Old Wounds by Ren Hamilton

Author:Ren Hamilton [Hamilton, Ren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

The dawn brought bird song, soft light beaming through the window, illuminating the curls of the three brothers, who sat cross legged on the floor. Juris watched Margol and Klee, their faces ripe with shock from what he’d told them. Though they all throbbed with grief and confusion, there was something comforting about being back at Shep’s house in Boston. He’d never admit it to his beloved brother, but Juris hated the confines of their home in the mountain. He’d been assigned to supervise the beer brewing, and hadn’t been able to go out as much as the others. He liked being back in Boston, among the thrumming life of this world.

“Do you think it’s true?” Klee asked softly, all of them keenly aware that their brother, Shep, was finally asleep after a night of sobbing. “Maybe it’s all just a lie to deceive us. Maybe the Schlarr is in on it.”

“I can’t feel him,” Margol said. “If Allisto had been sent back to this world, I would feel him.”

“I don’t feel him either,” Juris said. He sighed, a human gesture he’d involuntarily picked up. Leaning his back against his bed, he looked at his brothers. “Shep was quick on his feet with the Schlarr, suggesting they send Allisto here, so we can at least determine what the truth is. But if they are sending him here, it hasn’t happened yet. We would all feel his presence.”

“Then maybe it’s not true,” Klee said in a teary voice. “It hurts enough not having him here. I cannot believe he’d...he’d...”

“Try to kill us all?” Margol said snidely.

“Do not say that,” Klee said, then fell apart weeping. “Allisto would never.”

Juris reached for Klee and pulled him into his arms. “Don’t cry. If Allisto is still alive, and even if he did this thing, I’m sure there is a reason.”

“What reason?” Margol asked, his green eyes hard and unyielding. “What reason could there be to order our assassination? There’s no forgiving it.”

“Margol,” Juris said sternly. “Do we not owe him the opportunity to explain? What if he was deceived? The Schlarr said he was tortured. Punished. And that now he is mad and not thinking with clarity. Perhaps something messed with his mind. We don’t know. He deserves a chance to be heard. He is still our brother.”

“And how does Zirub feel about it?” Margol asked.

Juris patted Klee’s back as his weeping subsided. “He’s as confused as any of us. He doesn’t want to believe this. None of us do. We suffered enough when we lost Allisto. If this is all some deceit, then those that would give it are pigs for striking us in this wound.”

“But I miss Allisto,” Klee said. “If there’s a chance he’s coming back to us...”

“There’s a chance he tried to kill us,” Margol said stonily. “There’s a chance he’ll try to kill us still.”

“Where would he come through?” Juris said. “The Cripulet has been destroyed.”

“If the Schlarr are involved, they have connections that go high,” Margol said. “They could make it happen, anywhere, any time.

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.