The Lightning Wastes (The Traveler's Gate Chronicles: Collection #3) by Will Wight Read Free Book Online

that they were running errands for the sanctuary, and he would bill the Travelers later.
    What terrible thing must Overlord Malachi have confessed for his legendary protection? Perhaps he killed a family member, or organized a rebellion. Maybe he spat in King Zakareth's face and got away with it. That didn't make much sense, as he would never have risen to the rank of Overlord with any of those crimes on his record, but it had to be something truly terrible.
    Rasmus hurried toward the tower as best he could with a bucket in each hand, lagging behind Taichon, who always seemed to make everything a race.
    This time, to Rasmus' surprise, Taichon slowed and waited for him to catch up. “You're quiet today.”
    “That's my right,” Rasmus snapped.
    Taichon shifted one bucket to his other hand so that he could scratch his head. “Are you worried about the Initiation?”
    He held both buckets in one hand and he still didn't spill a drop. Rasmus tried to imitate him, as casually as possible, but he almost sloshed a pail full of water down his shirt. “Worried? No, of course not. Are you?”
    “Terrified,” Taichon said.
    They stopped talking when they reached the charwood door at the base of the red tower. The Traveler assigned to the door recognized them and waved them through, and they jogged down a short set of stairs to the well, where they dumped their buckets into the pool of waiting water. It wasn't a real well, of course, since there was very little natural water in Naraka. It was nothing more than a stone pool to collect their purchased water. But since the Travelers used it for everything from drinking to bathing to laundry while they were in the Territory, they called it the well.
    The boys hurried back up, and once they cleared the sanctuary, Taichon continued. “I know nobody's supposed to listen to the confession. And even if they do, nothing you confess to the tree can be held against you, but I can't help but worry.”
    “Why?” Rasmus asked, as they filled their buckets from the wagon again.
    Taichon waited until they exited the wall of the outpost before answering. “When I was just a child, back in the outside world, I was climbing a tree with my sister.”
    Rasmus didn't have any brothers or sisters, and he hadn't known that Taichon did either. The thought made him uncomfortable, somehow, as though Taichon had more of a life outside of Naraka than Rasmus did.
    “We started messing around, you know, just teasing. I couldn't take a joke when I was young, and I started to get mad, so I pushed her a little harder than I should have. I didn't mean anything by it, I was just mad, but she fell. The tree wasn't terribly tall, but she still broke both legs and hit her head. For a minute, I thought she was dead. I ran and got our father, and by that time she woke up, and she was in terrible pain. She recovered, of course—she's fine now—but she didn't remember the few minutes leading up to her fall. So when my father asked me how it had happened, I told him she had tried to reach a bird's nest and slipped. Everyone believed me, even her, and I was never punished for it.”
    That was a good one. It was a crime of passion, and thus not as damning as if it had been planned or premeditated, but he had harmed another out of anger, lied to cover it up, and injured an innocent in doing so. Taichon's fruit would surely be the size of a melon. Rasmus would be lucky if his looked like a grape.
    “Are you sure you should have told me?” Rasmus said, as he marched along the dusty red stone of Naraka's caverns. “Maybe the tree won't count it if you've already confessed.”
    “I don't think so. According to the Principles of Admission, an admission of guilt is only valid if it's made to a duly appointed representative of the law, or else directly to the wronged party. You're not either one of those. Besides, you're a close friend, so your testimony wouldn't be accepted in a court on my behalf anyway. Under the laws of