02 Stormlord Rising by Glenda Larke

Author:Glenda Larke
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Magic, Deserts, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Water, Fantasy, General, Epic, FIC009000
ISBN: 9780316075916
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2010-07-31T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Scarpen Quarter

Caravanner route and Pahntuk Caravansary

Something was sparkling up ahead. Little twinkles of light, pinpricks in the still harsh light of a desert day just coming to a close.

“Alabasters,” Sardi said with certainty, shading his eyes as he stared down the track. He was older than Terelle, but his youthful enthusiasm made him seem younger, at least to her. She’d shared his mount all the way from Samphire to the Scarpen, and sometimes she tired of his overt exuberance. Still, it was hard not to like Sardi.

She looked down at her clothing, a borrowed Alabaster robe. As they rode, the mirrors flashed irritatingly. “I’m sure you’re right,” she agreed. “But where are they coming from?”

“The Bastion sent out spies to Pahntuk Caravansary as soon as the messages arrived. Just to check if it was a trap. They’ll be coming to tell us what they found.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t surprised; when she had met the Bastion she’d come away with the impression that he was an astute old man, not given to making impetuous decisions. Inwardly she sighed, remembering the city and the many questions she had that had never been answered. If she had formed any opinion of Alabasters, it was that they were secretive.

The Bastion had passed on the latest news Samphire had received, though, messages from the Scarpen via the Gibber. Breccia had fallen to the Reduners. Cloudmaster Granthon was dead. The new stormlord, Jasper Bloodstone, was now in Scarcleft. Other than that, they had not been able to tell her much about what was happening elsewhere, and they had been secretive about their own affairs. There is so much I need to tell Shale, so much I want to ask.

Sardi twisted in the saddle to grin at her. “Oh, good! Father has given the signal to stop for the day. There’s a caravansary up ahead!”

A little later she was gratefully slipping off the pede and helping to set up camp outside the caravansary walls. There were pedes to clean and water, cooking to be done, mounts to be hobbled and set free to graze, water to be fetched. She was only halfway through her normal chores when Messenjer called her into the caravansary to meet one of the men who had ridden in from Pahntuk.

The man who rose from one of the daub benches in the public room was a tall, thin, middle-aged Alabaster with kindly eyes. “This is Feroze Khorash,” Messenjer said. “A special envoy of the Bastion. He’d like to talk to you.”

The name seemed familiar, although she couldn’t think where she might have heard it. After they’d exchanged greetings, Messenjer left and for a moment there was an awkward silence until Terelle asked, “The stormlord who sent the cloud messages—is he in Pahntuk?”

“No. Just his army. Men and women from all over the Scarpen and some Gibber folk, too. They are being trained by some of the rainlords under Lord Iani Potch.”

Her heart pitched, leaving a sick feeling behind. Oh, Shale, when do I

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.