Shield of Fire (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) by Boone Brux Page A

see from crying so hard. The Bane taunted me as I crawled to my father’s body.”
    Tears swam in Ravyn’s eyes. Her question was no more than a whisper. “What happened?”
    “Not since that day have I experienced such anger.” He gave a hollow laugh. “I grabbed my father’s dagger from his hand and tried to drive it through Vile’s heart.”
    The room seemed to grow smaller. The air around him compressed against his chest. He turned back to the window and closed his eyes against the memory, but the recollection wouldn’t be silenced. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I wanted to feel my father’s blade split that demon’s flesh.” The memories threatened to steal his voice as the images unfolded without mercy. “Vile caught my hand before I could drive the knife into his chest. The other demons laughed, but Vile didn’t. He knelt before me, staring, as if searching for something in my expression. I remember his foul breath panting against my face, and his yellow eyes.”
    “How did you get away?”
    Rhys looked at her and gave a harsh laugh. “I didn’t.”
    Ravyn shook her head. “But you’re still alive.”
    “Yet another mystery to add to my saga. I can’t tell you how I survived because I don’t remember much after I spit in Vile’s face.”
    Ravyn blinked. “You spit in a demon’s face?”
    The memory still granted him a sliver of satisfaction. “Yes.”
    “What did he do?”
    Rhys clasped his hands behind his back. This was the easy part, speaking of his torture. It was no less than he deserved. If he’d listened to his father and stayed hidden, maybe his parents would still be alive.
    “I think Vile had been contemplating what to do with me, but when I spit in his face, I sealed my fate. He wrapped his hand around mine, nearly breaking my fingers. He said, ‘If you miss your mommy so much, why don’t you join her?’ I couldn’t fight him. He was too strong. He guided the dagger to my chest.” Rhys walked to Ravyn and took her hand. She stiffened but didn’t resist. Unlike Vile’s grip, he gently curled her fingers into a fist and placed it against his chest, his hand covering hers. “Right here.”
    Tears slipped from her eyes.
    “I remember pressure and a twinge of pain when the blade bit through my skin. I remember Vile’s sneer, and then nothing until I woke two days later.”
    Ravyn lightly squeezed his hand and opened her fist to release his fingers. “How did you survive?”
    He shook his head “I don’t know, but as you can see I am still very much alive. I regained consciousness in a monastery. A monk named Brother Archibald had witnessed the battle and gathered me up after the Bane had left me for dead. He removed the dagger while I was unconscious and…” He held his hands out to his sides. “I healed.”
    “How is that possible?” Ravyn tightened the blanket around her and leaned against the edge of the window. “You should have bled to death.”
    “At the very least. But the good Brother proclaimed I’d been saved by a miracle.” He held up his hand to stop the tirade of questions on the tip of Ravyn’s tongue. “I tell you only what the monk told me. I have no answers for you, not even a scar to show.”
    She gazed out the window. “There must be more to the story.”
    He walked to the pitcher and poured a goblet of cool water. The same words had tumbled through his mind for the first fifty years of his life. But he had grown tired of looking for answers where there were none.
    Rayvn gasped and jumped away from the window, pressing her body against the wall. “Powell.”
    “Here?”
    She nodded vigorously.
    Rhys set the goblet on the table and walked to the edge of the curtains. “The monk seems very determined to find you.” He inched forward and pulled the curtain aside. “Where?”
    “Near the main road entrance.”
    Powell stared down at Orvis from atop his horse. Rhys scrutinized him, committing everything from his stringy blond