Rigante Series 04 - Stormrider by David Gemmell Read Free Book Online

one more time, and say his farewells.
    Perhaps then he could put aside his grief.
    'Is it morning yet?' asked Feargol, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
    'Almost. Did you dream?'
    'No. I had a lovely sleep. Are you going to shoot the bear with your pistols?'
    'No. I shall use your daddy's musket. It takes a bigger charge.'
    Feargol stood up and looked around. 'I need to pee,' he said.
    Kaelin smiled. 'Anywhere you please, my friend. There's no-one here to scold you for peeing inside.' The child walked to the cave mouth, then scampered back inside.
    'It's too cold out there, Uncle Kaelin.' He ran to the rear wall and relieved himself. Then he returned to the fire. 'Will it take us long to reach Ironlatch?'
    'It will. It will be very cold, and you'll need your hat.'
    'I'll tie it down like Bane.' He looked across at Kaelin. 'Can I see one of your pistols?'
    The boy had asked many times during Kaelin's visits to hold one of the Emburleys, but Finbarr had always told him no. Kaelin pulled one of the silver pistols from his belt. Reversing it he passed it to Feargol, who took it in both hands. 'It is very pretty,' said the boy, turning it over.
    'What is that animal?' He pointed to the engraved pommel.
    'Jaim said it was a lion - a ferocious beast who lives in the hot lands far to the south, across the seas.'
    'Is it big then?'
    'Jaim said they could be ten feet long, from the tips of their noses to the ends of their tails.
    And their teeth are as long as a man's fingers.'
    'When I'm big I shall have pistols with lions on them. And I shall shoot all the bears.'
    'That would not be good,' said Kaelin. 'The bears have a right to live their lives, to mate and rear young. They are not all as evil as Hang-lip. Don't hate the bears, Feargol. Hate is bad. Bane didn't hate bears.'
    'Not even bears with bad faces?'
    The question brought back the memory of last night's curious conversation. 'What did you mean when you said you told your daddy about the bear?' he asked.
    'I told him it was coming. That I had seen its bad face.'
    'What did you see?'
    'I was playing with Basson and I saw this face. It was in the air. It had scales and red eyes. It spoke to me.'
    'Did Basson see it?'
    'No. He got angry and said I was making it up. The face frightened me and I told Daddy. He didn't believe me.'
    'What did the face say to you?'
    'He told me I was evil and I was going to die. He said a bear would eat me up.'
    'And that is what you told your daddy?'
    'Yes.'
    'Have you seen the face again, Feargol?'
    'No.'
    'If you do then tell me.'
    'Mm. Is there anything to eat?'
    'You have a mind like a butterfly,' Kaelin told him, laughing. Just then there came a faint noise.
    Feargol was about to speak, but Kaelin hushed him. Then it came again - but not from outside the cave. Kaelin turned his gaze to the mass of broken rock. Suddenly the wall trembled, and a muffled roar sounded.
    Hang-lip had found a way up into the cliff!
    Kaelin scrambled up, gathering the musket. The wall trembled again, and several boulders tumbled into the cave. Dust filled the air. More rocks fell, and Kaelin saw Hang-lip's huge, scorched head. Raising the musket he fired. The shot hit the bear in the mouth, snapping one of its front teeth. Furiously the beast thrashed at the rocks. Kaelin dropped the musket and drew his second pistol, sending another shot into the bear's throat. A huge boulder gave way and Hang-lip surged up and into the cave. Kaelin let the pistol fall and swept up the spear. With a battle cry he leapt at the huge beast, plunging the spear deep into its chest, driving it on, seeking the heart.
    A taloned paw smashed into his shoulder. The spear snapped in two and Kaelin was hurled over the rocks. His left arm numbed by the blow, he rolled to his knees, drawing his hunting knife from its sheath. Without thinking he surged up and charged the bear. Blood was pouring from its throat, and the broken spear was wedged deep. Ducking under the beast's jaws Kaelin slammed his