Warlords and Wastrels by Julia Knight

Author:Julia Knight
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Fantasy / Historical
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2015-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

“So the prelate has sent extra men?” Scar grinned at the news, twisting her scar in new directions. “Excellent.”

Petri sat at the back of the tiny hut, wreathed in darkness, watching and wondering.

Morro cracked a smile. “Exactly what you wanted, yes. We–you–can show them they were wrong to write off all these men and women.”

Scar’s grin faltered as though she suddenly wasn’t so sure, but it soon came back.

Only this wasn’t what Scar had hoped for once. Now, with Morro clearing the way, making sure no one could track them, things had changed, and so had she. She was worse this last month, seeing obstacles everywhere, questioning Petri constantly about Kass, about his loyalty. Sometimes he thought she was sinking into herself, spiralling inwards at an ever-increasing rate. The rest too. Kepa had begun to mutter to himself; others were acting strangely, and where Petri had been at least friendly with some, and more so with Kepa, now they spoke to him less and less, yet whispered in corners just on the edges of his hearing. No matter how he tried, Petri could never catch Morro using magic on any of them. He never took off his gloves; the smell of cooking blood never tainted the air of the valley except when he used it to melt snow. Just his voice, telling Scar this was what she wanted, what she’d always wanted.

“Just what we wanted. Isn’t it?” Scar said, this time to Petri.

“Yes.” What else to say when she was so excited, so fired up? When Morro sat and smiled at Petri like he was imagining how cutting Petri’s throat would feel.

“God’s cogs, Pet, you could sound more enthusiastic.” Scar waved away her messenger and came to crouch next to him, put a gentle scarred hand on his arm.

Careful, that’s what he had to be. Strong or not, careful was the way to go. And did it matter, if he got what he wanted? He glanced behind Morro to where Maitea stood, wreathed in the shadows that seemed to follow her everywhere. Like her father, Petri thought suddenly, shadowed and unexplained, waiting for the right time. She was holding herself with careful patience until she got whatever it was she wanted. A timely reminder to do the same.

“What next?” he said. “Where next?”

“That’s better. Well, I think we need to deal with this new batch of prelate’s men, don’t you? Show him he made the wrong choice about you.”

The wrong choice–yes. He could feel it all bubbling up now behind what was left of his face. The rails and gears behind the world didn’t rule him; he was going to make his own fate. He was going to be, finally, free–that had been his thought when she’d begun this. He could still do it.

He looked at Morro, at the smug little smile as he watched the two of them. Petri needed to know if what Maitea had told him about Morro was true. Until then he needed no suspicion from either of them.

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.