Suriax by Amanda Young Read Free Book Online Page A

asked
with all sincerity.
    “He is wanted by the queen for
questioning”
    “Well, I haven’t seen anything.”
    “Ma’am, your neighbors heard some strange
noises coming from your apartment. If I could just . . .” he tried
to push his way in, but she didn’t budge.
    “That was just me. I’m not as graceful as I
used to be. Tripped on my rug coming into the living room and
knocked over some things. Caused quite a mess, I’m afraid. If you’d
like to help me clean . . .”
    Her invitation had the desired effect. The
guard mumbled a vague excuse and left. Kern waited until he
couldn’t hear anyone outside before moving. “Thank you for not
telling him I was here.”
    The woman waved his thanks away. “What did
you do to get the Royal Guard on your back? And how did you find
yourself falling through my roof . . . which you will be paying to
repair, of course.”
    “Of course,” he dusted his pants off. “I saw
the guard and tried to bide my time hiding in the tree branches
above your home. Misjudged the strength of one, and you know the
rest.”
    She nodded. “There were a few branches hit by
lightning in the last storm. You probably stepped on one of those.
And why did you need to hide in the first place?”
    “You’re probably better off not knowing.”
    “Fair enough.”
    Kern cracked the front door and looked for
any sign of the guard. Pulling a coin purse out of his bag, he
handed it to the woman. “This should cover the repairs.” He thought
for a moment and considered his options. “You wouldn’t happen to
know a quiet way into Aleria?”
    The old lady grinned. “That will be
extra.”
    A few hours later, Kern was hiding in a
carriage carrying fruit and goods, riding over the bridge to
Aleria. Once they were through the second gate, the driver, the old
lady’s neighbor, lifted the blanket covered in produce and let him
out. He chastised himself that he hadn’t thought to check with a
fruit vendor sooner. The Guard used them so often to courier
messages discretely between the cities, such correspondences were
known as “sending a cabbage.” Of course he never knew they also
transported people.
    Kern looked around the city. He never took
any jobs in Aleria, at his uncle’s request, so this was a first for
him. From the gate he could see the edge of a park. Both cities
boasted parks at their center. With a large population of elves and
half elves who favored being around nature, parks, homes and
businesses built within trees and other plant life were common. But
from his limited view, he could see Aleria’s park was easily four
times that of Suriax’s. Unable to help himself, he walked around
there, first. At the center of the park was a gazebo larger than
most homes. It was decorated in flowers and ribbons. Chairs lined
one side. Kern climbed a fairly large hill and looked around. You
could see most of the city from there. The palace was north. To the
east was a theater surrounded by inns and taverns. Whereas most
people who visited Suriax came for the pit fighting or hound races,
Aleria was known for its magnificent plays and music. Years of
planning went into each production, and those who saw the plays
talked about them endlessly for months afterwards. He heard they
once recreated a battle at sea by flooding an inner level of the
theater tree. The audience watched from seats nested among the
branches. He always wanted to come here and view a show. Maybe he
could bring his uncle to one later.
    Kern looked back at the palace. It couldn’t
hurt to look around the city a little on his way there. He was very
curious about this place that could have been his home. Sliding
down the hill, he headed for the street.
     
    * * *
     
    Maerishka entered the temple and bowed
respectfully. She began her study with the clerics at a young age.
Her father insisted on it, convinced pushing his daughter to
worship Venerith would cause the god to bestow blessings upon him.
That was before her parent’s