Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) by Jessie Eaker (best novels in english TXT) 📕

I would say it almost rivaled the royal one. The inside was also much more spacious, so we all fit comfortably.

I leaned out the window and looked behind us. As quickly as it came, the snow stopped, and we were soon on bare road. I could easily see Lilith and Wort not too far behind us as they won free from a snowbank. Lilith didn’t hesitate to launch herself after us, with Wort trailing behind.

I had seen Risten run before and knew she could sprint pretty fast. I had to assume Lilith would take advantage of that. The driver had urged the horses to their fastest pace, but that was only a fast walk. No way could it match her speed. If Lilith could maintain her pace, and I knew she could, she would catch us in just a few minutes.

I held out my hand to Spraggel. “The portal orb Oddfrid gave us. I need it now!”

Fumiko looked at me like I was crazy. “It’s not safe to open a portal while moving. Our forward momentum will also be transferred.”

I pointed behind us. “Got a better idea? She’s almost on us.”

Fumiko stared at me a moment and then shook her head.

Spraggel sat up straighter and smiled. “I’ll get it.” He immediately began to search in his pocket.

I groaned. “You put it in your pocket? I told you not to.”

He gave me a disgusted look. “Of course I did. Where else would I put it.”

He dug deeper—up to the elbow. He muttered to himself. “Well, I think I put it in here.”

I looked out the window. Lilith was close and gaining fast. I could see the whites of her eyes.

And she looked pissed.

I leaned back in. “Spraggel...? Any time now.”

He shouted in triumph and pulled it out.

I immediately grabbed it and squeezed the orb three times between my hands as Oddfrid had instructed. I then yanked off one of Zofie’s mittens and set it on the floor with the orb on top, so it didn’t roll away. After a moment, the orb began to slowly pulse with a pale blue light. We had ten pulses before the portal activated, and I began to count them.

One... Two... Three... Four...

The carriage unexpectedly rocked, and I knew Lilith had caught up with us. I could hear her climbing across the top, and then our ride began to slow. Apparently, she had convinced the driver it was the right thing to do. Probably with the aid of a knife at his throat.

Five... Six... Seven...

I huddled us together around the orb, praying the portal had enough room to operate inside the carriage. It was tight, and we had to hunch over, but we were able to pull close. I hugged Zofie to me tightly with one arm, and Cabrina the other.

Eight... Nine...

The carriage was still moving when the door flew open. With knife drawn, a grinning Lilith stood looking in.

Ten...!

Suddenly, the portal opened beneath our feet.

The look on Lilith’s face was worth gold. “No!” she yelled.

I smiled and waved at her as we dropped through.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

First Portal,

Second Memory

We landed hard in front of Oddfrid’s house. Unfortunately, as Fumiko has said, the momentum we had while in the carriage also came with us. Slight as it was, it was like we had suddenly been tossed off a walking horse, which I guess in a sense we had. We rolled and came to a halt in a pile of slightly embarrassed humans.

I quickly knelt beside Zofie and patted over her arms and legs, making sure she wasn’t hurt. Thankfully, our heavier winter clothing provided a limited measure of padding. The other point of thanks was that Lilith and Wort had not been able to follow. But that didn’t mean we could dally.

Not a moment later, Oddfrid opened the door and surveyed us critically. He didn’t look happy. “How close behind you are they?” he asked abruptly.

I turned from helping Zofie stand and blinked at him. “How did you know we were being chased?”

He frowned. “That’s the way it always is with nobles and their games.” He folded his arms and leaned a shoulder on the doorframe. “So, how long do we have?”

I scratched my head. “If they drive the horses hard, they could be here within the hour.”

He sighed and held the door wider for us. “Come inside. I’m almost done.”

We started forward, but Fumiko held back. “I’ll stand watch,” she stated. “That woman may have a way to catch up to us more quickly.”

I shook my head. “Not before I bind your chest.”

Cabrina jumped up. “I’ll watch!” she offered. “I’ve never done that before. This body has good eyes.”

Spraggel put a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t we go watch together. If you stay with them, you’ll be saying they’ve had sex again.”

Cabrina turned to Spraggel in indignation. “But they did!”

“We did not,” I stated flatly.

The youth didn’t appear satisfied with the answer.

“Come dear,” said Spraggel. “Let’s do a quick check of the perimeter.” He then pulled her after him.

I ushered Zofie and Fumiko inside. We found ourselves in a wide foyer with stairs on the right, a door to what looked like a study on the left, and an open doorway leading into the back. Except for a few worn chairs that had seen better days and one dust-covered table, the room was bare.

I settled Zofie down into one of the less dusty chairs and turned to Oddfrid. “Do you have any bindings? My friend has been hurt.”

He frowned at us again and exited out the back doorway, but returned a moment later with some strips of cloth. He shoved them at me and then left, mumbling about having to finish his