The Hunter by Rose Estes Read Free Book Online Page B

his skill with sword and dagger were well known.
    But there was something dark that lurked in Carn, some hidden anger that rose to the surface under stress and unleased sudden
     rages that he could not always control. Carn had once killed a man during such a rage, over an imagined slight, and only his
     unfeigned grief and his father’sinfluence and several circles of silver had managed to sweep the matter under the table.
    These thoughts and more filled Braldt’s exhausted mind as he drove himself over the last remaining distance into the outskirts
     of the city. Beast had long ago given himself over to sleep for it was impossible to keep up and Braldt had kept him firmly
     wrapped inside the sling of his robes. Ken had fallen behind early in the day and though he would have welcomed her presence,
     he could not afford the delay of waiting for her or matching his strides to those of her own. She had been sent to find him
     and she would understand his actions. He hoped.
    The open rangeland where the beasts of burden and those who provided meal and drink roamed had long been left behind, their
     keepers, many of whom were old friends, had raised their spears in greeting as he passed. The long, straight rows of the farmlands
     had appeared then, the abundant crops of hot time having been gathered in and the pale green shoots of cool time just emerging
     from the dark soil. Now there appeared the long, low rows of barracks that housed the young boys, serving as their homes and
     their schools as they grew, determining their futures and the course of their lives.
    The red sandstone circle that was the ring rose up before him, blotting out the sight of the newly risen moon. Braldt could
     picture the rows upon rows of stone seats that circled the hard-packed earth that lay at the center. The ring. The place where
     they played, studied, worked, trained, and ultimately fought, pitting themselves against their teachers, one another, and
     then warriors from other tribes and, occasionally, fierce animals, all for the glory of the Moon Mother. Or so the priests
     would have them believe. Braldt had his doubts.
    The red sandstone cubes and high-walled circles that were home to the clan came next, the size and number of their cubes and
     circles dictated by the size of the family that dwelled within. Some families, blessed with numerous offspring and extended
     marriages, took up entire blocks with their enclaves. Other families, such as Carn’s, were quitesmall, composed of but four members: Carn; his father, Otius; his mother, Jos; Keri; and Braldt. Each had his or her own cube
     for sleeping and there was a central cube for the purpose of eating and family matters, but they had no need for their own
     circular courtyard for they entertained no one but themselves and to Otius’s great sorrow, no grandchildren clung to his fingers
     or bounced upon his knee.
    The inner city with its labyrinth of buildings lay beyond the warren of dwellings, filled with the offices of those who ran
     the city-state and all their hundreds of minions forever scurrying thither and yon like demented rabbits. Braldt took little
     notice of them for the thought of them numbed his mind. Not for a heartbeat could he bear to imagine their dull, confined
     lives. All of his attention was focused on the circular building that rose beyond the conclave of the bureaucrats, and was
     constructed of shining black stone. It rose three times the height of any other building in the city and surpassed even the
     ring in size. Only the Temple of the Moon was larger, more imposing. But here was the heart of the city, here was the Council
     chambers, the place where the full Council convened and where Auslic ruled.
    Braldt passed through the tall, narrow silver doors crowned by the emblem of the full moon, flanked on either side by a trail
     of stars. This image was engraved upon the metal doors as well as the breast plates of the guards who stood watch on either
     side,