Stones of Power 01 - Ghost King by David Gemmell Read Free Book Online Page A

bothers to visit my small village.'
    'I am not an Order Taker,' owned Victorinus.
    'I know that. My teeth may be gone, but my mind is unaffected. You are Victorinus, the Centurion.
    And you, my wayward son, are Gwalchmai the Cantii, the Hound of the King. Word travels with exceptional speed.'
    'We are hunted men, Father,' said Gwalchmai.
    'Indeed you are. Is it true that bastard Roman is dead?'
    'Yes,' said Victorinus, 'and I'll not hear that term used of him - alive or dead.'
    'Short-tempered, is he not?' asked Golaric, seeing Victorinus' hand straying towards his gladius.
    'You know these Romans, Father. No control,' said Gwalchmai. 'Why are you so open with your knowledge?'
    'It pleases me to be so.'
    Gwalchmai smiled. 'I know something of Bri-gante history. Cascioc was Eldared's elder brother; he was slain in his bed. There was almost a civil war amongst the tribes of the old Caledonian Confederacy. What part did you play in that, Father?'
    'As I said, I was the King's Champion. I had a good arm in those days and I should have gone to Eldared and cut his throat, but I did not. The deed was done and I was sworn on Blood Oath to defend the king with my life. But Eldared was now the king so I left his service. And now he offers good gold to kill the men who are a danger to him. I am not interested in his gold; I am interested only in his downfall.'
    'I cannot promise that,' said Victorinus. 'All I can say is that he will succeed if we do not reach Eboracum. Eldared bragged of having around fifteen thousand men at his call. Lucius Aquila has only four thousand at Eboracum. Taken by surprise, he would be routed.'
    'I do not care whether a Roman survives at Eboracum, but I understand the point you are making.
    Your horses will be fed and watered tonight, but tomorrow you will leave. I will give you food to carry - not much, for we are a poor village. But be warned, there are hunting parties south and east of you. You must move west and then south.

    'We will be careful, Father,' said Gwalchmai.
    'And you can stop calling me "Father". I never slept with a Cantii woman in my life -they were all bearded.'
    Gwalchmai chuckled. 'He's right,' he told Victorinus. 'It's one reason I joined the king's army.'
    'There's something else for you to think of,' said Golaric. "The huntsmen seem unconcerned about your capture; they say that Mist Magic is being used to track you. If that is true, I pity you.'
    The colour drained from Gwalchmai's face. 'What does he mean?' asked Victorinus.
    'Death,' whispered Gwalchmai.

*
    Throughout the long day the two men rode together and Victorinus grew steadily more uncomfortable with the silence. The land was open, the wind bitterly cold, but it was Gwalchmai's frightened eyes that dominated the Roman's thinking. He had known Gwalchmai for four years, since arriving at Camulodunum as a raw eighteen-year-old fresh from Rome. In that time he had come to hold the man in high regard for his eternal optimism and his reckless bravery, but now he rode like a man possessed - his eyes unseeing, his manner echoing his defeat. They camped in the lee of a rockface and Victorinus prepared a fire.
    'What is wrong with you, man?' he asked, as Gwalchmai sat passively staring into the flames.
    'It is well for you that you do not understand,' said Gwalchmai.
    'I understand fear when I see it.'
    'It is worse than fear; it is the foreknowledge of death. I must ready myself for the journey.'
    At a loss for a response, Victorinus laughed in his face. 'Is this Gwalchmai I see before me? Is this the King's Hound? More like a rabbit in the torchlight, waiting for the arrow to strike. What is the matter with you, man?'
    'You do not understand,' repeated Gwalchmai. 'It is in the bones of this land ... in the Gods of Wood and Lake. This land was once the home of the Gods, and they still walk here within the Mist.
    Do not mock me, Roman, for I know whereof I speak. I have seen scaled dragons in the air. I have seen the Atrol walk. I