E-Book Content
TRILOGY OF THE SECOND AGE^ BOOKTHREE - RICHARD E. DANSKY 1 kxAL J t U J-JL J JUN F K U N W H l 1 t W U L r TRILOGY OF THE SECOND AGE Chosen of the Sun by Richard E. Dansky Beloved of the Dead by Richard E. Dansky Children of the Dragon by Richard E. Dansky ANDFROM THE SAME AUTHOR Clan Novel: Lasombra For all these titles and more, visit www.white.wolf.com/fiction 02002 White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical-including photocopy, recording, Internet posting, electronicbulletin board-ar any other informationstorage and retrieval system, except for the purpose of reviews, without permission from the publisher. White Wolf iscommittedtoreducingwasteinpublishing.For this reason, we do not permit our covers to be-"stripped" for return, but instead require that the whole book be returned, allowing us to resell it. All persons, places and organizations in this book-except those clearly in the public domain-are fictitious,and any resemblance that may seem to exist to actual persons, places or organizations living, dead or defunct is purely coincidental. The mention of or reference to any companies or products in these pagesisnot achallengeto the trademarksor copyrightsconcerned. White Wolf is a registeredtrademarkofWhiteWolf Publishing, Inc. Exalted,Children of the Dragon,Chosenof the Sun, Beloved of the Dead,Trilogy of the Second Age and Clan Novel Lasombra are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. ISBN: 1-58846-802-X First Edition: September 2002 Printed in Canada White Wolf Publishing 1554 Litton Drive Stone Mountain,GA 30083 -.white-wolf.com/fiction Dedicated to Saul and lrene Dansky, for years of support and love, their endless encouragement, and most of all their admonition not to be so hard on Ratcatcher chis time around. RICHARD DANSKY They cut Ratcatcher down on the thirteenth day after he’d been left behind, thirteen days of torment authored by Holok and Unforgiven Blossom. For close to a fortnight, he’d hung in the branches of the tree, his arms twisted and broken. Insects and birds had fed on his flesh, and spiders nested in the unruly thatch ofhis hair. The only water that had passed his parched lips had come from two brief rainstorms, and he’d tasted no food in all that time. He’d not slept at all, and for thirteen days and nights he’d hung, awake, on the tree. At first the pain had kept him from drifting off, the stabbing agonies in his arms anchoring him to consciousness. Then, when pain had ceased to matter, he found himself strangely immune to slumber, and instead hadstaredoutfromunseeingeyes bothnight andday. Finally, the visions had come. In one, he had seen the great carrion bird, Raiton, who had taunted him and promised to send his servants to feed upon Ratcatcher’s rotting corpse. In another, the Prince of Shadows had turned away from him sadly, cloaked in fire and bleeding from both palms. Ratcatcher had tried to call out to him, but his throat was so dry he could make no sounds other than a weak, dry squeaking. He’d heard his hounds baying off in the distance, and once he’d thought he’d seen them, but they remained maddeningly elusive. And on the last day before succor came, he’d seen her. She’d stood before him, demure as always, in the robes she’d been wearing on the day she had taken his life. Her protector was nowhere to be seen, and Ratcatcher had strained mightily against his bonds in an attempt to freehimself and choke the life %@from her hateful. delicate throat. Hisefforts failed. though. and K h 1 forward and kissed him on the brow. 1 hen, she vanished, and all he could taste was dust. 0 0 0 The men came to cut him down the next day.