{"id":163,"date":"2012-08-14T08:16:50","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=163"},"modified":"2012-08-14T08:16:50","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:16:50","slug":"zervakan-free-fantasy-novel-chapter-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=163","title":{"rendered":"ZERVAKAN – Free Fantasy Novel – Chapter 35"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"\"<\/a>
Cover by TJ Lomas.<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\nI’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan<\/a> above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me at robsteiner01 [at] gmail [dot] com.<\/p>\n

If you’re uncomfortable getting something for nothing, you can hit the PayPal Donate<\/a> button in the Tip Jar section to the right. If you donate more than $3, I’ll send you a non-DRM ebook once the book is published (summer 2012). If you donate more than $20, I’ll send you a printed copy.<\/p>\n

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ZERVAKAN<\/h1>\n

by Rob Steiner<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 35<\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mara!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran shouted, but his daughter only fled deeper into the forest.\u00c2\u00a0 He caught glimpses of her white-clad body through the low hanging pine branches, but she always seemed to be ten paces ahead of him.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mara!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he shouted again, trying to make his voice heard above the peals of thunder and the torrents of rain that had started minutes ago.\u00c2\u00a0 He was soaked to the skin, and the sharp needles of the pine branches stuck to his clothes, his hair, and his hands.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dad!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mara screamed, from somewhere to his left, sounding farther away than he thought she was.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mara, where are you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran shouted back.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Daddy!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 This time her voice seemed to be ahead of him.\u00c2\u00a0 Taran wanted to weep with frustration.\u00c2\u00a0 His little girl was out in this forest with harrowers and Tainted monsters, and he could not help her.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please, Mara,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran shouted, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153run to my voice!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

He did not hear her voice again, so he charged through the pine branches toward the place where he last heard her.\u00c2\u00a0 Taran came out of the woods in front of a creek that was swollen and flowing rapidly due to the heavy rain.\u00c2\u00a0 It was maybe three paces across, and looked to be a pace deep.\u00c2\u00a0 Mud and water flooded into the creek from both banks, creating a deep gully with the creek at the bottom.<\/p>\n

Taran looked up at the other side in time to see Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s white shift disappear woods.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mara, come back!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

She must not have heard him, for she did not return.\u00c2\u00a0 Between the thunder, rain, and the swollen creek, Taran could barely hear his own voice.<\/p>\n

He scanned the lip of the gully for a quick, easy way down, but saw none.\u00c2\u00a0 Both banks seemed to have suffered a mud slide that exposed tree roots, clay, and stones.\u00c2\u00a0 Taran sat down on the bank, and then tried to ease his body down the three pace drop to the surging creek.\u00c2\u00a0 He immediately slipped and slid all the way into the water.\u00c2\u00a0 It was deeper than he thought, and his head went under, sending dirty water down his throat and nose.\u00c2\u00a0 He came to the surface coughing, and was able to stand in the chest-high water.\u00c2\u00a0 He fought the current and managed to climb the other side of the gully to where he had watched Mara enter the woods.\u00c2\u00a0 He paused a moment to catch his breath and cough up the last of the muddy water from his lungs.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mara!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Taran was aware of lightning striking the ground less than a half mile behind him, and he knew the Tuathans on the road were being attacked.\u00c2\u00a0 He did not care about them now, not with his daughter out here, alone and frightened.\u00c2\u00a0 Fatimah would take care of them.\u00c2\u00a0 Taran had to find his daughter.<\/p>\n

He stumbled through the pine branches again, shouting Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name.\u00c2\u00a0 He grew terribly weary, and his breathing came in ragged gasps, but he kept his legs moving and he kept shouting Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name.\u00c2\u00a0 He would die out here before he gave up looking for her.<\/p>\n

Taran stopped moving when he heard the sounds of crying coming from his left.\u00c2\u00a0 He shouted Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name, but all he heard was the crying.\u00c2\u00a0 He charged toward the left and emerged from the forest into a small clearing no more than ten paces in diameter.\u00c2\u00a0 Mara sat on the stump of a downed tree, her head in her hands and her shoulders heaving with each sob.\u00c2\u00a0 Taran ran over to her and put his arms around her.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hear now, Mara,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, holding her tight.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to hurt you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and cried softly on his shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thought you wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t come for me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Of course I came for you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Taran said, gently pulling her away from him so he could look at her.<\/p>\n

Her long black hair hung in strings around her face, and her eyes were red from weeping.\u00c2\u00a0 Aside from the dirt all over her body and the oozing blood from minor scratches, she appeared to be fine.<\/p>\n

She was fine….<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mara,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you can walk.\u00c2\u00a0 How are you here?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Something wrapped itself around Taran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ankles, yanked him off his feet, and pulled him back toward the forest.\u00c2\u00a0 He looked at his feet in disbelief.\u00c2\u00a0 Writhing vines jerked him into the air so that he hung upside down five paces above the ground.\u00c2\u00a0 He heard Mara scream, saw similar vines wrap themselves around both of her arms and pull her into the air.\u00c2\u00a0 She hung there screaming, her arms spread wide by the vines.<\/p>\n

Taran was horrified to see a black tendril of Angra touching the ground just beyond the tree line behind Mara.\u00c2\u00a0 It came closer, and then a man clad in a dark coat wearing a black tri-corner hat emerged from the forest, his hand raised and holding on to the nauseating tendril.\u00c2\u00a0 He paused near Mara a moment, and then walked toward Taran.\u00c2\u00a0 As he grew closer, a cold horror gripped Taran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body.<\/p>\n

Kumar Ladak stopped in front of Taran, and then tilted his head.\u00c2\u00a0 He smiled, and Taran thought he saw more teeth in Ladak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mouth than a normal human should have.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hello, Zervakan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ladak said.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your daughter is even prettier than the picture you showed me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cover by TJ Lomas. I’m posting a chapter from my latest fantasy novel for free every Monday and Friday (click Zervakan above for a synopsis and to start from the beginning). It’s in a “pre-published state,” meaning you might find the occasional spelling\/grammar mistake. If you do, please leave a comment below or email me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,28,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-stuff","category-novels","category-zervakan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}