The Fallen (Book 1) by Dan O'Sullivan Page A

captured and punished. We don’t need to place guards as we can sense you, particularly as you are frightened. Should your presence begin to fade, we would know immediately.’
    ‘ Louisa is still unconscious, or dead.’ Elena’s voice broke.
    ‘ She’s not dead. I gave her a cordial which prevented her from moving. Your sister is quite surprising.’ Elena could hear the admiration in his voice. ‘I can release her.’ A second later Elena could smell a strange sickly scent and then Louisa groaned and sat up.
    ‘ Don’t raise your blindfold,’ the voice said. ‘And don’t test me, g-’ he hesitated, ‘girl. Don’t test me as you tested Orpel. You don’t quite seem aware of your own strength.’
    ‘ Elena?’
    ‘ I’m here Lou.  Are you alright?
    ‘ My body feels alright, but I have a headache.’
    ‘ We need to run to the bushes and relieve ourselves but we must all go together and be back in two minutes.’
    ‘ Elena, he did something to me and I went to sleep but when I woke up I was paralyzed. Sometimes I could hear you and I could smell things around me but I couldn’t move a muscle! And sometimes everything was just dark and silent!’ Louisa was babbling from shock.
    ‘ Shh!’ Elena’s whisper was a command.
    ‘ You may lift your blindfolds and go into the bushes,’ the voice instructed. ‘You have no more than two minutes.’ The cart creaked slightly and then there was silence.
    The three girls quickly raised their blindfolds and climbed over the side of the cart dropping awkwardly to the ground as they misjudged how high the side of the cart stood. Fortunately they landed without injury. They were back in two minutes and stopped in dismay before the cart. The sideboards were higher above their heads than they could easily climb. Even if they stood on the tongue, climbing into the cart was going to prove very difficult in their long dresses. Louisa leaned forward bracing herself with hands on knees.
    ‘ Climb onto my shoulders and then you can drag me in,’ she said. As carefully as possible, Elena and Immosey climbed onto the tongue and then used Louisa as a step to push themselves over the side of the cart. Before they could lean down to haul Louisa up, a man darted from the shadows. In the moment he easily lifted Louisa over the side of the cart, she twisted round and stared into his dark eyes, then he turned and melted back into the shadows.
    ‘ Look!’ Elena was fumbling around in the darkness of the cart bed. ‘Blankets!’
    There were four warm, thick blankets pushed into the corner of the cart. Elena and Immosey quickly wrapped themselves. The girls hastily finished the mutton and shared the water, drinking only enough to quench their thirst. Elena placed the water bag in the corner of the cart and draped a rag over it.  They folded one of the remaining blankets into a long pillow and lay down, feeling hope return with the food and warmth.
    ‘ I wonder who he was,’ said Louisa, her voice sounding a little strange.
    ‘ When he lifted you into the cart did you see what he looked like?’ asked Immosey.
    ‘ He was very tall and far stronger than any human. His skin was brown from being in the sun. Very dark hair and his eyes were almost black.’ The three girls looked at each other in puzzlement. He was definitely one of the fallen.
     

Chapter 8
    The Dwellings
     
    Lord Tiernan and Lady Karrijeuiga were not at all what Danil had expected. They were both attired similarly to Valeska in dark crossed tunics, dark trousers and well-made sturdy boots. The Lady had her hair tied roughly in a knot atop her head, with dark ringlets escaping and falling around her face. A gold pendant shaped like a lily hung from a chain around her neck but she wore no other jewelry. Lord Tiernan wore a similar pendant and chain, though his pendant was fashioned as a star. On the surrounding walls there were maps of Alkira, Sagria and Tatharlia, and an incredibly well marked map of Nyinaku was