The Hawk Eternal by David Gemmell Read Free Book Online

it yet, Gaelen,' the old man told him. 'It's hard enough for us to understand ourselves.'
     
    On the last evening of the month Oracle removed the boy's stitches and pronounced him fit to rejoin the world of the living.
     
    Tomorrow Caswallon will come, and you'll meet with him and make your decisions. Either you'll stay or you'll go. Either way, you and I will part friends,' said Oracle gravely.
     
    Gaelen's stomach tightened. 'Couldn't I j ust stay here with you for a while?'
     
    Oracle cupped the boy's chin in his hand. 'No, lad. Much as I've enjoyed your company it cannot be. Be ready at dawn, for Caswallon will come early.'
     
    For much of the night Gaelen was unable to sleep, and when he did he dreamed of the morning, saw himself looking foolish before this great clansman whose face he couldn't quite see. The man told him to run, but his legs were sunk in mud; the man lost his temper and stabbed him with a spear. He awoke exhausted and sweat-drenched and rose instantly, making his way to the stream to bathe.
     
    'Good morning to you.'
     
    Gaelen swung to see a tall man sitting on a granite boulder. He wore a cloak of leaf-green and a brown leather tunic. Slung across his chest was a baldric bearing two slim daggers in leather sheaths, and by his side a hunting-knife. Upon his long legs were leggings of green wool, laced with leather thongs criss-crossed to the knee. His hair was long and dark, his eyes sea-green. He seemed to be about thirty years of age, though he could have been older.
     
    'Are you Caswallon?'
     
    'I am indeed,' said the man, standing. He stretched out his hand. Gaelen shook it and released it swiftly. 'Walk with me and we'll talk about things to interest you.'
     
    Without waiting for a reply Caswallon turned and walked slowly through the trees. Gaelen stood for a moment, then grabbed his shirt from beside the stream and followed him. Caswallon halted beside a
     
    fallen oak and lifted a pack he had stowed there. Opening it he pulled clear some clothing; then he sat upon the vine-covered trunk, waiting for the boy to catch up.
     
    Caswallon watched him closely as he approached. The boy was tall for his age, showing the promise of the man he would become. His hair was the red of a dying fire, though the slanted sunlight highlighted traces of gold, and there was a streak of silver above the wound on his brow. The scar on his cheek still looked angry and swollen, and the eye itself was a nightmare. But Caswallon liked the look of the lad, the set of his jaw, the straight-backed walk, and the fact that the boy looked him in the eye at all times.
     
    'I have some clothes for you.'
     
    'My own are fine, thank you.'
     
    'Indeed they are, Gaelen, but a grey, threadbare tunic will not suit you, and bare legs will be cut by the brambles and gorse, as naked feet will be slashed by sharp or jagged stones. And you've no belt to carry a knife. Without a blade you'll be hard-pressed to survive.'
     
    Thank you then. But I will pay you for them when I can.'
     
    'As you will. Try them.' Caswallon threw him a green woollen shirt edged with brown leather and reinforced at the elbows and shoulders with hide. Gaelen slipped off his own dirty grey tunic and pulled on the garment. It fitted snugly, and his heart swelled; it was, in truth, the finest thing he had ever worn. The green woollen leggings were baggy but he tied them at the waist and joined Caswallon at the tree to learn how to lace them. Lastly a pair of moccasins were produced from Caswallon's sack, along with a wide black belt bearing a bone-handled knife in a long sheath. The moccasins were a little too tight, but Caswallon promised him they would stretch into comfort. Gaelen drew the knife from its scabbard; it was double-edged, one side ending in a half-moon.
     
    'The first side is for cutting wood, shaving or cleaning skins; the second edge is for skinning. It is a useful weapon also. Keep it sharp at all times. Every night before you sleep,