Thorn
The Shepherd, Book III
A Novel by Jeffrey B. Linn
All Rights Reserved
Chapter IX
Beyond action, I hung my head, awaiting the end. A long, feral groan crescendoed in a throaty roar so loud it seemed to rattle the ashlars. Something like an adz caught me beneath the arm and elevated me to confront the face of the monster. His eyes effused wild menace. I beheld my annihilation in his grimace.
Then a voice, shrill, feminine, and aged spoke, "Desist!" The beast hesitated. I turned to see Emunah, her mantle thrown off and her gray locks buffeted by the breeze. His growl was cut short.
"Depart the property of the Shepherd!" The word "Shepherd" hit him like a slap. His countenance altered completely. "And you pawns of the dragon, go!" The eparchs halted awkwardly. "I am Emunah, mistress of this hearth, and care not if you know my name because I belong to the Shepherd!" At this they jerked each as if jabbed with a heated awl. The man-beast dropped me to the path and covered his ears. "These friends whom you have brutaly attacked were all bought with the King's blood and your assault upon His subjects will not go unnoticed. This valley, the field and the hills around it, the earth and stones were always his, being made by Him and through Him before the world began. This claim cannot be superceded by any created race." She chuckled. "Thus I cast you out by the Name of the Shepherd." They started to turn away. She followed. "Get! Away! Your fallen lord has merely stolen his dominion for a time. But the Shepherd shall set things to right." They were running now. She pursued them out onto the plain, her kirtle flowing behind her. "Nothing in this barren world can stand against the Name of the Shepherd!" she shouted after them. They were soon far off, chasing their mounts beneath an expanse of deep blue. Fires winked out in the foothills. She stopped. Planting her feet, she raised a hand skyward. "Thorn! The Shepherd calls you!" The words hit the giant like a blow. He fell to his knees.