Ravager Read Online Karina Halle

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Erotic Tags Authors: Karina Halle Advertisement1

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For a few seconds, I could do nothing but stare.

It felt like an eternity.

Down by the water, a fleet of six Viking longships had beached themselves on the shore like demonic whales. Every dwelling in front of them was burning in a raging inferno, pumping smoke and flames into the sky. Bodies lay strewn along the road, some with spears sticking out of them, others smoldering with dead fire while a small army of Viking warriors easily fought the remaining peasants and set fire to the grass with burning torches.

I was far enough away that it looked like the Vikings hadn’t spotted me. That was the only good fortune thrust upon me. I couldn’t fight them all by myself.

I thought about jumping back behind the hedge and sneaking my way up the hill to the Forniers and Duvals to warn them. Perhaps I could save their lives, and together, we could make our way to the manor to alert the Lord. Surely, his army could protect us.

I was still contemplating the idea when I heard a strangled cry.

“Cherine! Run!”

Merde. It was Odette. I turned with a sinking heart and saw my youngest sister, only fourteen years old, crawling along the ground, her skinny hand outstretched. She was hurt—or more than hurt. She looked like a dying animal trying to drag itself to a dark place to perish.

The Vikings were still laying waste to the dwellings with angry clashes of sword, spear, and axe. They hadn’t looked up to see Odette struggling, or me, even further away, standing with the sword between my legs.

There was time.

Odette had told me to run, but I wasn’t about to leave her. I started sprinting down the hill, trying not to let the lip of the sword catch the ground, until I scampered to a stop near her ashen face.

I dropped the sword and fell to my knees, the cold earth sinking through my shift.

“Odette,” I cried out, trying to touch her face and assess the damage.

Odette’s forehead was slick with blood, and from the way her right leg was twisted behind her, there was no doubt it was broken. A colorless foam spilled from her lips, and I knew there was a more pressing, grave injury elsewhere. Her hands were a paste of blood and dirt from dragging herself along the road.

“Oh, Odette. Dear sister,” I whispered. “I need to get you out of here.”

Odette shook her head, panic and pain palpable in her hooded green eyes.

“Please go. They’ll kill you,” she said, pausing to spit out blood. “They killed Mama. They took Giselle… I don’t know where, but I heard her…” She choked on her words and started to cry. “I heard her screaming, and they were…they were…”

“Shhh,” I hushed her. I fought the urge to dwell on what Odette had just said; I couldn’t lose it now. I had to help my sister. She was all I had left.

“I’m going to bring you onto my shoulders, alright? We’ll go hide in the woods.”

“We can’t hide,” Odette sniffed. That was probably true, and the woods were close to going up in flames. Still, it was our only option.

“Come now,” I said. I squatted and began to pull Odette up under my arms. I kept my eyes steady on the scene down the hill, watching for that moment when a Viking’s eyes would meet mine and it would all be over.

Odette hid her cries of pain the best she could while I lifted her to her feet. It was then I saw the entire front of her white shift had turned red with blood, and she immediately clutched her chest. She had been stabbed at some point, and the wound would no doubt be fatal.

Still, I brushed that fear away and supported her weight as best I could.

“Ready?” I asked quietly. “Let’s go.”

Together, we limped over to the edge of the woods, the tall oak trees promising shelter and safety. Odette whimpered in utter agony, and I could do nothing but try to move as quickly as possible.

I was already thinking of the next plan, how far into the woods we could go, when I heard the teeth-shaking sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath. It seemed to fill the space around us.

We stopped where we were, and I cursed myself for leaving my father’s sword back on the road. It had been too much to carry both it and my sister, and now, we had no defense.

A rough, slimy voice spoke in a halting language I didn’t understand.

Odette and I exchanged a secret look of loss and defiance. We were done for, but I wouldn’t go without a fight.

We turned around slowly and saw a tall, reed-thin man in fur boots, animal skins, and a round metal helmet. One of his eyes looked as black and crazed as a wild boar’s, the other a puckering of red flesh where the eyeball had been lost long ago.


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