Curse of Kings (The Trials of Oland Born, Book 1) by Alex Barclay Read Free Book Online Page B

go. Villius Ren does nothing to help anyone else, Oland. Nothing. By doing what you did, I imagine you delivered quite the blow to his plans.”
    â€œWhat happened to Chancey the Gold?” said Oland.
    â€œHe left Decresian in the months before King Micah was overthrown,” said Jerome. “Because of his skill in Aquatics, he was offered a job by the ruler of Dallen.”
    â€œBut Decresian and Dallen are bitter enemies,” said Oland.
    Jerome nodded. “That is true. But Dallen’s ruler made an exception for Chancey the Gold, because he is the only person who can guide travellers through Dallen Falls – travellers from Decresian who are of benefit to Dallen, or travellers from other parts who would have traditionally reached their destination by sea. They would pay to take a shorter route through Dallen Falls. It was a job that never before existed. As you know, the waterfall is thundering and The Straits below it are wild. The currents move at a terrifying pace. But Chancey the Gold can navigate them. And in Dallen he was safe from Villius Ren.”
    â€œHas Chancey the Gold ever come back to Decresian?” said Oland.
    Jerome shook his head. “No,” he said. “There would have to be a very special reason for him to return. The Craven Lodge would surely kill him because of the scryer’s prophecy.”
    â€œWas Chancey the Gold an ally of King Micah?” said Oland.
    â€œWe all were,” said Jerome. “And, like Chancey the Gold, I was once champion of The Games – ten years before him. I was given a ten-acre farm by King Micah – for my service, and for my success in The Games. When Villius Ren came to power, he took my land away. He gave all my family jobs, except for me. He knew I would do nothing to harm my family’s prospects; he knew that they could not afford to refuse his offer of employment. And he knew that if I had no job, and lived in a cottage he owned, in a village he terrorised, he had at least some control over me.”
    â€œWhy did he want to have control over you?” said Oland.
    â€œHe saw me as a threat,” said Jerome. “And you know Villius Ren; he could find a threat in the eyes of an infant.”
    Oland smiled.
    â€œSo…” said Jerome. “If your aim is the downfall of Villius Ren… and it has always been said that Chancey the Gold was the man to bring it about, well… your next stop should be Dallen Falls.”
    Oland suddenly could not imagine being anywhere other than Derrington.
    Jerome smiled. He took Oland’s hands in his. “You were chosen, Oland. Do this. Do this for all of us. You have nothing to lose. Chancey the Gold is a good man, and to arrive to him an enemy of Villius Ren is to arrive to him a friend. As you are here.”
    Oland stared again into the cold hearth.
    Jerome took a breath. “Oland, never forget the reign you have been asked to end: that of Villius Ren, a man among nine hundred and ninety-nine screaming souls, yet with no soul of his own.”
    They sat in silence for some time, Oland running King Micah’s words over and over in his head.
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    But fear not – Decresian shall be restored. And it falls to you, Oland Born, to do so. On such young shoulders, it will prove astonishing how light this burden will be.
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    To Oland, the burden felt anything but light.
    Suddenly, they heard a soft tapping at the parlour window. Jerome went to the back door.
    â€œIt’s Villius Ren,” someone hissed. “Alone! Not one of The Lodge is with him.”
    Oland stood up.
    The Tailor Rynish burst through his workshop door.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” he growled.
    â€œVillius Ren is in Derrington,” said Jerome.
    Oland felt a rough hand grab on to his arm. He turned to see the Tailor Rynish talking over his head to his brother. “I’ll take him,” he was saying.
    â€œWhat?” said Oland, struggling against