The Forever Knight: A Novel of the Bronze Knight (Books of the Bronze Knight) by John Marco Read Free Book Online Page B

sons do you see, please?”
    His question startled me. “I see three sons.”
    Sariyah nodded. “You see three sons. You do not see a fourth son because my fourth son is dead. Killed by Jadori.”
    Sariyah looked at me without flinching. I tried to read his face but couldn’t.
    “Your son was a warrior for Baralosus,” I guessed. “A lot of men died that day. Many
azizi
. Many Jadori.”
    Sariyah leaned over and spat into the sand to his right. “Baralosus is a pig.”
    “We agree.” Quickly I offered him honors. “The warriors of Ganjor were brave that day. I am told they died like heroes. In Jador we grieve all your sons.”
    Sariyah’s dark face softened. He turned to his sons and ordered them to reveal their faces, a sign of respect. All shared their father’s sharp, handsome nose, especially the youngest one, who looked barely Cricket’s age.
    “Many in Ganjor blame you for that battle, Shalafein,” said Sariyah. He wasn’t at all afraid, though he clearly knew my reputation. “But I am wiser.”
    “I was far away from that battle,” I said.
    “And now you are far from Jador again.”
    He looked inquisitive, too polite to ask directly what was on his mind.
    “We go east,” I told him. I turned to Cricket. “It’s all right. Show yourself.”
    She pulled back her hood, shaking out her brown hair to the astonishment of the Ganjeese. Sariyah’s mouth fell open, but he closed it quickly, inclining his head. His sons just stared.
    “We go east, too,” said Sariyah. “To Zura for spices.”
    “Our business is in Akyre,” I replied.
    Sariyah hid his surprise poorly but said, “We have bread to share and good drink from Ganjor. And I have heard you are talented at killing rass, Bronze Knight. We can ride together as far as Arad. Is it a bargain?”
    Cricket glanced a warning at me, but Sariyah was right—it was too hot for games.
    “We welcome the company,” I told Sariyah. In Ganjeese, I said, “
Our water is yours
.”
    *   *   *
    We ate and drank with Sariyah and his sons, spending the hottest part of the day beneath a tent while trading stories about the desert. Sariyah was good at telling stories. Cricket and I both relaxed quickly around him. He told us about sleeping in the sand with scorpions and how to pit stone fruit with your teeth and how the stars and moon follow
him
when he rides at night but not the others with him. He told us about Ganjor and about the wife and daughters waiting for him there, and how his spice business had grown, so that now he and his family had everything they needed. And like a true man of the desert, he asked few questions, careful to walk the thin line between his code and curiosity.
    I learned quickly that Sariyah wasn’t a man to be feared, though he did look fearsome to me. He kept his scimitar as close to him as I kept my sword, and he was at least as tall as me and probably twice as heavy. They talk in the desert about men who are lions, and Sariyah was surely one of them. His voice was a quiet roar, his manners commanding. His sons didn’t just respect him but, rather, did his bidding with something like reverence. Even Cricket warmed to him, laughing at his tales. In Ganjor a girl her age had almost no rights at all, and yet Sariyah and his sons treated her with respect.
    I didn’t want our time beneath the tent to end, but the day was still young and we had many miles left to go.
    *   *   *
    We rode into the desert night, refreshed by the cool air and the brightest moon I’d ever seen.
    “You see?” Sariyah laughed as it he pointed at the sky. “It follows me!”
    We all followed Sariyah, even me, riding beside him at the front of our arrowhead. Cricket rode a few paces back, while Sariyah’s youngest son, Asadel, eyed her the way boys that age naturally do. Cricket blushed at the attention but not enough to say she minded it, and that’s when I realized I didn’t have a girl with me, but a young woman. Sariyah glanced at them,