In Treachery Forged (The Law of Swords) by David A Tatum Read Free Book Online Page A

questions – or let him say much of anything else, either -- until they were on the other side of the river.
    He looked at her and shrugged. He wouldn’t have thought a ferry across this small river would take long enough to have a decent nap, but she wasn’t the only one who seemed to be settling in for a lengthy trip.
    Oh, well, Maelgyn thought. I suppose I could use the break.
     
    Despite taking more time than Maelgyn had expected, the trip across the river went a lot smoother than he feared. Even the animals were content, and it was notoriously difficult to keep horses, or animals of any kind, happy on a river trip. Maelgyn vaguely wondered if the girl, whose magic impressed him more and more as he watched her use it, had anything to do with the boat’s ease of motion. He doubted she’d give him a straight answer – or any answer – but he wouldn’t have been surprised either way.
    When they were finally anchored on the other side of the river, she couldn’t seem to leave the boat fast enough. She seemed to be stumbling quite a bit as she went, but once she was ashore her balance was restored and she relaxed. Finally, she opened the same pouch she had collected the nickel dust in earlier, and released it into another magical whirlwind around her. Nodding at Maelgyn as he left the boat, himself, she proceeded to follow him as he collected his horses and made his way through town.
    “Have you ever been here, before?” he asked.
    “Once or twice,” she answered, smirking as if she’d just told the most amusing joke she could imagine.
    “Know where a good inn is? It’ll be dark before too long, and I’d like a good meal to go with my room.”
    “Yeah,” she said, and then started walking. He shrugged, and started following her. She seemed to be doing well as a guide, so far, although she was still a bit of a curiosity.
    “Um, Euleilla, can I ask you something?” Maelgyn finally said. “Or rather, several somethings? There are a lot of things I’d like an answer on.”
    She shrugged. “Sure.”
    “Well,” he hesitated. Which question to ask her first? “I guess to start with I’d like to know how you got so powerful in magic. I’ve never seen the like! Who trained you, may I ask?”
    “Mmm, not saying,” she said after some consideration.
    That threw Maelgyn off his train of thought. “What? Why not?”
    “Bad memories,” she explained, not going into detail.
    That threw him off. “Right. Then... um, hm.” If she won’t answer that, Maelgyn wondered, what will she answer? “Where’d you get all the armor? Not many women outside of noble families wear armor, and most noble families in Svieda supply their children with something heavier than leather.”
    “Pants were papa’s,” she explained. “Had ‘em altered. Made the top.”
    Again, that didn’t answer the question he really wanted to know. “Why? Are you planning to be a soldier or something?”
    At that, she broke out laughing. There was no explanation given for her laughter, but obviously the suggestion of her as a soldier was what caused it. Finally, when she caught her breath, she answered, “No.”
    This, Maelgyn realized, is getting me absolutely nowhere. Oh, well, I have more important things to worry about than this madwoman, and I’d better start thinking about them. Maybe, when this war is over, I’ll come back here and see if I can ever get a straight answer from this Euleilla girl. Like just who she really is....
    “How far away is this inn?” he asked instead.
    “Close,” she answered, the ‘smile’ back on her face. She gestured ahead with her thumb.
    He blinked, and then looked around at the buildings lining the street. Sure enough, about a hundred yards away, a building advertising itself as the “Left Foot Inn” stood.
    “Left Foot Inn,” Maelgyn mused. “Weird name.”
    “The owner lost his right foot in the Borden Isle War,” Euleilla explained, startling Maelgyn.
    “Did he, now?” He was