Kindle the Flame (Heart of a Dragon Book 1) by Tamara Shoemaker Page B
Authors: Tamara Shoemaker
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falling, falling.
His arms caught the edge, and his hands gripped the bricked ledge, holding tightly. He pulled himself up, an arm, and then a leg, followed by the other leg.
“Halt, in the name of the law!” The soldier's voice was angry. Cedric sprinted as fast as he could across the rooftop. An opening to stairs appeared, and he raced down them, three at a time, his pulse pounding in his ears, thundering all around him.
He reached the bottom, checking both ways. It looked less busy to the right. He chose left, hoping to blend with the crowds.
He slowed to a walk, looking for shelter, for any place where he could slip in unnoticed.
“Got you, boy.” Two arms ringed his neck.
Cedric gasped, “Let me go!” The guard dragged him inexorably backward, pinning his arms to his sides.
Cedric struggled, panting and pushing. They neared the end of the alley and stopped when they stood in front of the man with a general's crest on his mantle. The General's dark goatee frowned at Cedric; his eyes were points of fire in his head.
“Bring him in. And don't let him escape this time.” He spat at Cedric's feet, and Cedric felt burning ropes bind his wrists before he was pulled to the top of a horse, another body swinging up behind him. The mass of humanity parted before them as they clopped down the cobblestone streets. In the distance, Cedric could see the tall stone turrets of the palace.
His jaw relaxed as he looked around in awe. For so long he had wanted to see the lands of his own kind, had begged Shaya to take him somewhere, anywhere. She hadn’t even been able take him to her own Clan, the Centaurs. “Once they banish you, Cedric, it is forever. There is no forgiveness, no going back.”
“Why did you they turn you out, Mother?” he’d asked, not understanding how his gentle mother could be an exile from her own homeland.
“I killed another Centaur.” Her voice was sad, wrapped in memory. “It was my choice, and it was intentional, Cedric. They gave me a great gift when they granted me life. By rights, I should have died where I stood, trampled to death beneath their heavy hooves. I would have been had it not been for...” she stopped.
“For?”
“For the generosity of another Centaur who insisted on my life.”
“Who was it?”
She did not answer him. Her eyes looked into his, through his, beyond his, faraway into a distant time and place.
He had dropped the subject then, sensing that he needed to give her space, and she had never mentioned it again, though he’d wondered about the Centaur who had saved his mother's life yet left her to live in loneliness and obscurity, broken from her own kind.”
The palace drew near. The turrets pierced the sky above the city like watchful guardians, overwhelming the streets and alleys below. Stone walls and battlements surrounded the palace. A massive iron gate swung open for them as they approached. Cedric worked his wrists against the rough rope that bound them, scraping the skin raw where he fought the ties.
The horses took a circuitous path around the castle to a side gate. Guards at a portcullis stood at attention as the General halted. They hurried to turn the winches, pulling the portcullis to the roof of the arch, and the horses marched through into an empty courtyard. Stable boys appeared from the walls to take the mounts.
A guard hauled Cedric across the courtyard.
“Take him to the dungeons until I speak to the King about him,” the General called after them.
“Yes, my lord.”
Cedric stumbled as he was pulled into a dark tunnel, through the shifting pools of light from many torches. Cries of pain and anguish drifted from the cells below, and farther down the hall echoed the deep-throated grunts of various beasts.
Another man appeared, his visage scarred. An empty eye socket sagged above one cheekbone. His back rose in a large hump behind his head.
“Genlich.” The guard beside Cedric pulled to a stop in front of the man. “This
His arms caught the edge, and his hands gripped the bricked ledge, holding tightly. He pulled himself up, an arm, and then a leg, followed by the other leg.
“Halt, in the name of the law!” The soldier's voice was angry. Cedric sprinted as fast as he could across the rooftop. An opening to stairs appeared, and he raced down them, three at a time, his pulse pounding in his ears, thundering all around him.
He reached the bottom, checking both ways. It looked less busy to the right. He chose left, hoping to blend with the crowds.
He slowed to a walk, looking for shelter, for any place where he could slip in unnoticed.
“Got you, boy.” Two arms ringed his neck.
Cedric gasped, “Let me go!” The guard dragged him inexorably backward, pinning his arms to his sides.
Cedric struggled, panting and pushing. They neared the end of the alley and stopped when they stood in front of the man with a general's crest on his mantle. The General's dark goatee frowned at Cedric; his eyes were points of fire in his head.
“Bring him in. And don't let him escape this time.” He spat at Cedric's feet, and Cedric felt burning ropes bind his wrists before he was pulled to the top of a horse, another body swinging up behind him. The mass of humanity parted before them as they clopped down the cobblestone streets. In the distance, Cedric could see the tall stone turrets of the palace.
His jaw relaxed as he looked around in awe. For so long he had wanted to see the lands of his own kind, had begged Shaya to take him somewhere, anywhere. She hadn’t even been able take him to her own Clan, the Centaurs. “Once they banish you, Cedric, it is forever. There is no forgiveness, no going back.”
“Why did you they turn you out, Mother?” he’d asked, not understanding how his gentle mother could be an exile from her own homeland.
“I killed another Centaur.” Her voice was sad, wrapped in memory. “It was my choice, and it was intentional, Cedric. They gave me a great gift when they granted me life. By rights, I should have died where I stood, trampled to death beneath their heavy hooves. I would have been had it not been for...” she stopped.
“For?”
“For the generosity of another Centaur who insisted on my life.”
“Who was it?”
She did not answer him. Her eyes looked into his, through his, beyond his, faraway into a distant time and place.
He had dropped the subject then, sensing that he needed to give her space, and she had never mentioned it again, though he’d wondered about the Centaur who had saved his mother's life yet left her to live in loneliness and obscurity, broken from her own kind.”
The palace drew near. The turrets pierced the sky above the city like watchful guardians, overwhelming the streets and alleys below. Stone walls and battlements surrounded the palace. A massive iron gate swung open for them as they approached. Cedric worked his wrists against the rough rope that bound them, scraping the skin raw where he fought the ties.
The horses took a circuitous path around the castle to a side gate. Guards at a portcullis stood at attention as the General halted. They hurried to turn the winches, pulling the portcullis to the roof of the arch, and the horses marched through into an empty courtyard. Stable boys appeared from the walls to take the mounts.
A guard hauled Cedric across the courtyard.
“Take him to the dungeons until I speak to the King about him,” the General called after them.
“Yes, my lord.”
Cedric stumbled as he was pulled into a dark tunnel, through the shifting pools of light from many torches. Cries of pain and anguish drifted from the cells below, and farther down the hall echoed the deep-throated grunts of various beasts.
Another man appeared, his visage scarred. An empty eye socket sagged above one cheekbone. His back rose in a large hump behind his head.
“Genlich.” The guard beside Cedric pulled to a stop in front of the man. “This
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