The Gods of Amyrantha by Jennifer Fallon Read Free Book Online Page B

would go to such trouble just to ensnare a couple of unindentured slaves was a question to which he had no answer.
    'We'll meet again, perhaps,' the old man said, as his guards mounted, after handing Lord Ponting's mount back to him. 'Or maybe not. I suspect Aleki has great things planned for you.'
    Warlock looked to the earl for some indication Shalimar spoke the truth, but the nobleman's expression revealed nothing.
    Shalimar tugged on his reins and turned his horse out of the yard and onto the eastern road — away from the city — with Lon and Tenry close on his heels. Boots stepped up close to Warlock as he watched him leave. 'You know, I think I'm going to miss that old man.'
    'You'll miss the food, you mean.'
    'That too.' She turned to look at Aleki Ponting. 'Will you feed us as well as Shalimar did, my lord?'
    The earl seemed amused. 'I doubt there's another soul on Amyrantha who'll feed you as well as Shalimar did.' He began to pull off his gloves and cloak. It was warm standing here in the sun, and although Shalimar had provided the Crasii with warmer clothes packed into their saddlebags, they were both still wearing the thin cotton shifts common to all city-dwelling Crasii. The human, with his fine wool cloak, would be sweltering. 'You won't starve, however. Did he tell you where we're going?'
    'Hidden Valley,' Warlock answered for her.
    'Did he tell you anything else?'
    'Not really.'
    'Then we have quite a lot to discuss along the way.' Leading his horse, Aleki turned for the stables, as if that was the end of the discussion.
    'Are we free to leave?'
    The earl stopped and turned to look at them. 'Are you planning to?'
    'That's not an answer.'
    Lord Ponting stepped a little closer, and while he seemed pleasant enough, there was an undercurrent of threat in his bearing that, strangely, Warlock found reassuring. If these people were planning to lull him and Boots into believing they were being escorted to paradise, only to enslave them again, Aleki should be bending over backward to convince them they had nothing to fear. But the Earl of Summerton was acting like a man with something to protect. Just as Declan Hawkes had made the consequences of their refusal clear, Aleki wasn't trying to paint a rosy picture, either.
    'You and your friend are here on trust,' Lord Ponting told him, looking up at the big Crasii. 'And while ever you demonstrate yourself worthy of that trust, Warlock, you'll be treated accordingly. The Tide Lords are returning and that means every man, woman and child in this world is in danger, not to mention the Crasii. You've been offered a chance to do something to protect the Crasii from being abused the way they were the last time the immortals controlled Amyrantha. You should know enough of your own history to know what that means.'
    'He only meant ...' Boots began, her tail wagging slightly, a little alarmed at the seriousness of the nobleman's tone.
    'I know what he meant, Boots. He wants to know if you're prisoners. So let me put your mind at ease. Both of you. You want to leave? Fine. Go now, and good luck to you both. But know this: the closer we get to Hidden Valley, the more we have to protect, and I promise you, we're prepared to do whatever it takes to protect our people. If that means hunting you down and killing you before you can betray our secrets, so be it.'

CHAPTER 6

    The seraglium attached to the Glaeban embassy in Ramahn turned out to be much less depressing than Arkady was expecting. Rather than the three rooms she feared, the women's quarters took up most of the north wing of the embassy and included a small lawn and a water garden, an extravagance of the most amazing kind in Ramahn's hot and arid climate.
    The embassy itself was an impressive building, even for someone who had grown accustomed to the opulent wealth of Lebec. Two storeys high, flat-roofed and covering almost an entire city block, it was a palace in its own right. The building was covered with millions of tiny