Path of Honor by Diana Pharaoh Francis Read Free Book Online Page B

time,” Sodur soothed. The words worked their way into Reisil’s brain, and at last she pushed herself away from him, scrubbing away her tears.
    “Then let’s try again.”
    There were a dozen others still living in the shearing sheds. Reisil tried again with each of them, to no avail. At last Sodur dragged her drenched and shaking body away from the corpses.
    “You cannot do this anymore. Not yet. You still have more to learn. And Kodu Riik cannot afford to lose you. We’ll have no hope then. You must survive and learn to use your power.”
    She resisted his commands, pulling away. She owed these people. She was supposed to save them. That’s what her magic was for; that’s what the Lady had told her to do. Heal my land. Heal my children . If she couldn’t do as the Lady bade, she didn’t have a right to walk away. And who else would care for these pitiful creatures in their last days? Certainly not those hiding in the tavern.
    In the end, Sodur promised to send back ahalad-kaaslane to help. Even then Reisil would have waited for them, but Saljane agreed with Sodur and urged Reisil to leave. Reisil allowed herself to be drawn away, though she couldn’t help but wonder if Sodur would do as promised. He saw her skepticism and there was an answering flare of pain in his expression, but Reisil wasn’t sure she believed it. He wore too many masks, too well.
    Before they left, she insisted on making the dozen still-living plague victims as comfortable as possible on pallets, moving them to a vacant home nearby. Then Reisil incinerated the sheds with the bodies inside, her magic still flaming bright inside her.
    As with the wizard circle, it seemed she could always destroy. It gave her no satisfaction.

Chapter 3
    T he snow began to fall again as Juhrnus rode into Koduteel through the Lady’s Gate. He waved at the guards in the gatehouse, pulling his cloak tight as a chill burrowed into his skin. Snow whirled in his face and melted down his collar, driven by the briny wind off the ocean. The banners along the walls snapped welcome, and Juhrnus gusted a happy sigh, looking forward to a hot kohv, a hot meal and a hot bath. And tonight there would be no rocks or branches or lumps of uneven dirt prodding his backside as he slept.
    Esper humped in an uncomfortable-looking pile between Juhrnus and the pommel of the saddle, protected from the snow and cold by a curly sheepskin. The sisalik’s tail, too long to fit in the narrow space, hooked around Juhrnus’s waist, the tip twitching.
    ~We’re here, Juhrnus announced.
    ~Cold. Hungry.
    ~You’ve been saying that for weeks. Tonight we’ll have a fire at the Temple, a warm bed and plenty to eat. And tomorrow we’ll have more of the same. No more traveling for awhile.
    ~Good . Esper’s tail twitched again, and Juhrnus chuckled.
    They turned north inside the city, Juhrnus resisting the urge to push his tired mount faster. The cobbled streets were treacherously slick. He gave the mare her head, allowing her to pick her way, glancing up at the sober lines of the banking and merchant buildings of the passing brown district. Few people were about this late in the afternoon. A group of four men walked hurriedly down the middle of the street ahead, talking rapidly and waving their hands emphatically. They bustled inside a forbidding edifice, gargoyles snarling from above the lintel. A carriage rolled down the street in the opposite direction, drawn by matching gray hacks. Juhrnus didn’t recognize the crest emblazoned on the door, but he admired the high-stepping horses as they trotted past with their silver bells jingling. Woodsmoke twined with the smell of the sea, overlaid with the lighter smells of cooking meat. Juhrnus drew an appreciative breath.
    A vendor closing up his cart caught sight of the travel-worn ahalad-kaaslane . “Bright evening. Come far?”
    “Lately from Kallas.”
    “Through Karnane or past Mysane Kosk?”
    Juhrnus rubbed a gloved hand over his beard,