4 City of Strife by William King Read Free Book Online Page A

“You’d best be careful, Sir Kormak,” he said. “Indeed it might be better for you if you left Vermstadt altogether. Or I might end up fishing your body out of the river. If I can find it at all.”
    “I’ll be on my way when I finish my business here,” said Kormak. Altman shrugged and said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You may soon have a visit from the Silent Man.”
    “Who is this Silent Man people keep talking about?”
    “You’ll find out for yourself soon enough if you keep this up.” He stormed out of the room as aggressively as he entered it.
    “You did not go out of your way to make any friends there,” said Lila after he left.
    “What was I supposed to say? The man attacked me.”
    “A lot of people seem to be making that mistake,” Lila said. She tilted her head to one side as she considered him. “And they all seemed to be working for the Krugmans.”
    “Believe me, Lila, I could live without the attention. All I did was try and save a boy from a beating or maybe something worse.”
    “It’s true then, is it?”
    “What?”
    “No good deed goes unpunished.”
    “It certainly looks that way in Vermstadt.” There was silence for a moment.
    “Who is the Silent Man?” Kormak asked.
    Lila looked troubled. “He’s the Krugman’s enforcer or so they say. The toughest man in the city. Or maybe he’s not a man. People keep saying he’s been killed but he keeps coming back.”
    “Something supernatural about him?”
    “I’m just telling you what little I’ve heard. But if he’s half as bad as they say you’ll want to keep away from him.”
    “Maybe so,” said Kormak.

    They lay on the bed once more. The shutters were closed. Thick curtains kept out the winter draught. Lila poured a goblet of wine, and when Kormak refused it, took a sip herself. He leaned back on the pillow and watched her drink. She noticed him studying her.
    “You must have been pretty sure you would find me waiting when you came back,” Lila said. She tilted her head to one side, clearly curious as to what he would say. As with so many of these conversations Kormak sensed the trap.
    He jabbed a thumb backwards at his naked chest. “How could you resist all this?” he said. She laughed.
    “You’re an arrogant man,” she said. “But you do have a certain rough and ready appeal. You still haven’t answered my question though.”
    “I knew you would be on your own,” Kormak said.
    She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, unaware of quite how dangerous that was. He quashed his instinctive response to block the blow and strike back. “You think I was pining away waiting for you?”
    “No. But I remember the conversation we had the last time. You told me you would never marry again, that you liked being your own boss and running the Lion. I could tell that was true when you said it.”
    She looked at him silently. “You have a good memory,” she said eventually. She looked thoughtful, obviously remembering the context of that conversation. “You ever been married?”
    Kormak shook his head. “My order forbids it. At least while I am a Guardian.” He was still not sure he had done the right think admitting he was a member of the order to her, but then she had already figured it out for herself, and he found himself wanting to be honest, for once in his life, with her at least.
    “You ever consider giving it up?”
    “No.”
    “You love it so much?”
    “It’s not that.”
    “Do other Guardians retire?”
    “A few, the ones who survive their terms, the ones who are crippled. My old master, Malan, did.”
    “You look thoughtful all of a sudden.”
    “I am just remembering what he told me back when he gave up the sword.”
    “What was that?”
    “He said if you chase monsters too long you become one. I never understood what he meant at the time. I was young.”
    “You think you understand him now?”
    “Perhaps. You see too much, you lose some things. You get cold and you get cruel.