Target Of The Orders (Book 3) by Ron Collins Read Free Book Online Page B

Smoke from forges, tanneries, bakeries and restaurants rose through air heavy with scents of harbor brine and the spices that were being unloaded from trading ships that were newly docked.
    Will squirmed in the saddle. He was not used to such long hours on a horse.
    “Are we going to see Lord Ellesadil?” Will asked.
    “It’s too late, today,” Garrick replied. “Tonight we’ll settle into the city. Perhaps we can see the lord tomorrow.”
    “Will we find your friends?”
    “You mean the Freeborn?”
    “Yeah, the Freeborn.”
    The boy had asked incessantly about Darien and the Freeborn while they traveled. His eyes had gone wide as Garrick told of their adventures in Arderveer and how the Torean House had rescued them in Caledena. To Will the Freeborn were swashbuckling pirates, bigger than life.
    “I don’t think we’ll have to find them so much as
they
will find us.”
    “That doesn’t make sense.”
    “It will,” Garrick replied. “Until then, you’re just going to have to trust me.”
    The answer didn’t really satisfy the boy, but he was used to being told what to do so he let it pass.
    Garrick was happy for the moment of silence. Will was a young lad with a thousand questions about a thousand topics, and he had asked them all during their trip south. Though his questions made the trip annoying at times, Garrick saw the better parts of himself in Will—this boy with his blondish hair and the freckles on his cheeks. Will was old enough to fend for himself, but young enough that Garrick felt pain at the idea of him being alone.
    Will was a problem, though.
    Garrick wanted to keep Will safe, but that would be difficult when he could barely stay out of trouble himself. It was unwise to have a boy involved in his life now, but he didn’t know what else to do. Will reminded him of the other apprentices under Alistair. He couldn’t imagine leaving him behind.
    He thought of this during the all-too-few quiet moments of their travels, but never came to any answers.
    Eventually, they came to a business district and a tavern called the Golden Gourd.
    Laughter came from its open windows.
    “We’ll need a room for the night,” Garrick said as he slid off Kalomar. “Wait here.”
    He slipped the proprietor a silver, then he returned to find Will staring with hungry eyes at the tavern section of the building. The smell of freshly baked bread and cooking meat wafted from inside. Voices rolled from an open window.
    He helped Will off the horse.
    “Get Kalomar comfortable in the stable, and meet me inside for dinner,” Garrick said.
    “I’ll be right there,” Will said.
    The boy took off to take care of his chores, leaving Garrick to enter the tavern alone.

Chapter 12

    Garrick took a table at the back corner of the inn and sat so he could view most of the room. He waved the barmaid to bring food. It was warm with the heat of patrons who came and went in a steady flow. It was loud with voices. The smell of exotic tobaccos and roasted meats gave it a comforting veil.
    He was not physically drained, but he was tired of thinking.
    It was good to relax.
    His mind wandered. His life force writhed within him, still active, still keeping the darkness of his hunger at bay, but it
was
fading. Slowly. It was like a timing glass inside him with its sand slipping silently away into the darkness.
    He looked out the tavern’s west-facing window and saw the setting sun had streaked the high clouds with orange and lavender. It was about this time of day when it all started. He remembered it well, that evening with Arianna. Springtime had just begun to burst across the land.
    Arianna.
    Was she working at the Ladle this evening. He wanted to see her, but clearly that would be a disaster.
    “I’m back!” Will yelled.
    Garrick's heart leapt into his throat.
    “Don’t do that!” he snapped at the boy.
    Will’s face dropped. “I’m sorry, Master Garrick, sir.”
    Garrick calmed himself. “It’s all right, Will. You