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His message delivered, Veykko's eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped
backwards over Eskild's arm.
"Is he dead?" Lukasz asked.
Eskild put his fingers to Veykko's neck. "He lives ...
barely."
Lukasz drew himself up, every inch the young duke. "Take him to my physician.
Get him every care. I need more information from him, and I'm not going to get
it if he dies."
Blood Harvest [Dark Brothers of the Light Book VII]
by Janrae Frank
171
CHAPTER SEVEN
UNDER SEIGE
Isranon could not shake the feeling that something lingered in the abandoned
town that he had forbidden his scouts to investigate further without him. So
once the roads had dried enough that the wagons could move on, the Army of the
Renunciate marched to within sight of the town and made camp. He and Nans had
allowed further scouting only around the edges of the town, and although the
lycans were now reporting that they had caught whiffs of strange, unfamiliar
scents, no other spoor or evidence of inhabitants had been discovered. Isranon
decided to do a necromantic scan for life forms before allowing anyone to
enter.
That morning Isranon stood at the edge of the camp, studying the town. He had
brought only Nevin with him so that he would have fewer warm bodies to disrupt
or distract his necromantic awareness. A dusty, battered sign hung high
between two posts with "Welcome to Chyniolus" barely readable on it because of
the chipped and faded paint. All the windows had been shattered. Broken
shutters creaked forlornly in the morning breeze. Torn, faded curtains waved
in the windows like tattered ghosts. If he judged by his eyes, Isranon would
have believed that nothing lived there. Yet he felt his necromantic senses
tingling.
He extended his awareness in a low-level scan for living and undead. At first,
he picked up nothing, and then he
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Blood Harvest [Dark Brothers of the Light Book VII]
by Janrae Frank
172
extended his scan, broadening it into a powerful sweep. He picked up dozens of
presences that he could not identify, although he could taste their rage and
hunger.
Hunger.
It provoked his own hunger for blood, distracting him for an instant,
reminding him of just how out of control his own appetite had grown over the
past six weeks. His fangs descended from their sheaths and pricked his lip. He
could hear the beating of Nevin's heart as the lycan stood beside him, smell
the blood in his veins. An urge to pull Nevin down and suck him to the edge
and beyond came over Isranon. The young sa'necari fought it, his face going
pale. Shaken, Isranon nearly lost his focus.
Forcing himself to close Nevin's presence out, Isranon once more extended his
scan. He tasted terror, pain, and then a death. A small cluster of humans were
somewhere in that town with those hungry others.
Someone staggered from a building, got to the edge of the road where the town
ended and collapsed beneath the signposts. He struggled to his hands and
knees, crawling toward them.
"Help me."
Isranon recognized the mon's uniform and cursed. "It's one of ours. I told
them to stay out."
Nevin changed into hybrid form and loped off to help the injured mon. Isranon
ran behind him.
The lycan reached the fallen soldier first. As he started to kneel, Nevin
heard a rustling and a flurry of darts struck his arms. He half-turned and two
penetrated his cheek. Nevin
Blood Harvest [Dark Brothers of the Light Book VII]
by Janrae Frank
173
started to shrug it off, and then he felt the betraying burn in his
bloodstream. More hit him. Nevin jerked and stiffened, falling to his knees.
Confusion and disorientation made him blink. He shook his head trying to clear
it. Another volley of the deadly darts pierced his skin. Nevin's body twitched
and cramped. His breathing turned choppy and struggling.
Isranon could tell that Nevin was hurt, but not by what. As soon as he came
within range, Isranon threw a golden shield around them.
"Nevin!"
When Isranon saw tiny darts scattered along his spirit-
brother's arms and two lodged in his face.
Nevin blinked at Isranon, his face tightening into a grimace as he mastered
his body and turned the mon over. There were tiny darts all over him also.
"Devil's Silver."
Nevin crumpled.
Isranon's blood ran cold as ice, knowing what Devil's Silver could do to a
lycan.
The soldier moaned. "My friend. They ate him alive. He was screaming ...
screaming ... and they were eating him."
Isranon glanced from Nevin to the moaning soldier and back again. A cold sweat
had broken out on Nevin's face and his body was shaken by rippling
convulsions. Isranon could not heal them and maintain the shields. If he let
the shields down, whatever had struck at them would strike at him. Nor could
he move both of them alone. He gazed at the camp.
The sentries were out of sight on the far end of their walk.
Isranon saw people moving beyond the tents, but although he waved his staff,
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none of them noticed him.
Blood Harvest [Dark Brothers of the Light Book VII]
by Janrae Frank
174
In desperation, he reached out to his wife through the psychic link that bound
them forever.
Anksha help me.
Nevin's wounded
.
He sensed her turn toward him, felt her race unerringly through the camp,
gathering people. Each passing moment dragged at him. Then he saw her.
Anksha stood at the edge of the camp with four vampires:
Haig, Zulaika, Corbienne, and Jun. She had chosen her companions wisely.
"We've got to get them back to camp," said Isranon. "I
can't hold the shields and heal them at the same time."
Haig and Jun lifted the two unconscious myn and carried them to the safety of
their encampment. As they reached the first two rows of tents, Haig turned to
Isranon. "This one's dead."
Isranon felt stricken. He had not even known the mon's name. Reaching for
Nevin in Jun's arms, Isranon grasped the lycan's wrist and Read him. He
immediately cast Shared Life, moving part of his blood and life force into his
spirit-brother.
The transfusion of sa'necari blood added a missing resistance factor to combat
the Devil's Silver while his life force strengthened Nevin's. Isranon's brow
furrowed with worry because he knew it would not hold long. "Get him to my
wagon where I can work on him."
People stopped to watch them pass, muttering loudly. Olin pushed his way
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