The Malmillard Codex by K.G. McAbee Read Free Book Online Page A

and more of a
problem , Val decided. He expected to feel grateful to Madryn;
she had saved his life, after all. But he had not been prepared for
this overpowering desire that a mere touch could engender. Sleeping
near her—or worse, next to her—was a torment. A torment he could do
nothing about, not even toss, turn or move away. No…he would lie
there, close to her, smelling the scent of her hair, feeling the
heat from that long lean body so close to him.
    And burn.
    "We should be able to find you a decent
blade here," said Madryn as she took the nearly empty bottle back
from Val and shoved the cork deep inside it.
    "Blade?" Had he heard right? He looked up,
saw the silver tracery on the scabbard that dangled from Daemon's
broad haunch. He traced that long hard length with a practice,
experienced eye.
    Madryn laughed. "Yes, a blade. For you, Val.
You can't go around without a sword…especially when you look at
mine like you want to eat it. Besides, no one will believe you're a
lord without a sword."
    "I'm not a lord."
    "Doesn't matter. As I've told you more than
once, others will believe you are if you believe you are—and act as
if you are," she reminded him. "And I know you can handle a sword,
gladiator. Far better than I, no doubt. Perhaps you'll give me some
lessons?"
    Val nodded, struck dumb with surprise.
    "Excellent. So, let's climb on Daemon and
see what we can find in Karleon, shall we?"
    ***
    The westernmost gate of the town of Karleon
was guarded—if that was the proper word, since the shaky wooden
gate was wide open and latched back against a leprous stone wall—by
a worthy woman whose weight far surpassed the combination of both
Daemon's passengers. A swarthy soul with a cheerful expression on
her broad flat face, she sat at her ease under a ragged awning of
scabrous animal hide. About her feet clustered a rabble of street
urchins, gambling and squabbling, their voices as shrill as baby
hawks in the steamy late autumn heat.
    "Ho, visitors!" rumbled the guard from deep
within her massive bosom. "And not even on market day. This is an occasion. Lars, Kinda, lower the rope for old
Accascia."
    The rope to which she referred was a
many-knotted swag of coarse leather, draped as an ephemeral barrier
across the wide open gate, and tied in a loose knot around a
leaning pillar. A skinny girl and an even skinnier boy, their bony
bodies draped in picturesque rags, leaped up and raced to untie the
barrier as Daemon ambled forward.
    "Welcome to Karleon, my lady and my lord,"
called the vast Accascia from her comfortable perch. "May you enjoy
your visit and stay for days, nay, weeks, as you taste the delights
of Karleon."
    "Delights, mistress guardian?" asked Madryn
with a grin. "And what might these delights be, pray? My friend and
I are all agog to be informed."
    Accascia rubbed a meaty hand across her
broad face. "To be perfectly honest, milady, the delights of our
lovely village are somewhat limited," she admitted with a shrug and
an answering grin.
    "But we can obtain passage to Lakazsh, can
we not?" Madryn asked.
    "To be sure, to be sure," said Accascia with
a knowing air. "There are ships aplenty, all willing to take you
wherever you might wish to go, milady and sir. But a single word of
warning, if I may make so bold?"
    "Yes?"
    "Stay away from the inn called the Sailor's Delight , on the Street of the Courtesans."
    Val felt Madryn stiffen against him. "And
why might that be," she asked the gatekeeper.
    Accascia laughed. "Why, they'll try to take
your companion away from you, milady," she replied. "Such breadth
of shoulder, such length of arm…why, his like is seldom seen in
freeborn men. And he looks as if he'd make some lady a fine
bedfellow on a cold night. But you would know that better than I, I
vow." This last was uttered with a knowing wink and a wide
leer.
    Madryn laughed, surreptitiously kicking
Val's leg where it touched hers, on the side of Daemon opposite the
gatekeeper. Startled, Val managed a sickly