A God in Chains by Matthew Hughes

Author:Matthew Hughes
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: fantasy, dying earth, Archonate, magic, supernatural, suspense, abduction, kidnapping, speculative fiction, action adventure, award winning author, good reads author, indie author, indie authors, indie publisher, book, books, story books, novel, fiction book, paper back, e-Book, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBook, itunes, google PLAY, amazon, ipad
Publisher: EDGE-Lite
Published: 2019-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

Part 2

Goladry speaks

He was almost certainly Kain Minderlanz, the Butcher of Drieff, who later served the wizard Malbroch the Omnifacient. I had gotten used to calling him Farouche, for all that he was probably the least romantic fellow ever to bear that storied name. And I was content to be addressed as Goladry, though I was far from innocent of our ancient world’s sins and iniquities. And not anyone’s definition of young, to boot, though I had been born fully grown.

When he came down the Regal Swan’s gangplank, his ditty bag over his shoulder, I was watching from the upper deck. When he looked about and chose a bearing, I hurried down the companionway and took up my usual station, several paces behind. By habit and the result of long training, I kept a partial eye on his progress toward one of the gates that pierced the river wall of the city of Vanderoy, but paid more attention to the people he passed. None of them took any unusual interest in Farouche’s passage and no one began to follow him.

The gate guards knew him from the time he’d brought them a pair of criminals who’d been part of a fleecing ring operating on the packet boat. They let him pass without comment and took no more than a cursory appraisal of me. I was prepared to show my credentials as a Chadroyds operative — the firm had accreditation with the Vanderoy City Watch — but I was judged as harmless and waved through the gate.

Past the river wall and the warehouses just within its precincts, the streets trended upward. Farouche chose a wide thoroughfare and began to climb. A few intersections on, he turned onto Fitcherence Parade, a street of tall houses, his gaze watching for placards on porches or in windows. He saw one that caused him to halt and stood on the boardwalk taking a long, evaluating look at the place. Then he climbed the front steps and pulled on the bell rope.

A woman of mature years, almost as wide as she was short, answered. They exchanged a few words then Farouche stepped inside. I loitered not far away, sitting on a low fence that separated the front yard of a house across the way from the boardwalk. Not long after, the door of the boarding house opened and my charge came down the steps. He saw me at once and crossed the street.

“I don’t need a bodyguard,” he said, “and I doubt Bernaglio will pay your employer’s fee anymore.”

I showed him that the matter did not bother me and said, “I have left Chadroyds. I have adequate funds for a spell of unemployment. I thought I might continue to pursue my interest in your case on a voluntary basis.”

“You have an interest in my ‘case,’ do you?” He cocked his head and studied me. “And what would that be?”

I shrugged again. “I can’t abide mysteries. I have to solve them. As you may recall, it’s my major character flaw.

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