Silver Dragon by Jason Halstead Read Free Book Online Page B

eyes sought out Tristam's and locked on his. "What?"
    "Already?" Caitlyn asked.
    The eyes of everyone, even Lady Kenna, fell on the suddenly embarrassed farm girl. She wore a brown Kelgryn dress that seemed plain yet went well with her brown eyes. She glanced from one person to the next until she found herself staring at the barbarian, whose gaze seemed to tug the air from her lungs.
    "I'm sorry, lass, I can't remember your name," Tristam said to snap her out of the spell Garrick had her under.
    "Caitlyn," she mumbled as she worked hard to stare at her plate. "I'm Alto's sister."
    "I knew that, just couldn't put a name to match your pretty face."
    She glanced up at him, her cheeks glowing from the praise.
    "Caitlyn, dear, don't let this charming stranger confuse you," Lady Kenna said while giving Tristam a sharp -eyed look. "I suspect there's many things going on here that would do us all well to be brought to light." The lady's gaze shifted to her daughter.
    "You thief!" Kar hissed when Namitus's chewing reached his ears and he turned around to see him.
    "Kar!" Tristam barked, stopping the wizard from where he'd raised his hands to threaten to punish Namitus with a spell that would leave him sneezing and farting for hours.
    The wizard turned back around and found himself to be the center of attention. "Yes, well, before my breakfast was so rudely taken , I was telling how Alto had ridden off on his horse last night and bid me farewell. He claimed he was going someplace safe."
    "I don't understand," Caitlyn admitted. "He said this was someplace safe."
    "What's that, dear?" the lady of the hall asked.
    "What, oh? Pardon me, my lady, I was just thinking out loud."
    "Well , please do more of it," she encouraged.
    Caitlyn glanced around and nodded. "Um, well, Alto said we had to come here because it was someplace safe. There were people here he trusted and he said I'd be safe here."
    "This doesn't bode well," Jarl Teorfyr said as he strode into the hall and saw them gathered. He walked up to the table and looked around long enough to let his own smile fade. "What goes on?"
    "Alto's gone," Lady Kenna told him.
    The jarl frowned and then nodded.
    "You knew?" Patrina gasped.
    "No, not precisely. We talked last night some. I didn't expect him to move this quickly."
    "Where did he go?" she demanded.
    Teorfyr shrugged. "I only know what he told me."
    Patrina let out a frustrated cry. "What did he tell you?"
    "He had to keep his family safe, what was left of it."
    Caitl yn let out a strangled gasp, drawing the attention back to her. The jarl's wife reached out to place her hand on Caitlyn's and give it a gentle squeeze. "Caitlyn, dear, what happened?"
    Caitl yn took a breath and let the words rush out of her, going into complete details as Kenna urged her on to share her misery. She told them everything, from the Lady Patrina's visit to the attack and slaughter to Alto's insistence on letting Aleena know he wasn't the man for her. When she finished, they stared at her in shocked silence.
    Patrina slammed her fist into the table and stood up. "Damn him!" she sputtered. "That stupid fool! Why didn't he think he could tell me?"
    She turned and stared at her mother and father with fists clenched and tears brimming in her eyes. She opened and shut her mouth, and then squeezed her eyes shut and would have fallen if Teorfyr hadn't guided her back to the bench of the table.
    "He's been gone all of the night and some of the morning ; there's no catching him," Teorfyr said. "Well, Winter could do it, but we don't know where he's gone."
    "Into the mountains," Namitus reasoned.
    "Aye, but the Northern Divide isn't a lonely island for shipwrecked sailors. Those mountains stretch from here across the northern end of your kingdom and beyond!" Teorfyr frowned and took a few moments to stroke his beard. "Get yourselves ready. I'll put the word out and we'll see where he's gone. Might be I could send some scouts if I need to."
    "Wait a minute," Tristam