Mistress of the Catacombs by Drake David Read Free Book Online Page B

Sharina," Garric said. He grinned wryly at her. "That was before we saw him disappear."
    He turned his head and added, "Liane, can this Intercessor wait while I talk to Lady Kidwal myself?"
    "I'll meet with him if you like, Garric," Sharina offered. "If it's just a formal audience, that is. But I really don't believe that Kidwal knows any more than she told me and I've passed on to you. It's what she feels that's important, and she can't give a reason for that."
    "There are reports from Laut that something... odd is going on there also," Liane said. "The Intercessor's coming to see you could be an opportunity to learn what he wants, if not necessarily what he plans."
    Sharina's eyes narrowed very slightly. Liane was too polite to give Garric a direct order, but she was ordering him nonetheless. Still, it was for his good and the kingdom's, of that Sharina was sure.
    "All right," Garric said. He hitched up his swordbelt so that the heavy weapon rode more comfortably. "I'll talk to Echeus."
    Echeus rose also, tossing a glitter of powder into the stream before he started toward Garric. The men would meet in the middle of the bridge unless one stopped for the other to join him.
    Two guards tried to precede Garric; he gestured them back with a curt command. The under-captain in charge of the detachment eyed the Intercessor's aged dignity. He frowned, but he didn't argue the issue of safety with his sovereign.
    Movement from the side drew Sharina's attention. Escorted by another group of Blood Eagles, Tenoctris and Cashel were returning from their foray into the city.
    Cashel waved his quarterstaff in greeting. On his left shoulder he carried a lump of stone. From the way his ripped tunics fluttered loose, he'd been to considerable effort getting it.
    Sharina smiled as she walked out of the pergola to meet her friends. Cashel's presence was a wall of security. For the first time since she'd seen Hordred vanish screaming, Sharina felt safe.
    * * *
    Dragonflies and swallows whizzed over the sluggish stream, but they didn't get all the insects. When Garric stepped from sunlight into the shade cast by poplars near the water, a mosquito keened close to left ear. He swatted, hoping to drive it away if not kill it.
    In Garric's mind, King Carus chuckled and said, "There's more honesty in blackflies than in courtiers, lad. The bugs are just as quick to suck the blood of a shepherd as a prince."
    Garric smiled. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine that he was herding sheep near the marshes fringing Pattern Creek. Mosquito bites weren't something he'd ever have thought would make him feel nostalgic.
    The Intercessor came from the other direction at a stately pace. Garric frowned, wondering who Echeus interceded with. Probably he interceded for the people of Laut or at least claimed to do so.
    Reise had given his children a classical education which couldn't have been bettered by one of the academies in Valles or Erdin on Sandrakkan. Unlike Liane, however, who had attended one of those academies, Garric and Sharina knew little more about current events than did any other peasant from Haft.
    Garric smiled again. His education taught him that 'prince' meant 'first'. It was an honest claim, if not an humble one.
    Again Carus guffawed. "Princes don't have to be humble," he said, hooking his thumbs in his swordbelt and flaring his fingers. Carus was such a vibrant presence in Garric's mind that Garric had to keep reminding himself that others didn't see the ancient monarch—who had drowned a thousand years in the past.
    The hump of the arching bridge hid Echeus from Garric when they were on the opposite approaches, though both men were tall. Garric looked over his shoulder. His detachment of Blood Eagles followed at a respectful distance. In the pergola, Liane and Sharina greeted Tenoctris and Cashel. They were looking at a rock—a small boulder—on the table. Whatever had Tenoctris found this time?
    Echeus rose into view, step by step. He