All Chapters of THE BURDEN OF BLOOD: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
51 chapters
Chapter 21: The Cursed Wound
The second night following the raid was when the fever struck. Sweat-soaked, Heath awakened up as the longhouse whirled around him. Old blood and something deeper (green fire strands throbbing beneath the linen like living worms) were visible beneath the black bandage covering his left side.With terrified eyes, Savannah was already on her knees next to the cot. "It's spreading once more," she muttered. He made an effort to sit up. His lungs were struck with pain. When Mason had healed the wound, it had been a clean slash; now, the edges were blackened and veins of corruption were spreading outward in a flawless spiral. Herb bag clattering, Mason rushed inside the door without knocking. He yelled, "Move," at the two guards who were idly hovering. He took off the bandage. The first thing that struck was the scent of rotting meat and ancient blood combined with something strange and metallic. The elderly healer's expression became gray. He said, "It's rooted deeper than I thought
Chapter 22: Savannah’s Awakening
The moon was a tiny silver blade above the broken Standing Stone when Savannah woke. She sat straight upright on the ash-covered ground, breath sawing in her throat as if she had been drowning. Heath was immediately reaching for her, hands seizing her shoulders before she could wriggle away.Her eyes were no longer crimson. They were white (pure, brilliant white), like moonlight poured into glass. The pupils had faded, leaving only vast winter sky. Every wolf in the clearing froze. Savannah peered through Heath, past him, into something none of them could see. “Heath,” she said, and her voice was layered (hers, and something enormous beneath it). “It’s not over.” He gripped her face, pushing her eyes to his. “Talk to me. What do you see?” She shuddered, her body shivering as though ice water rushed through her veins. “The Syphon Stone was never Beau’s,” she muttered. "It was a leash." A plug. He was merely the cork in the bottle, despite his belief that he was the master. Sca
Chapter 23: The Umbral Pact
Forrest continued to utilize the cellar of the Black Boar bar, which had burned down weeks earlier. A lone lantern painted the walls a sickly yellow as it swung from a roof beam. The smell of fear-sweat and moist stone filled the air. Heath entered the broken trapdoor by himself. Above, Savannah waited with Scarlett and Vance; as soon as she smelled Forrest, the tie connecting them throbbed with caution. Forrest appeared to be dead. His right arm shook as he poured two cups of something dark and viscous, while his left arm ended in a burnt stump. He croaked, "You're late." "And what I have to say will make you hate it." Heath accepted the provided cup but chose not to sip. "Speak." Forrest used the back of his remaining hand to wipe his mouth after downing his own in a single gulp. "The Syphon Stone was never constructed by Beau. He located it. Under the ancient crypt, in the deep caverns. The ones that, since the Long Winter, no wolf has ventured into. A roll of cracked vellu
Chapter 24: The Howling Caves
At morning, the wound reopened. With sheets drenched in dark blood, Heath awoke gasping. His side's silver scar had split in half, with light green flashing at the margins (Umbral corruption, patient, and smiling). It might be pushed back for hours, not days, by Savannah's white fire.Mason stood above the cot, his face etched with concern and aged oak. He stated plainly, "It's rooted in the tether now." It learns her signature each time she heals you. Soon, it won't even be touched by her power. Heath sat up, suppressing a moan. "We cut the tether after that." The longhouse was filled with Savannah's growl. "I'll burn this valley myself if you try it." Mason disregarded the danger. "One remedy remains. glowing moss. only grows three days west in the Howling Caves. Umbral corruption is like wine to it. Twenty years ago, I used the last of it on a dog that had gone too far. saved his life. Nothing else will. Heath clenched his jaw. Legend had it that wolves entered the Howling Ca
Chapter 25: The First Umbral
At daybreak, five riders pushed weary horses to the brink of collapse as they rode out of the west like ghosts. With scar silver on his skin and the remaining brilliant moss burning dimly in a pouch at his throat, Heath sat tall in the saddle once more. With her eyes still rimmed white with residual force, Savannah rode next to him. The two remaining scouts trailed after, with Scarlett and Vance flanking them. Nobody said anything. A fresh smell, old graves, cold iron, and something hungry, was borne by the wind.By the late afternoon, they arrived to the Crimson Valley, where the gates were already open and the palisade was lined with wolves who were beaming with hope. When they saw Heath standing, alive, and complete, they cheered. As soon as the horsemen crossed the river, the applause stopped. The horses resisted. Eyes rolling white, ears flat. Even the stallions trained for battle shuddered. Savannah tightened her grip. "It's here." Through the link, Heath sensed the pressur
Chapter 26: The Cure and The Cost
At dark, with firelight flickering over the ruin of Heath's side, they put him on the longhouse table, stripped to the waist. The wound had opened wide once more, with green fire licking at the borders and black lips gaping. Corruption beat in time with his heart, bringing the decay one finger's width closer to his throat with each beat. Mason worked quickly. In order to make the luminous moss shine like liquid starlight, he mashed it into a dazzling paste and combined it with moonroot liquor and silver dust. Savannah gripped Heath's hand so firmly that her knuckles became white. The pack remained outside as Scarlett and Vance stood watch at the door.Mason commanded, "Hold him." Heath's legs and shoulders were pinned by four wolves. He didn't engage in combat. Mason applied the paste straight to the wound. Heath let out an unearthly scream that ripped from his throat. On touch, the moss ignited (blue-white fire shooting through tainted veins, searching for every Umbral darkness
Chapter 27: An Uneasy Alliance
Thirty riders in black leather with ironwood leaves painted on their shields arrived at daybreak. No shouts of battle. Not a drum. Just the creak of a white banner snapping in the wind and the slow, deliberate thud of hoofs. Riding at the front, Jasper's face was deeply carved from many restless nights, and his beard was braided with new bone beads. Half of his warriors had wounds that had not been caused by a wolf's claw, and his left arm was splinted.Heath has twenty combatants in full silver waiting outside the gates. Shadows curled at Savannah's ankles like restless smoke as she stood to his right. With half-drawn bows, Scarlett and Vance stood on either side of them. Twenty paces away, Jasper reined in. The valley held its breath. Jasper dismounted by himself and proceeded till the two Alphas were ten paces apart. His other riders remained on horseback, their hands clearly not touching any weapons. With a gravelly voice, Jasper declared, "I'm not here for your valley." "Tha
Chapter 28: The Broken Syphon’s Echo
Savannah started to crack as the moon became weaker and the evenings grew colder. It began modestly. When she raised a cup, her left hand trembled. An uncontrollable flash of shadow that could lovingly round a sleeping puppy's dreams or lash out to smash a pottery bowl. The pack took note. They remained silent. They just pushed the breakables out of her line of sight and feigned not to notice her terrified expression.Heath witnessed it all. She was barefoot in the frost when he discovered her on the palisade before daybreak, gazing north as if she could see through the horizon. The shadows at her feet writhed like eels, and her breath came in white clouds. Without turning, she uttered, "I dreamed again." "They're nearer." Despite the ice on the rails, Heath paused behind her, near enough to feel the heat radiating off her skin. "Tell me." Her voice seemed distant and lifeless, as though she were repeating someone else's nightmare. "The Hollow Beneath the World is where I stood
Chapter 29: The Traitor’s Mark
Three days prior to the dead moon, at dawn, the finding was made. With the stillness of a hunting cat and an ice-carved visage, Scarlett slid into the longhouse. She held a piece of red fabric in her fist, torn from a cloak and drenched in both recent treachery and old blood.Heath was already up, using the firelight to sharpen silver swords. Curled up on the furs next to him, Savannah slept peacefully for once. The cloth fell on the table from Scarlett's hand. "Garrin," she stated in a flat, angry voice. The second rotation of scouts. Last night, I observed him carving runes on the watchstone on the north ridge. Beau used the same runes to communicate with the corrupted. On the whetstone, Heath's hand froze. "Evidence? " After the cloth, Scarlett threw a tiny leather purse. Three black feathers (raven, Umbral-touched) and a piece of parchment bearing Beau's personal symbol (somehow still alive) were found inside. She claimed that he was sending messages. signs of smoke at suns
Chapter 30: The Council of Alphas
Ten Alphas and their seconds, five hundred wolves huddled in uncomfortable circles around a single blaze, gathered under the large dead tree at the neutral crossroads. No banners flew. Honor guards are never more than fifty paces away. The wind and the approaching dead moon were the only observers. With a silver wolf-mark burning on his naked chest, Heath stood at the center of the fire. Savannah waited at his side, shadows wrapped tight like a shawl. Jasper stood on either side of them, axe across his back, arms folded. Behind them, with their arrows loosely nocked (just in case), were Scarlett and Vance.The others showed up apprehensive, arrogant, and craving evidence or blood. First was Roric of Stone Fang, towering, scarred, with eyes the color of winter steel and silver pelt across his shoulders. Beside him came Lira of Dusk Hollow, tiny and lethal, twin curving knives at her hips. Eyes hazy yet piercing, Old Fenrir of the Mist Marsh hobbled in on a staff of bones. Seven more