Trail of Fate by Michael Spradlin Read Free Book Online Page A

Channel, and get a ship there. It will take him time to search this part of the coast. If we head inland, we can get a head start on him.”
    â€œDo you have any idea how long it will take?” Robard snorted. “Weeks, at least! Months even! Not to mention your friend the High Counsel will also be looking for you when he finds out you lied to him. What do you intend to do about him?”
    â€œI intend to hurry.” I knelt down, shaking out my blanket and rolling it up. It had been soaked in salt water, and as it dried, had grown stiff, but it still looped over my shoulder easily enough.
    â€œMaryam,” I said. “I would like you to come with us. If we can get to London, the Master will make arrangements for you to return to your home on a Templar ship. If you wish to try to find your way alone, I understand.”
    Maryam looked at me for several seconds. Her face was impassive at first, then changed, and for a brief instant doubt flashed across her features. She didn’t believe me. She knew I hadn’t told either of them the truth, but didn’t challenge me. Since we had first met her, Maryam had argued with Robard repeatedly, but she took me at my word. I wondered why, but had no time to think about it.
    After putting the fire out, we were ready to leave. I was hungry and hoped we could find something along the way. Berries or nuts or maybe Robard could shoot some game.
    I waited while Maryam washed her face and hands in the stream. She stood looking at me and nodded. She was ready. “All right, Tristan. If you think this is the best approach, I’ll go with you.”
    Robard still stood quietly. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
    â€œSo are you coming with us?” I asked.
    Robard looked out at the sea for a second, then at me. “No,” he said. “This is good-bye.”

8
    M aryam looked stricken.
    â€œWhat? Robard, you can’t be serious!” she said.
    Robard shook his head as he slung the wallet onto his back and fiddled with the bow’s string.
    â€œI’m sorry, Maryam, but I can’t. I have duties at home, responsibilities to my father and family. The longer I delay, the greater their burden,” he said. Robard sounded sad when he spoke of his family, and for the first time since I’d met him, I realized how much he missed them. I was already guilty of delaying his return. Yet I still needed him.
    â€œRobard, I understand, but you musn’t . . .”
    Robard held up his hand, shaking his head.
    â€œNo, Tristan. Not this time. You are my friend. Aside from being thrown in jail, shot at by crossbows, shipwrecked and wrestling with a large Frenchman, I have enjoyed your company. I even appreciate your sense of duty. But I cannot wait any longer. And if I do, you’ll talk me into something again, and before I know it, I’ll be hiking through the French countryside dodging who knows whom or what. This is what I need to do.”
    My shoulders slumped. I wished to tell him the truth and almost did. It was there, right on the tip of my tongue. I would gladly reveal all of my secrets to both of them. But I could not. And I could not deny Robard this.
    I stood up straight and held out my hand, and he shook it.
    â€œI owe you much, my friend,” I said.
    â€œTry to stay out of trouble,” he said. He looked at Maryam and his face softened.
    â€œGood-bye, Maryam. I have enjoyed . . .”
    â€œWhat are you going to do? How are you going to find a way home? Tristan, will you try to talk some sense into him?” She stormed off a few paces and glared at both of us.
    Maryam’s reaction confused me. She had done nothing but argue with Robard from the first and now she expected me to persuade him to stay? I had grown up in a monastery, without women. Was this how women acted all the time? They said one thing, yet did another. If so, I now understood the monks a little better.
    â€œHis mind is made up,