Once There Were Heroes by Philip C. Quaintrell EPUB & PDF

Once There Were Heroes by Philip C. Quaintrell EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online

• Status: Available for Free Download
• Author: Philip C. Quaintrell
• Language: English
• Genre: Action & Adventure Fantasy
• Format: PDF / EPUB
• Size: 2 MB
• Price: Free

MOVING SHADOWS
“YOU NEED TO PUSH, ILITHRANDA.” ANDROMA’S WORDS WERE A FIRM
directive. “Push now.”
Leaning on the end of the bed, Androma could feel the sheets crease as
they were clenched within Ilithranda’s knotted fists. She could smell the
sweat that lingered on the air, long having overpowered the lavender water
prepared days earlier—a calming scent that had achieved little in the end.
The Andaren warrior exhaled, letting loose a long moan, replacing all else
in Androma’s sensitive ears. The latter was a blessing given the sounds that
invaded from beyond the walls.

What madness there was out there. What death.
“Push,” she repeated, her hands moving up the bed and between
Ilithranda’s legs.
“I can’t,” the Andaren cried, her arduous labour taking its toll.
Indeed, Androma had recorded three sunrises since Ilithranda’s first
contraction. Warrior or not, the Andaren was exhausted.
“You must,” Androma insisted. “The time is now. The babe is ready.
You must push.”
“I can’t,” Ilithranda said again, her head falling back onto the mounded
pillows. “I’m… I’m too tired.”
Androma cocked her head, though it did nothing to help her see past the
ragged strip of cloth that concealed her eyes. “Tired? I’m blind, not deaf.
There is yet strength in your voice. Where’s that Vahlken mettle? You were
bred to never stop.”

Ilithranda groaned. “We were bred to never stop… killing!” she
countered. “This is quite the… opposite.” The next surge was upon her.
The walls shook around them and the timber beams creaked, threatening
to lose their place in the ceiling. Somewhere, not too far away, another
building was brought down in a shower of stone and rubble. So too were the
fires rising, their reaching flames burning anything and everything.
Androma could smell them. As always, amidst the chaos of war, there were
the constant sounds of ringing steel and pained screams.
It was a battle that would have to wait.

“Push, Ilithranda.”
The Andaren’s head rolled forwards, her jaw clenched by the sound
being forced between her teeth. It might have been years since she had seen
the effect with working eyes, but Androma knew that the Andaren’s silvery
skin would be flushing a dull grey under such strain. Digging into reserves
not idly found in most, sweat coating every inch of her skin, Ilithranda
turned onto all fours, breathing and pushing with the rhythms of her body.
“That’s it,” Androma encouraged. “Feel it. Push.”

Despite Ilithranda’s efforts and the invariable frenzy of violence outside,
Androma’s aural abilities still detected the distinct flap of wings that batted
the air beyond the roof. There came a squawk too, though it was quickly
drowned out by an ear-splitting roar and another set of mighty wings.
“It’s Tovun,” Ilithranda declared, the name forced from her lips.
“Yes,” Androma agreed. “He battles Herragax this day,” she added
ominously

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