Matthew Maine—The Voidwalker Saga

Torchlight washed Tanzik’s vision in a murky, orange light as his blindfold was yanked off his face. His gag was removed too, leaving him in a coughing fit as he tried to catch his breath. The shackles remained on, attached to the wall a foot above his head. “I’ll keep this quick,” said his captor, a grizzled man with a deep scar across his cheek. His hair and beard were trimmed short like a solider and grey with flecks of black. “We know about Orbrozan and what happened there. We know you abandoned your post. We know about the dead soldiers. We know everything. That’s enough for summary execution right there, but Empress Ermina wants a bit of a show. Drag you back to the capital, public trial, throw you in the dungeon to rot instead of killing you to show how merciful she is. That sort of thing. Then maybe have you shivved in the back after the trial, real quiet like, I don’t know the details. But I’ve been around long enough to know how this sort of thing goes.” “I didn’t kill anyone...

Tanzik and Allena rode as far from the burning city as they could, trying to keep their distance from Imperial forces. Allena recognized the city as Kulle. She had never been there, but had heard it was a warm and peaceful town. “We need to get this information to King Hárkast as soon as possible,” Tanzik said. Allena took long, deep breaths to calm herself. After what happened to Lura in Stormhall, she wasn’t eager to return, or for Tanzik to find out what she did. “What about Violet Shoals?” She asked. Tanzik clenched his jaw and looked to the northwest where the small fishing village was. “Allena, I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” “If the Empire is this far east, they could be at Violet Shoals already. They could even have destroyed it!” Tanzik made a thoughtful grunt and shifted his weight on his horse. “I… I don’t think so. I figured they’d be spreading out, but with as far east as they’ve come, I think they’re making a push straight for the capital. Not as...