Warrior of Llarn (Llarn cycle 1 by Gardner Francis Fox

Author:Gardner Francis Fox [Fox, Gardner Francis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gardner Francis Fox Library
Published: 2017-03-21T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

ULAZZA watched with wide eyes as I corrected my controls, moving the flier a few degrees north by northwest. I knew she wondered at my change of heart but she said nothing, only settling down on the to a more comfortable position beside me, cupping her chin on her hands and staring straight ahead as though expecting to see Azorra lift from the grasses at any moment. Her silence gave me time to think about Tuarra.

I had no way of knowing Llarnian marriage customs, but I assumed that Gorlun Duv would be as eager a bridegroom as any man back on Earth; besides, he was marrying Tuarra not for love but for reasons of politics.

He would not let himself be put off very long. Soon, very soon, Tuarra would become queen of Karthol. And out of my reach forever!

“You think glum thoughts,” Ulazza said gently. She had turned her head and was resting her cheek on the back of a hand as she regarded me. I did not like what I could read in the depths of her black eyes. They were not threatening. On the contrary, they seemed quite friendly. I told her about Tuarra being the prisoner of Gorlun Duv, and how he intended to marry her. Ulazza laughed when I finished.

“You rescued her from us only to give her to your rival. It's ironic, isn't it?” She hesitated, then added, “The sun of Llarn does not rise and set on Tuarra of Kharthol alone. There are other women on Llarn.”

She managed to preen lying flat on her stomach on the cramped deck of the little flier, patting her black hair with her fingertips, letting me see the languid droop of her red mouth and long eyelashes. She was a beautiful woman and the extremely pale blue tint of her skin gave her an exotic loveliness that was not lost on me.

But I happened to love Tuarra. I would have told her so except that I saw the pink and red and brown stones of Azorra lift from the undulating hills that were its homeland. It was a brilliant sight in the sunlight, and I felt as one of the mariners of the planet's ancient past might have when he sighted it from his topmast. To him it had been a stopover between anchorings, and no more than a port of call. It might turn out to be my grave. I said, as I dropped the little craft half a mile from the great gate, "Remember your promise of safe conduct, Ulazza."

"No harm shall come to Alan Morgan in Azorra,” she exclaimed proudly.

Half a hundred dral riders burst from the opening gate toward us, brandishing their weapons. They had seen the color of my skin and took me for an enemy. When Ulazza rose and let drop her silks to show her pale blue body, their cries turned to curious stares. They reined their striped mounts in and came forward at a canter.

When they recognized Ulazza, they stopped and stared.

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.