Conan The Defender by Robert Jordan

Author:Robert Jordan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Conan (Fictitious character), General, Epic
ISBN: 9780765350626
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Published: 2009-09-29T17:07:32.298000+00:00

"Erlik take you," Conan muttered. "I wanted you alive."

Wiping his blade on Taras' tunic, he returned the sword to its scabbard, thinking furiously all the while.The man was condemned out of his own mouth of duping the young rebels. Yet he had had that meetingwith two who, by their clothing and bearing, were men of wealth and position. He had to assume that thatmeeting had a related purpose, and that someone did indeed intend to move against Garian, using Arianeand the rest as tools. And tools had a way of being broken and discarded once their use was done.

As Conan tugged his dagger from the crossbowman's throat, the door suddenly swung open. Hecrouched, dagger at the ready, and found himself staring across the corpse at Ariane and Graecus.

The stocky sculptor seemed to turn to stone as his bulging eyes swept the carnage. Ariane met Conan'sgaze with a look of infinite sadness.

"I did not think Taras had the right to exclude us from this meeting," she said slowly. "I thought we shouldbe here, to speak up for you, to...." Her words trailed off in a weary sigh.

"They intended my death, Ariane," Conan said.

She glanced from the shattered skylight franc on tile floor toy tile opening in the roof. "Which of themleapt from above, Conan? It seems clear that one entered that way. To kill. I wondered so when youarmored yourself and would not tell me why. Wondered, and prayed I was wrong."

Why did the fool girl have to take everything wrongly, he thought angrily. "I listened at the skylight,Ariane, and entered that way. After I heard them speak of slaying me. Think you they had cockedcrossbows to slay rats?" She looked at him, levelly but with eyes lacking hope or life. He drew a deepbreath. "Hear me, Ariane. This man Taras has hired no armed men to aid your rebellion. I heard him saythis. You must-"

"You killed them!" Graecus suddenly shouted. The stocky man's face was flushed, and he panted as iffrom great exertion. "It is as Stephano feared. Did you kill him also, and Leucas? Mean you to slay usall? You will not! You cannot! There are hundreds of us! We will slay you first!" Suddenly he glanceddown the hall toward the stairs, and with a shrill cry dashed in the other direction. Ariane did not move.

Hordo appeared in the doorway, gazing briefly after the fleeing sculptor.

His lone eye took in the bodies. "I returned to the Thestis in time to hear the girl and the other speak offollowing you. It looks well that I decided to follow them in turn."

Ariane stirred. "Will you murder me now, too, Conan?"

The Cimmerian rounded on her angrily. "Do you not know me well enough by now to know I would notharm you?"

"I thought I did," she said hollowly. Her eyes traveled from one corpse to the next, and she laughedhysterically. "I know nothing of you. Nothing!" Conan reached for her, but she shied away from his bighand. "I cannot fight you," she whispered, "but an you touch me, my dagger can yet seek my own heart.

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.