Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) by Dawn Peers Page B

get more
information. In the heat of battle, he had not considered the fact
that it was one of Sammah’s mercenaries, and unable to speak. If
they were unable to get any information from the man, then Ross
would have to kill him. It would be much easier to do than in cold
blood and judgement after the heat of battle. Ross would consider
it an execution, not an act of murder. Priorities were priorities
though, so Ross went to his saddlebags, wrapping a sturdy length of
rope and winding the mercenary’s hands and feet before knotting
them together behind his back.
    Next, he tended to all of the swords,
cleaning them down with a rag and making a mental note to run over
them with a whetstone later when he was on watch. It was going to
be a long night. Ross wouldn’t let them go to sleep without any
protection again. Quinn’s bloody shriek had sounded like a cry of
fear from the spirits themselves, jolting him out of sleeping and
into immediate alertness. Ross had woken just in time to see Quinn
dodged a swing meant to decapitate.
    Sammah’s mercenaries moved liked shadows,
and were infamously deadly. None of them would have made a move to
wake the girl, so she must have used her ability to detect them,
somehow. The thought gave Ross pause. The mercenaries were so
useful to men like Sammah, because even when captured, they
couldn’t be made to talk. Beyond basic affirmation, the mercenaries
were useless. But with Quinn, they might be able to glean something
more meaningful. Ross knew, after her experiences with Sammah, he
couldn’t force her. Quinn would have to volunteer to interrogate
their captive, and if she refused, Ross would have to execute him,
information or no. The man posed them a constant threat.
    After Ross had completed his menial chores
and double-checked the bindings on their prisoner, he returned to
the fire. The fingers of its flames were reaching higher now. They
weren’t afraid of being attacked again. Sammah didn’t have men to
spare, and hopefully couldn’t hire new men from the confines of the
Everfell gaols.
    “Sorry, the fire got away from me. Is it
going to attract more of them?” Maertn asked in a timid voice.
    Ross shook his head, no. “Quinn would
probably be able to detect them if they were coming, and she hasn’t
mentioned anything. I think she saved our lives tonight.”
    Maertn hunkered down next to Quinn, stroking
her hair and tucking her in tighter. The shock of her dream had
exhausted her, and she’d fallen asleep as soon as Maertn had got
the fire going again. “These shocks always seem to take it out of
her the worst. At least this time she’s not ill. I wouldn’t know
what to do.”
    “That’s why she needs to be in Sha’sek. I’m
hoping they’ll know what to with her.”
    “I’m not sure they will, you know. Empaths
are rare, like you’ve said, and Sammah was so intent on
studying her. I don’t think it was just because he wanted to…”
Maertn baulked at the word, “ mate with her. I’ve been trying
to read that book. Empaths always kept themselves, isolated, except
for the healers that helped them. I suppose, after seeing Quinn
grow up, I can completely understand why. I think the notes Sammah
has added to what Sammen already knew is equal to, if not far
beyond, what they will know on the islands. Who else has studied
empaths so closely? Who else would have dared?
    “Their rarity would have hindered more
studying than any danger they might have faced. If Sammah’s
conjecture is true, then Quinn is going to be stronger than Nerren.
Little wonder that Sammah was obsessed. They’re going to either
adore Quinn in the islands, or they will try to run her through. We
can only pray that it’s the former; we can’t protect her if a mob
thinks that she’s going to turn into another Nerren.”
    They sat in a miserable silence for a short
time, a thick silence joining the early morning air, along with the
cloying smoke from the fire. Ross couldn’t bear it for