Blood Red (9781101637890) by Mercedes Lackey Read Free Book Online Page A

blasphemy, I think. But someone in one of your villages might remember a copper saint’s medal, Matei. Such things are far from common.”
    She spoke fluent Romanian; languages came easily to Earth Masters, although the intellect tended to be the provenance of Air Masters. But Earth Masters “cheated;” when they arrived in a place, they would call up one of the house Elementals native there, and coax it to give them the local tongue by magical means, overnight, while they slept. It was a useful talent and never more so than when an Earth Master was called upon to be a Hunt Master away from home.
    Matei nodded. “Even the poorest hereabouts have their saint’s medals and crucifixes of silver. The village of Rosia Montana has much silver, and gold, and many have worked the mines there. Even if the fellow never let anyone near enough to see the blasphemous image, people would remember a copper medal.” He sighed. “If only someone showed it to them.”
    Rosa looked the fellow straight in the eyes. Like most of the folk hereabouts, he was dark and wiry, and he contrasted markedly with the two big blond Germans. “Matei,” she said, finally. “This is not my land, and perhaps this is not my place to say these things to you. But I am a Hunt Master, and you called us here, so I am going to say them anyway. It is time you stopped skulking along the paths of the forest and showed those villagers down there just
who
it is that has been protecting them all this time.
Not
those good priests.
You.
You and Gheorghe.”
    Matei gasped and paled as Rosa bent and hacked off the wolf’s tail, then thrust it, and the copper medal, at him. “You need to go down there to the villages with these,” she said implacably. “You need to claim the ashes of that
vampir
I killed as
your
work. You need to be proud of it! No more skulking, hiding from the witch-hunters! Do you know what our villagers in the Schwarzwald do when the witch-hunters come? They
protect
us! Just as we protect them from what prowls in the night! Make them your friends! Go to church! Take Communion to show that you are no evil thing of the night, but a strong arm to protect them! It is long past time that you claimed your heritage, and gave those with magic in their blood a place to go besides the church or going rogue! Or do you want more like
this
beast to prowl your woods?”
    Matei seemed to shrink into himself. “But . . . but . . .” he stammered. Clearly, he not only was not comfortable with the notion of talking up his heritage openly, the mere idea terrified him.
    Hans gently cleared his throat, and Rosa looked down at him. “Eh?” she said.
    â€œI was . . . thinking of staying here, and not going back to the Schwarzwald,” he said, a little apologetically. “They clearly need the help. The villagers already know I’m here hunting the uncanny things, and they respect that. I could do it.”
    It was Rosa’s turn to gape at her friend and colleague. “You—want to stay?”
    Hans shrugged, the loden-green wool of his jacket moving only slightly. Hans was a big, well-muscled man, with strong arms from chopping wood, and strong legs from patrolling miles of forest trails. She could well imagine he inspired respect among the villagers. “There are plenty of us in the Schwarzwald. Almost too many, if you ask me. And with you about—truly, Rosamund, you are worth any five of the others, that’s why you’re the first woman Hunt Master we’ve ever had. I already had it in mind to look for a place that needed me more than the Schwarzwald, and I can’t imagine a place that needs me more than here.”
    Rather than being put out, Matei seemed pathetically grateful for Hans’s declaration. “We would more than welcome you, Hans Osterwald! Gheorghe and I would be honored if you would stay here! And take over the