Important update regarding Shadows of the Heart

I would like to sincerely apologize to my readers. Shadows of the Heart went out with a formatting issue that led to chapter 13 being duplicated and replacing chapter 14 in both the eBook and printed copy. I am working hard to resolve this issue and have included the correct chapter 14 below for everyone who has purchased the book prior to the change.

Thank you for both your understanding and support.

SL Harby

Chapter 14

True to his prediction, Tormand and his two companions grew impatient quickly. Hollis saw them leave the sheltering shadows of their alley at a run.

The thief rose from his crouch, taking a few steps back as he drew his own Uteli weapon. The Wallin Fahr came free of its sheath with a soft whoosh of steel on leather, the dwarven steel blade glinting softly in the dim light. When the last of them crossed into the alley, Hollis sprung forward.

Tormand was in the lead, wielding a wickedly curved dagger in each hand. He tensed as he prepared to meet the thief’s rush.

He was disappointed when Hollis dodged by him, offering only a token slash for his efforts. The thief’s eyes were securely set on the furthest of his guild brothers. The second of the thugs was so surprised by Hollis’s movements that he didn’t offer even token resistance to his rush by him. The final guild-member was able to duck under the thief’s high, horizontal cut and move further into the depths of the alley. The cut was, of course, a feint; Hollis stood between the three assailants and freedom.

As the thief pivoted and brought his sword into a low guard position, he felt rather than heard the words of Asaege’s spell crashing onto his soul like waves upon a stony beach. The words were lost to his memory as soon as they reached his ears, almost as if his mind refused to understand them. The sound of the words hung in the air for a second longer than they should have, like honey dripping from a comb. Just as in the dim confines of the stacks, a rustling sound rose to replace them. It was soft at first but began to build exponentially upon itself.

The two thugs closest to Hollis advanced upon him, but the narrow confines of the alley didn’t allow them to stand shoulder to shoulder and retain enough mobility to fight effectively. Their bodies partially blocked his view of Tormand but the thief could see the cloud of thick, black flies that surrounded him in a miasma.

Asaege was lost to his sight completely. Tormand let out a shrill cry as his arms windmilled about him in a vain attempt to swat away the stinging swarm; the ineffectual motion only seemed to agitate the insects as their buzzing grew louder. His scream was cut short, replaced by a choking cough as the flies, no doubt, found their way into his mouth.

Taking a short, fortifying breath, Hollis focused his attention on the two assailants before him just as the rearmost one released a short, bladed throwing knife. Allowing his body to rotate as he dropped his right shoulder, the thief bladed his body and bent his knees. The knife passed his head with only six inches to spare. Despite the life and death circumstances they faced, the thief was able to reach out and grasp the calm cloak granted by the waters of the Well of Worlds. As it settled upon his shoulders, his perceptions sharpened, and time seemed to slow around him.

The closer of the two thugs gathered himself for a charge, dropping his knife hand as he began to lurch forward. The thief used the coiled strength of his bent legs to spring forward, sword leading the way. His guild-brother’s face had time to register shock before dwarven steel pierced both lung and heart. He collapsed to the grime covered alley as a rush of crimson vapor exploded from his lips.

Hollis completed his lunge, releasing his left hand from the hilt of the Talis Fahr as he moved past the dying man. The thugs own weight pulled the blade from his body. His companion’s eyes floated right and left as the thief saw the realization of his dire predicament fall upon him like an avalanche. “For what it is worth, brother,” Hollis began. He brought the tip of his sword back on line at mid chest height, slightly away from his body to maximize his reach advantage. “I will mourn your passing.”

His opponent sank into a crouch and tried to make a rush for the mouth of the alley and freedom. The thief swept his blade in a short, chopping arc, opening a deep gash along his bicep. “Wrong place.”

He reversed direction in time to avoid Hollis’s return stroke but came no closer to escape. Not giving the man a chance to recover, the thief pressed his advantage. He feinted with a short thrust, driving the thug back into the prone body of his wheezing comrade. Instinctively, the man looked down at his partner.

Hollis brought his sword down in a swift left to right diagonal slash, biting deeply into the thug’s body between neck and shoulder. Drawing his blade free, the thief widened the wound and reversed his stroke. An angry red mouth opened across his chest and the thief’s opponent collapsed across the body of his comrade. “Wrong time.”

The air was filled with the thunder of insect wings as Hollis drove his blade into each of the dying men a final time before stepping over their bodies. His eyes searched the shadows of the alley for Asaege and Tormand. As he’d counseled, she’d retreated and allowed her spell to do its work. Tormand swung more at the stinging cloud surrounding him than at Asaege. She held the Uteli short sword in front of her like a knife fighter, keeping the man at range. The man’s tentative gait told the thief that her longer weapon had stung as surely as the products of her spell when he didn’t respect that range.

As he closed on the pair, Hollis could see through the undulating black cloud the savaged flesh on Tormand’s face and neck, the product of thousands of tiny insect bites. He winced at the thought of the agony that the man had endured. Until that moment, the thief had never truly understood the reality of a death by a thousand cuts. When he came within a hand full of steps, the roar of the insects rose to an almost unbearable volume. A few of the fat flies separated themselves from the cloud and floated towards Hollis.

Asaege called to him, “Stay back!” She thrust out with her sword quickly, sinking the tip into Tormand’s thigh, eliciting a choking gasp from the man. “A swarm of this size will not remain if presented with a fresh victim!”

The thief took a step back and the insects lazily returned to the miasma surrounding Tormand. Raising his voice to be heard above the drone, Hollis shouted, “We cannot tarry! We need to be gone before curiosity overcomes whatever threat my brothers used to clear the street!” Tormand turned in a jerking motion as he heard his voice.

“They will disperse when the magic loses its hold over them!”

“How long will that take?”

Asaege simply shrugged.

“If we leave him here, all of this is for nothing!” Tormand groaned loudly, trying to force words through swollen lips and tongue. If he could speak, no doubt he would assure the thief that he had nothing to fear from his guild-brother. Despite Tormand’s plans for him, the bittersweet sting of pity filled Hollis’s heart. He voiced the words that rang in his heavy conscience. “We cannot take that chance!” He was not sure whether his words were for Asaege or Tormand. Regardless of their intended audience, the truth of the words remained.

Hollis watched as Asaege marshaled her courage. He assumed that as the caster of the spell, the insects wouldn’t turn on her as she was much closer to Tormand than the thief had been when the fat biting flies had begun to focus on him. He was sure that the knowledge didn’t make the act of stepping into the cloud any easier. Although he couldn’t hear the sound of steel in flesh above the roar of the swarm, its effect was clear when Tormand collapsed to the cobblestones, taking the miasma of insects with him. Asaege was revealed as the greasy black curtain fell from around her, her jaw rigid and set. The flies settled on the motionless body of Tormand like a rippling black carpet and the thunder of their wings quieted to a persistent buzzing.

Looking into her tight face, the thief could almost feel the turmoil that raged inside Asaege. She clenched her left fist at her side, her right filled with the instrument of her first kill. Hollis remembered the feeling well, the wearying mixture of elation and regret dragged at the limbs like a week of sleepless nights. He refrained from telling her that she did well, knowing before the words left his lips that they would sound condescending.

He settled for, “He was dead when he made the choice to come after us. Everything that came after that was just the path to that end.”

The part of him that had been Stephen wanted to wrap his arms around her and assure her that it would be alright. No one had done any such thing for him when he had, reflected in Hollis’s mind, killed his first opponent. Hollis wouldn’t lie to Asaege as he didn’t lie to Stephen that night.

There was no guarantee that anything would be alright ever again.