[filetracker.pl] Robert M. Wegner - Opowieе›ci Z... -

A shadow detached itself from the mist. It was thin, far too long in the limbs, with fingers that ended in hooks of bone. It wasn't a beast, but a hunger —a remnant of the old wars that still haunted the deep places. It hissed, a sound like dry leaves skittering over a tombstone.

"Meekhan’s a long way away, Lieutenant," Varit spit, though he was already checking the iron spikes in his boots. "Up here, there's only the cold and whatever spirits are screaming in the wind."

Kenneth didn't pray to the gods; he knew they rarely listened to soldiers. Instead, he remembered the oath he’d sworn under the red banners of the Empire. The creature lunged. [Filetracker.PL] Robert M. Wegner - OpowieЕ›ci z...

The wind off the Frozen Heights didn’t just blow; it carved. It sought out the gaps in boiled leather and the seams of heavy wool, reminding every man of the Sixth Company that they were guests in a land that wanted them dead.

The spirit shrieked—a sound that bypassed the ears and tore at the mind. Kenneth felt his nose begin to bleed, but he didn't falter. He stepped into the creature’s reach, grabbed its icy throat with a gauntleted hand, and twisted his blade. A shadow detached itself from the mist

As Kenneth moved toward her, he felt a sudden, sickening pressure in the back of his skull. The air turned foul—the smell of wet fur and ancient, stagnant water.

With a final, guttering hiss, the shadow dissolved into a greasy black smoke that the wind quickly tore apart. It hissed, a sound like dry leaves skittering

He scooped her up, shielding her from the spray of the mountain spring, and began the long climb back toward the light. Above him, the red banners of the Sixth Company fluttered against the darkening sky. The mountains were cruel, and the spirits were old, but the Guard was still there. And as long as the Guard stood, the Empire had a heart.