The Assassins of Tamurin by S. D. Tower Read Free Book Online

at the Wing?”
    “N-no, you’re not, great sir,” I stammered. “It’s almost two days farther on. I’ve been traveling and I’m hungry because some—”
    “But is this the road to Riversong?”
    Why would people like these want to travel to such a place? “Yes, great lord. I come from there.”
    He began to speak again, but the small lady said, “Ekrem,” in a quiet voice, and he instantly fell silent. Then she edged her mount toward me, and as I saw how Ekrem moved from her path, I realized that it was not the gilded and armored warrior who led these people but this unremarkable woman with the round kindly face.
    I was still on my knees. “Get up, girl,” she said. I obeyed. It would have been hard not to; her voice, though soft, had a compelling power.
    “What’s your name?” she asked.
    “Lale, honored lady.”
    “Family name?”
    “I don’t have one, honored lady. I’m a foundling. I have no ancestors.”
    Her green eyes narrowed slightly. “You have the look of a northerner.”
    “I might be, ma’am. I was washed up at Riversong in a boat. Nobody knows where I came from.”
    “Ah. Why are you so far from your village?”
    “I left, honored lady. They wouldn’t give me enough to eat. I’m going to High Lake to find something better.”
    “Are you, now?” she asked. And then she said, “Have you met a man on this road? He is a fabulator named Lim. You will have seen him in Riversong some months ago.”
    At this reminder of poor Master Lim, I burst into tears; I couldn’t help it. Then, through my sobs, I told her what had happened. She listened carefully and her round face became hard as I wept out my story.
    When I sniffled into silence she said, “And your name is Lale, and you came to Riversong in a boat, and you have no family.”
    I nodded. Her eyes never left my face. I wanted to ask how she knew Master Lim, but it seemed impertinent when she and I hadn’t been properly introduced. So, remembering a phrase I’d heard in one of Lim’s songs, I ventured, “Honored lady, may I have the honor of knowing who it is who addresses me?”
    Her mouth twitched at one comer. “Where did you hear that manner of speech?”
    “From Master Lim, honored lady.”
    She said, “There’s nothing wrong with your memory, is there?” And then she said, “Since you ask, I am Makina Seval, the Despotana of Tamurin.”
    A Despotana? Plunged utterly out of my depth, I could only goggle at her. She looked so little like a ruler. Where were the jewels, the scarlet and gold gossamin, the great carriage? Or the look of majesty and the regal bearing, for that matter? Aunt Adumar, if you’d washed her hair, would have resembled a Despotana more than this short, plump woman. And I’d never heard of a Despotate named Tamurin.
    But she paid no attention to my discourteous stare and said, “Ekrem, have her ride with one of your men. We’ll find Lim.” Before I knew what was happening, I found myself squashed between a soldier’s armored chest and his high saddle front, and he was telling me in very strong terms not to grab for the reins even if I was falling off. An instant later the horses were thundering down the road with me clinging desperately to the pommel, and Ekrem out in front with his lance at the ready. I realized the two girls must be riding as hard as the men and I felt a stab of envy. I wanted to be able to ride like this, too.
    I had never realized that horses could cover ground so fast. In a tenth of the time I’d needed to walk the distance, we were rounding the curve where the log was. A cloud of snail kites and carrion hawks poured into the air and I felt sick, knowing whose flesh they’d been at.
    We halted. Master Lim was still there, but I didn’t look closely at what was left, because I wanted to remember him handsome and alive, and not dead and horrible. My soldier dumped me onto the ground and I sat by the roadside while Ekrem went to inspect the remains. I heard the Despotana