The Clovel Destroyer by Thorn Bishop Press Read Free Book Online Page B

they climbed the steps of white
and gray stones. At the top, they met two
guards dressed in blue robes with hard leather helmets. Each was
armed with a long pike as the stood sentry behind closed iron
gates. One of the guards ordered them away.
    “ It is probably best,” Urith
suddenly confided to his friend, bellowing .
“These oracles are nothing more than a fraud. They prey upon the
weak minded.” Guthlaf gave his friend a look of shocked disbelief.
Such words were dangerous in the lands of Kamin.
    “ You cannot say such things
against the Oracle . Your blasphemy will be
punished by death,” one of the guards told them. “Now get out of
here.”
    “ You see this wound,” Urith
pointed to his grotesque cheek. “No hakra told me about this. Why
is that? It’s b ecause your destiny comes only when
you pay enough. Take my words to your master, if you are no
eunuch.”
    The guards leveled their pikes at the Esterblud, who held his ground while Guthlaf took a pace
back, unsure what his friend was doing. For a tense moment, he
wondered if he would have to fight alongside his friend. Suddenly a
figure appeared behind the guards. A woman with dark skin, dressed
in a long white and gold hooded robe clapped twice, catching one of
the guard’s attention. Both turned, immediately bowing as she
strolled silently to the gate. She looked over the warriors carefully, paying particular attention to Urith.
She nodded to the lead guard who reluctantly opened the gate.
    “ You may enter Urith of the Penhda
clan,” she turned, walking away. The giant warrior gave the guard a
sneer, despite the pain in his face, confidently entering the
shrine. Guthlaf tried to follow, but he was cut off by the guard
who slammed the gate shut. Resigned to waiting, the young warrior
sat on a step, turning to watch over his shoulder as Urith walked
out of sight.
    As the giant warrior passed the fountain, he
resisted an urge to reach out and touch the cooling water. Despite
his blaspheming talk, he still held some respect for the beliefs of
his land. However, he was well aware of the underhanded ways of
those who mislead followers for their own benefit. He followed the
woman to a shaded spot under a large, twisted lellowtere tree. The
woman sat on a bench, pulling back the hood of her robe to reveal
her short cropped white hair while she looked at the warrior again. She was a
lovely woman with high cheekbones and a blue tattoo of a
star under her bottom lip.
    “ Now that you have entered the
shrine, what other blasphemy do you have for me? There is no place
here to burn your father and your wife. So, do you come to give me
your tears?” The woman's gaze grew hard as she looked at Urith, and
he guessed the woman had heard of his outrage at the temple the day
before.
    “ Such knowledge is citywide by
now, passed along faster than the ossanes can gallop,” replied the
warrior, trying to guess her indeterminate age as he paced slowly
in front of her. “And you know that a fighter sheds no tears for the dead. Now, give me something useful in your
visions.”
    “ Did you not see the truth for
yourself? Why come to me?”
    Her vague smoothness began to irritate the warrior.
“I don’t need your riddles, woman. Should I put some koinons in the
fountain to get your tongue to wag the truth?”
    Her dark eyes narrowed. “You have no respect for me
or the satgerts. I will not help you.”
    Urith stopped, “Of course I have no respect for you.
How would I know you would show up when I spoke sacrilege against
your visions? Because I know you have ears near the guards. The
echoes of your worshipers come to you before they enter the shrine.
It is a nice way to gather money and knowledge to use in your
visions for the masses.” The woman stood, appearing ready to storm
off. “While I’m just a lowly warrior of the Esterblud clan, I know
about the tricks used by oracles. I will be happy to tell others
about these.”
    She turned back to him. “And I could