Recent content by Erland Karr

Erland recoiled from the disgusting creature. His people might have lived harsh lives in the eastern islands, but the lowest of the low suffered far worse in the gutters of these cities. Perfumed and sheltered, he kept away from the worst of it. And not just because of his sense of smell. It...

He watched Everleigh go. He had played through possible scenarios of escape over and over. For weeks it had been his obsession. A glimmer of hope had sparked a fire inside him. The idea of freedom enough to rekindle a little of his spirit. In none of those scenarios had they ended up...

Now he knew why he felt so lightheaded when the wind came from the south. The stench seemed to claw it's way up his nose and then down his throat. Why were they so frail down in the south, yet they could stand something like this on the edge of their cities? He dry-wretched and stopped...

When they had raided small settlements there had not been any sulking about in the shadows. They might have been quiet and approached during the night, but then it had been a loud and chaotic affair. Blood and screams and fear. If they had wanted to keep their belongings then they should have...

That was a problem. That would have been an even bigger problem. A dog barked and his hand went to the handle of his axe. It wasn't a hunting dog that had been unleashed by the guards, but a common mutt. He'd seen these houses a hundred times from the front, but never picked along the old...

Erland would have questioned what she was doing, but it sounded as if the guards would be on top of them at any moment. He spoke slowly, but he was also unhurried of thought. He knew he would have the chance to ask before he could work it out on his own. What would the guards possibly think...

"I do trust you Everleigh," he said firmly. "Not that Erland has a choice now." Without his raiding band, in enemy lands he did not know, he had small hope on his own. The outside air caused a chill to ripple across his exposed skin. Another sign that he had been here too long. He watcher...

"Fokk," Erland said. The word did not need translating, it had come form his people in the first place. He looked down at her bleeding hand. When he had pictured this moment, Erland had foreseen a simple escape in the night. A knock on the wall and Everleigh using her rank to march them out of...

For the first time since coming to know Everleigh, he felt a cold hand of fear grasp him as he looked upon her. He had always known that she was deadly, but he had never seen that look in her eyes. He was far away from calling the other workers here his friends, but they were the only company...

There was a scream. After the short, sharp cry came another voice. "Everleigh?" He was sat just to the left of her line of sight. A group of three men clearly waiting to be displayed. One, a particularly large man with a look of the southern coast about him, stood up and grabbed a knife from...

"Later," he agreed. Mirth danced in his eyes. She had made the point quite clearly, that he needed to become his own man again. He didn't feel a warm satisfaction from how distracting he could be because she would be a satisfied customer, but because he wanted this. Erland used his nose to...

"That sounds like good idea," he said. He had heard of Elbion. It was far away, but known as a home for all kinds of magical people. It would make sense that a Dreadlord would seek refuge there. The soft rhythmic percussion to their conversation continued louder with her only half shimmied free...

"I will do that," Erland said. He did not see how he would have much of a choice. What freedoms he had were quite limited, even if he had come to see them as luxuries. "If I am my Svalen again, we can cover ground quickly." Erland gently kissed across her shoulder. He placed his left hand...

"Of course," he replied. Not because she demanded, but because he wanted that too. "Two months," he repeated. Erland had large, warm hands. He was surprisingly dextrous and opening buttons and fitting into tight spaces. If she needed an answer to that questioning look, his fingtertips lightly...

"So you are bossy and always correct, but I should argue with you," Erland replied. He was clearly not being serious now. He did not know enough of her to judge her ability to plan his escape. She seemed certain of herself. It was enough for him to latch onto. Erland rubbed his cheek to hers...