Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One by Tracy A. Akers Read Free Book Online Page A

Reiv staggered as the room began to
spin. Dayn grabbed his elbow to steady him.
    “Well you did not win it fairly, then,” Torin
said to the man. “Hand it over.”
    The man bristled. He glanced at the other
patrons who were wearing their own shell winnings, all necklaces or
shell strands draped around their necks. But none had anything as
fine as the bracelet, and the man was clearly not keen on parting
with it.
    Torin leaned in threateningly. “I said hand
it over. It belongs to the prince.”
    “He seemed eager enough to wager it,” the man
said with a scoff. “Obviously there wasn’t much value in it for
him.”
    “The boy’s in no condition to determine
what’s of value and what’s not.”
    “Well, he was in good enough condition when
he offered it. It was the first thing won from him tonight.”
    Torin turned to Reiv. “Is that true,
Reiv?”
    “I do not see that it is any of your
business,” Reiv snarled.
    “Well it is my business. I watched Kerrik
work for hours to help you craft it, hours he could have spent
looking for shells to help put food on our table.”
    “Sorry, I did not know I needed to pay you
for his services.”
    “Regardless, would you rather it adorn the
arm of a comfort woman than that of the girl it was intended
for?”
    “Why should I care!”
    Torin’s lips compressed into a thin line. He
pulled a coin from his money pouch and tossed it to the man. “This
should keep you in drink and women for a while,” he said. “Now hand
it over.”
    The man caught the coin in his large fist,
all the while glowering at Torin. Risking a look at the coin in his
now-opened palm, the man’s expression brightened. He yanked the
bracelet off and pitched it to Torin.
    Torin stuffed the trinket into his money
pouch and turned his attention back to Reiv. He steered him toward
the door. “You are going to sorely regret this in the morning,” he
said.
    “I will regret nothing!” Reiv barked. But the
moment they exited the place and the fresh air hit him full in the
face, he buckled at the queasiness in his stomach and the pounding
in his head. His legs went out from under him, and he soon found
himself suspended by Torin on one side and Dayn on the other.
    Jensa approached from the shadows and gasped
at the bloody ear barely visible in the light from the tavern.
“What happened to your ear?” she exclaimed.
    “I pierced it,” Reiv replied, grinning. “Do
you like it?”
    “No,” she snapped.
    “What is it about me that always makes girls
so cross?” Reiv lamented. He gazed at her like a boy seeking his
mother’s forgiveness. “Please say you are not angry with me. I
could not bear for you to be angry, too. You do like me, do you
not?”
    “Yes, Reiv, I like you, but not when you’re
drunk and stupid! As for my being angry, I think I have good reason
to be. I’ve been looking all over Pobu for you and have been
standing there in the shadows waiting for Dayn to fetch you. Thank
the gods Torin showed up or I’d be waiting there still.”
    “He wouldn’t listen,” Dayn protested. “What
was I supposed to do? Throw him over my shoulder?”
    Jensa rolled her eyes at Dayn, then flashed
them back to Reiv. “Who do you think is going to treat that ear of
yours when the infection sets in? Me, of course. So yes, I’m angry
and will probably stay that way for quite some time.”
    Reiv groaned as he struggled to put one foot
in front of the other. Torin and Dayn were walking far too rapidly
for him to keep up, and his feet were soon mostly dragging along.
The jerking movement as they half-dragged half-walked him back to
Nannaven’s did nothing to settle his stomach. Before long he was
leaned against a wall, spilling the contents of his belly into the
dirt.
    When they reached Nannaven’s house, he was in
a poor state, and Torin had to practically carry him inside. By
then the Spirit Keeper had returned. As soon as she caught sight of
them she turned to her shelf of herbs and mixed up a