A Man Rides Through by Stephen Donaldson Read Free Book Online Page A

rocks! And we're the only friends he has left! We're the only friends he has left!"
     
    Moving too quickly to be stopped, he wiped blood from his chin onto his hands and slapped them across Lebbick's cheeks, smearing red into the grizzled stubble of the Castellan's whiskers. "And you've lost your mind!"
     
    Suddenly wild, Castellan Lebbick knocked Havelock's arms away. He snatched at his sword, barely stopped himself from sweeping it out and gutting the Adept where he stood. Trembling as badly as Havelock, he jammed his blade back into its scabbard, then clamped his arms across his chest. "Whelp of a slut," he muttered through his teeth. "You should have been locked up years ago."
     
    For a moment, Adept Havelock grinned blood at the Castellan. Then he turned to Master Quillon. Jerking a thumb at Lebbick, he whispered as if no one but Quillon could hear him, "Did you ever know his wife?" Havelock stressed the word know suggestively. "I did." Without warning, he started to cackle again. "She was a better man than he'll ever be."
     
    Still laughing, he returned to his mirror.
     
    Master Eremis also was laughing; his eyes sparkled with mirth. "Master Quillon," he chuckled to the pained consternation in Quillon's face, "we are well and truly fortunate that only one of the King's last friends has lost his mind."
     
    The Alend forces wheeled a third catapult into position. Adept Havelock, the King's Dastard, caused it to be destroyed also. After that, no more catapults were advanced against the castle for a while. Prince Kragen had apparently decided to reconsider his options.
     
    But Castellan Lebbick didn't stay to watch. The mention of his wife made him so angry that he could barely endure it—and in any case his guards were perfectly capable of reporting whatever happened to him. While the blood dried on his cheeks, he stormed back into Orison and headed toward the dungeon, taking Master Eremis with him.
     
     
     
    After a moment, of course, he realized that the last thing he wanted was to have the leering Imager with him when he confronted that woman again. Luckily, he was able to deflect his course before Eremis could guess where he was going. Instead of exposing his obsession, he led Eremis toward the Masters' quarters to check on Nyle.
     
    "A good thought," Master Eremis commented when it became clear where Lebbick was headed. "I wish for news of Nyle's condition myself."
     
    "Sure you do," rasped the Castellan. "He's the one who was going to prove your innocence. He was going to prove his own brother is the real traitor. Isn't that what you said?"
     
    "Indeed." Obviously, Eremis wasn't afraid of Lebbick at all. "You find it impossible to believe that I am concerned about him for his own sake. I understand perfectly. Considering your attitude toward me, I am gratified that you believe I wish him well for my own reasons." The Master's sarcasm seemed to contain an undercurrent of hilarity; he sounded like he was trying to conceal his enjoyment of a good joke. "As I said, he is my proof that I am innocent of Geraden's accusations."
     
    Lebbick kept on walking. When he replied, he hardly cared whether Eremis heard him or not. Primarily for his own benefit, he muttered under his breath, "Laugh now, you goat-rutting bastard. Someday I'm going to learn the truth about you. When I do, I'll have an excuse to feed you your balls."
     
    He was so clenched inside himself, so obsessed with his own thoughts, that he didn't expect a retort. After Master Eremis spoke, the Castellan wasn't sure that he had heard his companion correctly.
     
    "Try it."
     
    Behind his bland smile, Eremis looked as eager as an axe.
     
    Grinding his teeth, Castellan Lebbick strode down the corridor toward the Imager's quarters.
     
    They were reached by a short hall like a cul-de-sac, with servants' doors on either side and the main entrance at the end. Master Eremis' ostentatious rosewood door made Lebbick sneer: it was carved in a bas-relief of