Children of the old gods. The Devil’s Laughter ”from Agnieszka Mieli is 480 pages of fantasy. Before reading, you can read a short excerpt and then read the reviews.
She still struggled to see if they had accidentally found her blocked entrance to the narrow corridor that led directly to the border of Lai Silnen, the Forest of Dreamers. As soon as the first sounds of fighting reached her, Shana forced Aine to enter and walk along the path, tasked with finding her father and warning him of the impending threat. She realized it was too late to save Nomander. Despite the fact that she was able to soberly assess the chances of survival of a city devoid of warriors in the clash with mercenary enemy troops, she secretly counted on the fact that perhaps it would be possible to save other settlements inhabited by Warta henchmen from a similar fate. But it was only up to Aine, and she was still a child.
The trail leading to Balor’s former hideout was not safe at all – especially for someone who was traveling it for the first time. Common sense told Shana that by sending a lonely, foodless girl on this three-day trek, she was actually condemning her to certain death. Even if she manages not to go mad in complete darkness and not to faint with hunger, in order to find her father, she will be forced to go deep into the forest. The thickets of Lai Silnen were one of those places that even the most experienced hunters did not venture. After all, Shana had to take the risk, and it was her daughter – the oldest of the children in her care at the moment – that was to become a messenger carrying bad news.
– You won’t find her anyway. It has nothing to do with these people. Let them go!
– Only if I get your daughter.
– With the help of the gods, he has been on the Safe Trail for a long time!
– Ha! Frithus laughed hoarsely as he finally pulled away from her. – You still don’t understand? There are no more Safe Routes, no borders and no priests. The Purges removed everything!
Somewhere beyond, the crackling of the fire consuming the house and the roar of the collapsing ceiling of the neighboring building could be heard. Somewhere nearby, terrified, weeping women tried to calm the children trembling with fear. Farther away, in the darkening streets of a dead city, the Dogs of Frithus tended to the corpses nearby, mutilating them and raping any of them they thought were still fit for the job.
The world as they knew it had plunged forever into darkness.
The woman paled, gasping for breath.
– The Brotherhood couldn’t …
– Couldn’t? Frithus interrupted her and burst out into fake laughter. “They have been sending all the Old Gods away for over twenty years. It had to come to this sometime. Borders? The Old Houses are not safe anywhere anymore. They hunt us like ducks. But when I have the seeds … Everything will end. His eyes glittered wildly as he spoke to her. “The Armins will regain their rightful place!”
– There are no seeds, Frithus! It’s just a myth! Myth!
– And Loriemisthus is the only and true god? He mocked. – I want to know where your kid is. And you will tell me now.
He pointed his hand at the child standing in front of the group of captured – a small, fair-haired boy who had learned to walk only a few months earlier. When the woman kneeling beside him saw this, she screamed wildly, wrapped her arms around her son and pressed him tighter against her blood-stained breast. Her pale eyes opened in terror as one of the mercenaries, approaching her, ruthlessly deprived her of any hope that she would be able to stop him. With the last of her strength, casting nervous glances aside, she clamped her hand on the nose and mouth of the sobbing child, to at least prevent it from the inevitable. The man, however, was faster. He forcibly pulled the boy from the grasp of his maddened desperate mother, kicking her on the back, and, completely indifferent to her suffering, threw the child to the floor at Shana’s feet.
– You can not! Despite the pain, Shana lunged forward, but a strong blow to her kidneys made her fall in place, leaving the baby out of reach of her hands. – Relenvel Seeds do not exist! She cried, her voice breaking as the heavy hammer hit the head of the whimpering child, turning it into a bloody pulp.
I can find a review of the book on the website of The Last Tavern.