor.

“I will keep watch over our enemies,” said Kaita. “Look for me in the skies. I will guide you.”

“Be safe,” said Tagata. “And Kaita.”

Kaita froze as Tagata reached into her pocket. When her hand came out, it held the brown cloth packet. She placed it in Kaita’s much smaller hand.

“Take them,” said Tagata softly. “If you see your chance, you take it.”

“They … they will slow me down,” said Kaita, hardly daring to breathe.

“You do not require speed,” said Tagata. “They are on foot, and you fly with the winds. But you should have them with you if the chance presents itself. I trust you as Rogan does. As our father does.”

Kaita