WindSeeker by Charlotte Boyett-Compo Read Free Book Online Page B

forever!"
    "I told you I could try to separate her from Conar, Your Grace, but with all the threats you’ve made
    against him after the Joining, she has stayed protectively by his side. Together, they are invincible. What is
    it you think I can do?"
    Galen bounded from his chair and grabbed the front of Jah-Ma-El’s filthy robe. "Conjure up something
    she will not suspect. Not something aimed at her, but aimed at that sorry brother of mine. Set it on
    Conar! Do you hear? Set the demon on Conar! Let him suffer as I am suffering!"
    Jah-Ma-El’s face turned white. "I will not injure my brother."
    Galen’s eyes nearly bulged from his red face. "Your brother? Your brother?" He struck Jah-Ma-El
    across the mouth, staggering the thin, lanky man and making him crumble to the floor in a heap. "Slime
    from my father’s prick! You have no relation to this family, filthy bastard!"
    Jah-Ma-El looked up, his torn mouth set and hard even though his eyes were afraid and his lips
    trembled. "I will do no harm to Conar," he repeated, his chin rising. "No matter what you do to me, I will
    never harm Conar."
    With his face a mottled splash of rage, Galen bent over and put his face close to Jah-Ma-El’s pinched
    one. "The Master wants him, Jah-Ma-El. You and I both know why. He has entrusted me to see this
    done and, in the doing, has agreed to let me have Liza. He, himself, dares not interfere, for he would be
    the first one Conar would suspect."
    "Conar will know who’s behind this anyway. Does the Master actually believe Conar will not know?"
    Jah-Ma-El cringed as Galen drew back his hand to hit him, but the blow never came. Instead, Galen
    stared down at him.
    "The Master’s actions are his own. He has reason to stay out of this. It is up to you to bring Conar to
    him. If he can not be brought to heel, the Master will have him slain."
    All color drained from Jah-Ma-El’s face. "He would not do that."
    A hateful smirk settled over Galen’s face. "If you don’t find a way to take her from him, Conar will die,
    Jah-Ma-El. I have already given the orders to my man inside Boreas. He has a deadly poison that can
    easily be added to Conar’s wine." A slow, evil smile spread over Galen’s lips. "A poison that is
    undetectable, untraceable. Conar will never know what he has ingested until he hears the wings of the
    Gatherer coming for him!"
    Up until now there was never any serious intent to harm Conar, for Galen had set into motion mostly
    threat and talk against his twin. Jah-Ma-El did not think the man actually wanted Conar’s death; but love,
    such an all-consuming love as the one Galen had for Liza, might cause a man to do things he would not
    ordinarily do. Looking into Galen’s obsessed eyes, Jah-Ma-El thought him quite capable of fratricide.
    Galen wanted the crown, claiming it as his birthright, and that, combined with the dislike Galen had
    always harbored for Conar, and which had now turned to bitter hatred, might well mean that Conar’s life
    did, indeed, hang in the balance. Jah-Ma-El could not take the chance that Galen was bluffing.
    Galen stared at the man hovering at his feet and knew the precise moment Jah-Ma-El took his threat
    seriously. That it was only a threat, that Galen could never bring himself to kill Conar, Jah-Ma-El could
    not suspect. If things were to be accomplished on time, Jah-Ma-El had to believe that Conar was in
    mortal danger.
    "I see you believe me," Galen whispered.
    Jah-Ma-El lowered his head. "What is it you want me to do?"
    "If she is concerned with his safety, she will be less concerned with her own." He glanced at a portrait
    hanging over the mantle, turning his head to the side to study the twin boys who flanked their mother. It
    was the day of their third birthday and it had been a happy time for Galen. Conar had given him a present
    that Galen still had: an arrowhead of solid amethyst. It was the only material thing Galen McGregor had
    ever held dear. It hung on a silver chain around his