The Hidden Coronet by Catherine Fisher Read Free Book Online Page A

than one.”
    The Sekoi flicked her a glance. “We should be ready in case . . .”
    “I’ll get my bow. You go to the causeway.”
    Hurtling into the house and into the small room of sweet-smelling wood that was hers now, she rummaged in the corner chest anxiously. The bow had been in here since she came; there was no need for weapons on Sarres. But her Watchtraining was always sharp in her, so she’d kept it oiled and clean. Grabbing a handful of bolts, she racked the mechanism back and jammed one in.
    It might be all right. Galen might have found some more of the Order. But all the time she knew only too well what else could have happened. The Watch had expert interrogators. They used pain relentlessly. There were no secrets left after the rack, after being hung by the wrists, and as much as she loved Raffi, she knew that he would never stand up against that.
    Ferociously she pushed the thought away, ran down and out into the spring warmth of Sarres. At the edge of the lawn she raced through the trees and found the others waiting, the Sekoi firmly gripping Felnia’s hand tight in its seven-fingered fist.
    Before them stretched what seemed to be unbroken grass, but they knew this was illusion, the Maker-power that protected the sacred island. Beyond it a wicker causeway led through the marsh back to the Finished Lands, receding now each year. As she listened she heard a splash, faint voices.
    “Whoever they are, say nothing in front of them about what’s happened,” Tallis said quietly. “We can tell Galen and Raffi later. Understand, Felnia?”
    The little girl nodded, impatient, her eyes fixed on the drifting mist.
    It swirled open.
    A faint smell came through, of woods and stagnant water, and a gust of icy wind that made Carys shiver.
    She raised the bow.
    Raffi was first. His face was almost hidden under a knotted rag of scarf, but he pulled it away with a whoop of delight and breathed deep, tasting the sweet air of the island. Then he grinned up at them. “Don’t shoot. It’s only us.”
    “Not only you.” Carys paced forward warily. “Who else?”
    “Friends. A keeper!” He crouched and opened his arms, and Felnia broke the Sekoi’s grip and came running, flinging her arms around him, then punching and pummeling him until he fell over.
    “Did you bring me anything from the fair? You said you would.”
    “I doubt they had the chance,” Carys said drily.
    She was disturbed by the change in him. After only three weeks outside he was tired and filthy and strained. The strain of long fear.
    Then she looked behind him.
    A man had come out of the mist, a stranger. His smooth hair was silver, matted with dirt. Around his eyes was tied a rag of scarf, so if Raffi had not turned to help him he would have stumbled, but then he straightened and stood still, stock-still, and she knew by the alert lift of his head he was using the things Raffi called sense-lines, feeling the warm grass, the fresh leaves on the trees.
    “Incredible,” he breathed.
    “Where’s Galen?” Carys asked.
    “Here.” The keeper shouldered out of the fog, dark and hook-nosed. With both hands he supported another man, bald, also blindfolded, clearly on the point of collapse. The Sekoi ran to him instantly, Tallis hurrying behind.
    Carys stayed where she was, the bow unwavering.
    With a gasp and a moan through gritted teeth, the bald man was gently lowered to the grass. He too had a crossbow, strapped to his back. Watch issue. Tallis kneeled beside him and tugged the blindfold off. He stared up at her in surprise.
    Quickly she felt his arms and shoulders. “This man has been beaten.”
    Galen straightened, stiff and sore. “That’s how the Watch treat their prisoners, Guardian.” He looked around, his dark eyes moving gratefully over the trees and smooth lawns as if the beauty and order of it healed some deep inner hunger. “It’s been a nightmare journey,” he muttered.
    The Sekoi glanced up. “Watch?”
    “Everywhere. They