Summoner: The Outcast (EXTRACT OF PUBLISHED BOOK)

Chapter 22

It took only a few seconds for Alice to heal Rotter, wiping away the deep cut in his ashen forehead like wine spilled on a table. But in that time it seemed the world became darker, the sun halfway through its descent beneath the horizon.

"What happened?" Prince Harold asked, handing a flask of water to the exhausted soldier.

"Men from the north," Rotter gasped after a deep draft. "A few hundred of them. Came at us with swords while we set up camp out- side Raleightown. I was on the edges, played dead . . . waited till they'd moved on."

For a moment the group stared at him in shocked silence.

"Did any of your comrades survive?" Edmund asked, gripping Rotter by his shoulder.

"Aye, Sergeant Caulder," Rotter said, his eyes darting furtively behind him. "Sarge fought like the devil, but there were too many. One snuck up from behind, knocked him out with a club. I think they kept him alive for interrogation."

"Is the town being pillaged?" Edmund demanded, his eyes turning in the town's direction. "I don't see flames."

Arcturus could see the glow of the town's torchlights in the dis- tance, suddenly visible in the growing darkness.

It didn't seem real. It was so quiet. Were there dead men over there, cut down in the dusk light?

"What are they doing here?" Alice murmured. "No pillaging . . . and there are too many of them to be bandits. A dwarven uprising?"

"They were no dwarves," Rotter growled. "Too tall. But they wore matching cloaks and covered their faces with scarves. Like they were organized. Like someone might recognize them."

Arcturus felt a chill take hold of him then. Could this be what Crawley had been talking about?

"The riots," Arcturus said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"What of them?" Zacharias snarled from behind him, making Arcturus jump. He had not heard Zacharias and Josephine return. The boy's demon was gone—infused into Zacharias's body.

"Arcturus is right," Prince Harold said, holding up his hand. "They are here for us. This is an uprising. Just not a dwarven one."

"It's the commoners," Edmund said, his face filled with sudden understanding. "The ones who started the fire in Corcillum."

"What are you saying?" Josephine asked. Her voice quavered, and Arcturus could see her face was pale in the dim light.

"They are here for us," Edmund explained, loading his crossbow with grim determination. "The prince, the nobles. All of us."

"No!" Elaine gasped and rushed over to grip Arcturus's hand. "Why?" Alice asked. "What good are we to them?"

"Because we are weak," Prince Harold said. "Weak enough to capture. All of us are novices, with our first demons and the most basic grasp of spellcraft. We have not had the time to grow our summoning levels, or capture more powerful demons. With their numbers . . . they could defeat us without too much trouble."

"What good would capturing us do?" Josephine demanded, her words verging on a wail. "Our parents control everything, not us!"

"Exactly," Edmund replied. "With a knife to our throats, they would be able to make our parents do whatever they wanted."

"Not mine," Harold said, shaking his head. "My father would never bow to their demands, the stubborn old goat. I'd die for sure."

"Even if our parents did not love us, the consequences of our deaths would be too costly," Edmund said, shaking his head. "We are not just their children—most of us are their heirs, their firstborn."

"Only the firstborn are guaranteed to be born summoners," Arcturus murmured, understanding dawning on him. If the firstborns were killed, the ability to summon might be lost to their families forever.

"I'm not a firstborn," Elaine whispered, nudging Arcturus. "My brothers can summon. Will I—?"

"No," Arcturus said, forcing a smile. "Your parents would never let that happen."

Elaine gripped his hand, and he felt the weight of her Mite, Valens, alighting on his shoulder. Sacharissa nuzzled the young girl's waist, and she stroked the demon's shaggy coat.

"So what's the plan?" Josephine asked desperately. "Shall we head for the bridge?"

"No," Edmund said. "There are two ways into Raleighshire. One is across that bridge to the north, and the other is a pass south through the mountains, which will lead us into the orc jungles anyway. With an attack this well organized, we can assume they will have blocked both routes."

"Well, whatever your decision, you had better make it soon," Rotter

snapped. "They'll be sending out search parties as soon as night falls, if not sooner. And they have hunting dogs with them."

Prince Harold cursed.

"We won't last more than a few hours; the dogs will follow our scent right to us. Not nearly enough time to send for help."

"So do we fight?" Zacharias said. For all his bravado, the blond noble looked terrified.

But Arcturus could take no satisfaction from it. Not in their predicament.

"There's a rocky outcrop not too far from here," Edmund said. "If we run we might be able to make it there, fortify it."

"With what, sticks and rocks?" Josephine muttered. "That's suicide. I'd rather surrender and let our parents deal with it."

"It's your father's fault anyway!" Zacharias pointed an accusatory finger at Harold. "So what if he has to give up the throne. That's what they want, right?"

"I don't deny it," Harold said simply.

More silence, broken only by Zacharias's angry breathing.

"Let me think," Edmund murmured, gripping the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

It was almost dark now, and Arcturus could see the sun was just a sliver of orange on the horizon. Despair gripped him as the light faded, and his thoughts turned to Crawley's ofer. What if he surrendered . . . would he have to join the rebel commoners? Should he?

But how could he betray his friends . . . and who knew if the reb- els would succeed? If they did, he would be hanged as a traitor with the rest of the nobles.

"Doesn't your family have men protecting the mountain pass?" Zacharias asked Edmund, interrupting Arcturus's thoughts. "Maybe the rebels haven't gotten to them yet."

"Even if that was the case, there are barely a score of them, mostly retired soldiers that my father didn't have the heart to fire," Edmund replied. "His personal guard went with him on his trade mission. They timed this attack well."

"Do you have any better ideas?" Zacharias snapped. Edmund gazed toward the town, his brows furrowed. "There's something else. But . . . no."

"Tell us," Alice said. "If there's even a chance . . . we should take it." Edmund sighed, indecision plain on his face.

"Hurry," Rotter hissed. "We have to go!"

"There's a secret passage," Edmund said. "Beneath a statue opposite the old church in Raleightown. But . . . it leads into the orc jungles, beyond the mountain pass."

"You want us to go toward them?" Zacharias snarled. "And then into orc territory? Are you crazy?"

"The dogs aren't tracking our scent yet," Edmund said. "If we go back to the town, they won't have a trail to follow. Maybe we can hide in the passageway until help arrives."

"The path back is clear," Rotter said. "I just came from there."

"So that's it?" Alice asked, gazing back at the town's distant lights. "That's our best plan?"

Edmund turned to Harold, and the prince gave him a grim nod. "We go back," Edmund said firmly. "And hope we survive the night."

This ends the excerpt from The Outcast. I hope you give it a chance :-). It's available in all good bookstores and the usual places online. Thanks for reading!