The Orb And The Spectre (Book 2) by Martin Ash

fell ill just before I left the palace. This talk of her, made me. . . ." Again she saw her children, and Leth on the night before she had left. Leth, loving her, his kisses and caresses upon her body, Leth inside her, reaching up for her, his hands squeezing her breasts, his ecstatic cries as he emptied his seed into her; his face as he slept. She half-smiled to herself, then the smile faded as she recalled the strange blue aura that had clung all about him.
       It was there. I saw it. I know I did. And before, the seeping blue light beneath the door. . . .
       She turned to the young soldier beside her. "Shenwolf, I want to go home."
       "I’ve spoken with the others already. We have three injured, which will slow us. Herbin's shoulder wound is not serious. There remains the problem of what to do with the Karai prisoners."
       "I’ll decide after I have spoken to them again in the morning. If they prove to be too great a hindrance I may let them go."
       "The big fellow, Ombo, hails from a hamlet called Ghismile, which he calculates to lie no more than three leagues from here through the forest. From there it is an easy march to the Crosswood road. He suggests we rest there and replenish supplies, perhaps even hire horses. The injured can also remain there while we continue on to Enchantment's Reach. We can send help back then. I think it’s the best option."
       Issul nodded. "We will leave tomorrow. But, Shenwolf, watch Ombo. I am not happy with him."
       "He is full of admiration for you."
       "I wish it had been so from the beginning. Now, what of the slooths?"
       "We followed the plan I outlined earlier, killing four immediately. They are stupid creatures. Three more returned to pick at the carcasses, and we killed them too. The others flapped away across the forest. Also, we have sealed the chamber with the magical oval device."
       "Is it secure?"
       "We boarded it with stout planks and supports, and piled boulders before it, covered with earth. We also barred and covered other entrances. However, I can do little to deter anyone who knows that the chamber exists and is determined to enter."
       "That’ll have to suffice." Issul put aside her bowl, stood and stretched. "Now, when is my watch duty?"
       "Yours? I assigned no duty to you."
       "Then amend that. I will do what I ask others to do. Shenwolf, you look tired. When did you last sleep?"
       "I have no need."
       "Sleep. I’ll take your watch."
       "Truly, I am not tired."
       "Shenwolf, it’s an order, not a debating point."
       Shenwolf grinned. "Very well. My watch is pre-dawn, at the gate-tower."
       He saluted and made off, but Issul called him back. "There is one other thing. Think back, if you can, to when your platoon intercepted the Karai ambush upon my party, on the road outside Crosswood. At that time did you see any sign of a child?"
       "A child?"
       "A boy, three years old, with tumbling fair locks."
       Shenwolf shook his head. "There may have been a child, but I saw none. There was great confusion. I just glimpsed you running into the forest, and went in pursuit."
       "I was chasing the child."
       "I’m sorry, I didn’t see him."
       "What about an old woman, heavily built, poorly dressed, almost in rags."
       "I glimpsed a woman running from the cart."
       "No, another, older and bulkier than she, and with blood upon her cheek."
       Shenwolf's eyes narrowed. "An old woman in rags and a small fair-haired boy. No, on that day I saw no such pair."
     
     
    IV
     
        The hours before dawn were quiet and chill. Issul huddled in a blanket in the gate-tower, walking back and forth in the limited space to keep the blood circulating in her veins and the numbing cold from the tips of her fingers and toes. The forest was beginning to emerge from the enveloping blackness as the first grey light touched the cloudy tree tops. Mist hung still upon the canopy, birds were just beginning