The Winterstone Plague (The Carrion Cycle) by David Scroggins Read Free Book Online Page A

our door in the middle of supper to speak with my father about a pressing matter. The next thing I know, we were being asked to see him here safely.”
    “It is quite a mess out there,” Alain said as he threw open the door and stepped into the cottage. “Thank the gods we’re all safe and sound now!”
    Snow pushed its way around the blacksmith and into the small sitting room.
    “Hurry and shut the door, father,” Elyna called. “You’re going to put out the fire and it took me almost an hour to get it burning properly!”
    Alain laughed; he turned and shoved against the wind that was threatening to take away their only source of warmth. Once the door was closed, he slammed down a heavy iron latch to lock it into place.
    “I thought I taught you how to start a fire. A blacksmith’s daughter should not need the better part of an hour to warm a single room!”
    “Perhaps if you would have remembered to bring a few dry logs in before you left, it would have been easier for me,” Elyna said.
    “You are mistaken, child. I never forget to bring in fresh logs.”
    She placed both hands on her hips. “You also misplaced the tinderbox.”
    “Well then,” Alain said, running gloved fingers through his long, untamed dark hair. “I will have to do better next time.”
    “I am sorry to interrupt this exchange,” Tomas said, returning from the kitchen with an apple in his hand. “But how are Val and I getting back home in this? Oh, and I hope you don’t mind. I was starving!”
    “Not at all,” Alain said. “And you aren’t going home in this unless you fancy freezing to death. It’ll be much safer if you wait until morning. It won’t be warmer then, but hopefully the storm will have calmed enough for you to find your way back.”
    “Well I’m getting tired,” Tomas said, stretching his arms. “Can you show me to one of your guest rooms?”
    Valthian was surprised at how quickly his brother could adjust to a situation such as this. He was old enough not to be called a child by most, but he regarded being stranded in a winter storm the same way a toddler would regard a sleepover with a schoolhouse friend.
    “I think you’re far too used to luxury, My Lord .”
    Elyna spoke the words playfully, but Tomas still cringed. “I didn’t mean to insult anyone’s—I mean—Look! All I asked for was—”
    “I was only joking,” she laughed. “We have a storeroom that’s plenty big enough for a bedroll. Come; I’ll show you where we keep the linens.”
    Valthian shook his head, trying not to roll his eyes as Tomas followed Elyna through the kitchen and down a short flight of stairs.
    Alain sighed. “I’m glad I decided to have that cellar built when I did. It’s good for extra storage, and can accommodate the rare visitor. You’ll be sleeping down there as well, young one. I trust your family with my life, and I suppose someday you’ll wed my daughter, but we would do well to keep things proper until then. I hope you understand my angle.”
    “Oh,” Valthian answered, blushing. “Of course! I wouldn’t dream of bringing dishonor to your home. I thought you knew better of me!”
    Alain placed a hand on his shoulder. “I do, my boy. I trust your honor. But I also remember what it was like when I was a young man. I would have done anything to steal a few private moments with Elyna’s mother. I even managed to do it once or twice. I don’t think her father ever forgave me!”
    Valthian smiled. “I never got to meet her. From the stories you have told in the past, she seemed like a wonderful woman.”
    “She was,” Alain replied. His smile faded; his stare seemed more distant. “Childbirth was much more dangerous in those days than it is now, even if it still comes with its own set of risks. If only we had a mystic to assist us when Elyna came into the world. But that’s in the past, and now is not the time to think of such things.”
    “I’m sorry,” Valthian said. “I shouldn’t have