Dragon Precinct by Keith R. A. DeCandido Read Free Book Online

indicated that he needed help. The boy nodded and ran off to find more guards on foot patrol and bring them to the Esmerelda . Gotta remember to give him a copper later, he thought, though the boy himself would no doubt provide a reminder when this was all over. Certainly Horran himself never forgot to bill the guards he helped out.
    Then he turned to Kaylin, whose hand was on his scabbard. “I’m afraid I can’t let you to do that.”
    “Nonsense,” Kaylin said, now pulling out his sword. “Laws are for lesser men, not heroes such as us.”
    “I don’t give a troll’s ass if you’re Gan Brightblade his own self, if you don’t put those swords away, I’ll bring both of you in.”
    “Hah!” ban Soreyl said, his gaze now falling on Kaylin’s blade, which also discussed the acrobatic habits of beleaguered elk. “I see some fool has tricked thy gullible self into purchasing a sword with false runes. It shall be my greatest privilege to rid the world of such a fool as thee.”
    “Nobody’s ridding nobody of nothing!”
    Everything happened very quickly after that. Ban Soreyl lunged with his sword. Horran tried to hold him back. Kaylin raised his own sword, but then lost his balance—apparently not taking the extra weight of his plate armor into account—and fell backward onto the dock. Then ban Soreyl stumbled, his own target having disappeared and Horran’s attempt to restrain him throwing his balance off, and both guard and swordsman fell to the dock in a heap.
    Horran spent two seconds lying on the dock listening to the whoops, cheers, and laughter—mostly the latter—of the crowd before rolling out from under the squirming form of ban Soreyl. Both would-be heroes seemed to be having difficulty with the seemingly simple action of getting up while wearing armor. Horran smiled as he got to his feet. The bards don’t usually include the part about how hard it is to get up off the ground in that stuff, do they?
    When Horran first joined up, he was on day shift, because that’s where you started. Putting rookies on night shift in Mermaid was tantamount to a death sentence. In the two years he spent there before being “promoted” to night duty, Horran had never drawn his sword. In fact, most guards went through their entire careers without ever using their swords, and only those assigned to Goblin and to night patrol in Mermaid even had occasion to draw them. So it was with a particular irritation that Horran drew his right now, even as he heard the distinctive booted footfalls of his fellow day-patrol guards coming to his aid.
    “When you two manage to get up off your asses, you’re both coming with me.” More formally, he said: “In the name of Lord Albin and Lady Meerka, I hereby place you, Erik ban Soreyl, and you, Kaylin the Mo—the Mighty”—he almost said “the Moron” again—“under arrest for assault on a member of the Cliff’s End Castle Guard and for creating a public disturbance. Other charges to be added as necessary.”
    Then he sighed. Those words had changed a day that should have been simple and easy into a mess of paperwork, tiresome interrogations, endless digressions, and more dealing with Zaile, who would be very aggravated at losing two passengers—and probably not give Horran the other silver he owed him.
    Day patrol was supposed to be less exciting, dammit.

Three
    C aptain Osric was sharpening his dagger on a battered old stone as Torin and Danthres entered his office. The time-chimes had rung eighteen only a few minutes before, meaning it was less than an hour before the day shift came to an end. Under his beard, Torin frowned. Osric sharpened his dagger only when he had bad news to impart. If he was already honing the damn thing before they’d even come into the room, the news had to be dire.
    Torin owed much to the captain. They had fought side by side years earlier when Osric was a well-regarded troop commander and Torin was an eager young idiot who left the