Dawn of Cobalt Shadows (Burning Empire Book 2) by Emma Hamm (best e ink reader for manga .txt) 📕

supposed to be. Deep within the arms of an ancient thing, impossible to ever understand. The elements were far beyond the minds of humans. Beyond the minds of Beastkin. None knew where the gods had gotten such things, but none should question such gifts.

It was an honor to have them. She would never forget that.

One of the embers near her right knee snapped. It popped off the log and fell tumbling to the stone floor, rolling and rolling until it came to a hard stop.

That wasn’t right. Sigrid tilted her head to the side but kept her eyes closed. The ember should have continued to roll. There was a steep incline in the cave that brought it out to the mouth. She should have heard the continued movement, then the soft crunch of snow, the sizzle of water as it met a burning creation of the gods.

What else could she hear? The wind hadn’t changed or shifted around a form that stood in the mouth of the cave. She hadn’t heard the fabric of her clothing hush as someone pushed them aside.

It was possible someone had come through the other end of the cave. She hadn’t closed the mouth of the previous place. If someone was daring enough to squeeze through the same route she had, then they were brave enough to face her in battle.

Sigrid’s fingers inched to the side just slightly, still on her thighs, but ready to lunge for her sword if she needed it.

“Who are you?” she said, her voice a whispering thread that snaked through the cave.

The wind touched upon something. It rattled against the gentle movement, two or three items clinking softly against each other.

When no one responded, Sigrid tried again. “I can hear you.”

“Your eyes aren’t open.” The voice was the rustling of reeds in a stream bed. Deep for a woman, but still softened by the years. Not quite dangerous, certainly not accusing, but still strong enough to give Sigrid pause.

“I don’t need my eyes to see you, visitor.”

“You are the visitor here, Beastkin. Open your eyes and see who has come to greet you.”

Slowly, she blinked her eyes open and stared at the mouth of the cave.

A woman stood there, appearing unlike any female Sigrid had ever seen before. She wore furred boots, dark and nearly black. A loincloth split open down the sides of her legs, revealing pale thighs painted with dark blue stripes. Her torso was surprisingly uncovered. Nothing but long, black hair parted to cover her breasts.

Skulls dangled from a rope around her waist. Small creatures mostly, what looked like rats and perhaps a few felines. One delicate hand rested on the top skull, her fingernails overly long and jagged at the ends.

But it was nothing the woman wore which captivated Sigrid’s attention. It was the large mask which covered the woman’s face.

One large horn created an arch over the woman’s head. Two more hung from the arch, seemingly held in place by silver hooks, dangling beside her ears like the finest of jewelry. The wooden mask over the top half of her face had no features. Only red paint that made it appear garishly created.

The bottom half of her mouth was revealed, and the lips curved into a smile. “Have you looked your fill, Beastkin?”

“There are no eye holes in your mask,” she murmured. “How did you know my eyes were closed?”

“I do not need eyes to see either.”

Sigrid unfolded her legs, stretching her toes out, then stood. “Who are you?”

“I think you already know.”

She didn’t have the faintest idea. There weren’t supposed to be locals living this far out, and she couldn’t imagine any person would willingly live in this forsaken place. That left only one answer, and it was one she didn’t want to entertain.

Had Camilla been right? Sigrid had searched for the ancients what felt like forever. She’d traveled through this damned snow, nearly died on a mountain peak, only to find the ancients were… this?

The other woman tilted her head to the side, mimicking Sigrid’s movement before, and then smiled. The firelight sparkled on something in the woman’s teeth. Upon closer inspection, Sigrid could see that the woman had bored holes through all her front teeth. Tiny stones were inlaid in the holes.

“You know who I am,” the mysterious creature whispered. “Why won’t you admit it to yourself?”

“You can’t be one of the creatures I’ve searched for.”

“Why not?”

Sigrid had no answer. A part of her wanted to shout that it was because this odd, strange creature looked so unlike Sigrid. She wouldn’t be caught dead in clothing like that, or wearing body paint, or having strange animal skulls clinking at her waist.

Perhaps the woman was a mind reader as well. She reached down to the skull at the top, a large rat skull, and brought it to her ear. “What’s that Grim? You think she’s frightened of us?”

“I am frightened of nothing.”

“Then you are frightened of everything. True warriors know there is much to fear in this world. They let the emotion wash through them, like waves through sea kelp. They do not let fear rule their minds because they live alongside it. To not accept your own fears is to let them run rampant in your mind.”

Sigrid hesitated. She didn’t know what to say to this strange creature. What could one ask? This couldn’t be the ancient of old, and yet, it seemed as though she might be.

Knowing the woman couldn’t see her, she gestured back at the paintings far beyond the twisting cave. “Did you paint those?”

“No.”

“Who did?”

“No one knows. Some old Beastkin who found their way to see us long ago. Perhaps one who had already met us and was trying to return home. I’m certain his bones linger here, along with the spirit who walks beside you.”

A cold chill sent gooseflesh all down Sigrid’s arms. “Spirit?”

“There are many who walk beside you, but one appears to be newer than all the others.” The woman muttered something else Sigrid couldn’t