Fallen by Tim Lebbon Read Free Book Online Page A

cydrax for each of them. “Shall we toast our deal?”
    Should we? Ramus thought. Is this really something to celebrate?
    Nomi's nervousness vanished and she threw him her most dazzling smile. “A toast to your own voyage, Ten,” she said. “And good wishes for whatever will come for us all.”
    Ten nodded and raised his mug.
    They all drank, then Ten stood and stretched. “Time for me to leave,” he said. “I'll take your promise token with thanks, and if you could direct me to the banker, I'll be on my way.”
    Ramus watched the wanderer and Nomi conclude business, watched him walk away after exchanging silent nods, watched him leave the bridge and disappear into the midday crowd along the riverfront. And every step of the way, he wondered what the wanderer was thinking. Was he laughing at them? Or did he feel only pity?
    “So what did you find?” Nomi asked at last, obviously frustrated at Ramus's silence.
    He picked up the rolled pages and put them back inside his jacket. “When do we leave?”
    “What makes you think I've already made arrangements?”
    Ramus raised his eyebrows.
    Nomi laughed softly. “Dawn, the day after tomorrow, from Pancet's Stables.”
    “We should talk somewhere private. There's plenty to discuss.”
    “Just tell me that one thing, Ramus,” Nomi said, her voice louder than she probably intended. The patrons sitting around them glanced their way, then went back to their business.
    Ramus only nodded.
    Nomi's eyes lit up. “The voyage of a lifetime.”
     
    “A SLEEPING GOD. . .” Nomi said.
    They were back in Ramus's home, sitting in his main room with the remains of a sheebok and bread platter between them. Nomi had bought it from a street vendor a hundred steps from Ramus's home, and though it was still hot when they had arrived, neither of them had felt much like eating. The meat was tender and juicy, but the nervous tingles in Nomi's stomach had made her feel queasy.
    “A myth,” Ramus said.
    “Many people worship them. Await their return to lead Noreela into a Golden Age.”
    “And many follow shamans, and others worship the life moon and the death moon.”
    “Are you saying they're all wrong?”
    “Not at all. I'm saying it's what may be atop the Divide that we must go for. Another land? Another race?” He shook his head, looking down at his greasy fingers.
    “But if it is there? If we do find it?”
    “Maybe this is a mistake,” he said.
    “You said it looked real!”
    “Not the parchment. I don't recognize any of the words it contains, so it must be from elsewhere. No . . . the mistake could be us.”
    “Then I'll go on my own.” Hurt, Nomi turned away.
    Ramus was silent for a long time. Nomi wanted to turn around to see what he was doing, but she felt it best to give him her back. She did not wish him to see the doubt in her eyes.
    “I'm not saying I don't want to go,” he said at last.
    Nomi spun around. “Then what the fuck are you saying?”
    “That we should not go blind. You called it the voyage of a lifetime, and I agree. But it may contain the dangers of a lifetime too.”
    “Good. Duly noted.”
    Ramus stared at her, unblinking. “We can't tell anyone,” he said.
    “Why should we?”
    He smiled coldly. “Not to retain the glory, Nomi. We need to keep this secret because of what just might be up there on the Divide. There must be very good reasons why no one has ever seen anything like this before.”
    “One beat you're a skeptic, the next you're protecting Noreela from a Sleeping God!”
    “Just being cautious.” He shook his head, sighing.
    Nomi did not care. There were always dangers—her last trip to Ventgoria had proved that, though that was something she would always keep to herself.
    “So we keep it a secret,” she said. “You for your reasons, me for mine.”
    He closed his eyes and nodded.
    “So dawn, the day after tomorrow.”
    “That's fine. I have a few things to put in order,” Ramus said.
    I have little, Nomi thought, but