WINDREAPER by Charlotte Boyett-Compo Read Free Book Online Page A

morning light,
We'll keep you safe from the bounty hunter's sight.
    He robs from the rich and he gives to the poor,
Gold taken from the local treasury.
For those who betray us, he has a cure:
His blade will cut out the treachery, the treachery;
His blade will cut out the treachery.
    By the wagon load, the ladies he does save,
The orphans he clothes and feeds.
He sees to the old and he frees the enslaved,
He knows what his countrymen need, what they need,
He knows what his countrymen need.
    Ride, Darkwind, ride, the Wind Force at your side,
Your whereabouts, we will hide.
Ride on through the night, past the morning light,
We'll keep you safe from the bounty hunter's sight.
    There are men at his side who guard his back,
Men as deadly as Darkwind's blade.
Their swords are sharp, their daggers black,
And many a corpse have they made, have they made;
And many a corpse have they made.
    So when the night is dark and the wind, it does howl,
When the thunder of hooves shakes the ground.
You'll know Lord Darkwind's on the prowl,
Traitors' souls are being sent hellbound, hellbound;
Traitors' souls are being sent hellbound.
    Ride, Darkwind, ride, the Wind Force at your side,
Your whereabouts, we will hide.
Ride on through the night, past the morning light,
We'll keep you safe from the bounty hunter's sight.
We'll keep you safe from the bounty hunter's sight."

Chapter 7
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Roget sat back in his chair, one booted ankle crossed over the other, and intently regarded his friend. Only an hour earlier, a messenger had come from Brelan, carrying a rolled parchment to be given directly to the Darkwind and no one else. Now, sitting in the common room of the nearly deserted Hound and Stag tavern, Conar had just finished reading it. There was a heavy frown on his face.
    "I take it Brelan got into the keep all right," Roget commented. "Is an answer expected?"
    Conar nodded, but didn't answer.
    "Do you want me to have the messenger brought?"
    Again the distracted nod.
    "Put on your mask."
    Roget waited until Conar was ready, then got up, opened the tavern door, and called for the outside guards to let the man in. Standing aside as one of Legion's personal men entered, Roget closed the door and placed his back against it.
    "When is this to take place?" Conar asked, not bothering to look at the messenger.
    "At the cresting of the moon, Lord Darkwind."
    Conar's dark sapphire orbs shot up to impale the messenger. He was sitting by the fireplace, wearing his black tunic, black leather breeches and boots, and the wide gauntlets around his capable-looking wrists, which still revealed the tattoo on the back of his sword hand. But what seemed to intrigue the messenger the most was Conar's black criss-crossed silk mask that hid all but his eyes from view.
    "I assume Brelan Saur trusts you or you wouldn't have known the password to get by my men or how to find me. Are you one with us?" He held up one hand. "Be careful how you answer. I will know whether you lie." His rasping voice came huskily from behind the mask.
    "My heart is open for you to see, Milord. I am as loyal as a man can be to you and the cause. You have no reason to doubt me. My cousin is one of your own. Storm Jale. I saw him outside. I would have recognized him even without that ratty beard." The man smiled, but the smile wavered, died as the midnight blue gaze regarded him steadily. He looked away from that keen probe. "I am Marsh Edan, Master-at-Arms at Boreas."
    "I know who you are," came the grating reply.
    "Then you know I can be trusted."
    "It would appear so. If I find you false, Storm will be minus one family member." Conar turned the parchment in his hands and began to re-roll it.
    "Is there an answer, Milord?"
    "I will think on it. Stay the night with Storm and get reacquainted. I'll let you know by morning what my answer will be." It was a dismissal and Marsh took it as such, leaving the room with haste.
    "What's in the note?" Roget asked as he locked the door behind Marsh.
    "A