Witch King by Martha Wells

Author:Martha Wells
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

TEN

Ziede drew from a small host of wind-devils to keep them moving at speed upriver without exhausting any one of the wild spirits. The bulk of Orintukk was left behind for lush green country where gardens and crops and orchards had once grown, interspersed with thick forests and the occasional rotting docks or stone pilings for long-vanished towns.

When they were still in Orintukk, Ramad, calmly enough, had asked, “Why are we going to the Summer Halls, the most reviled and forbidden place in all the Rising World?”

“We need a finding stone to locate Tahren,” Kai had explained. “There’s one in the Summer Halls.”

Ramad’s grim expression had turned startled and thoughtful, as if that was a far more rational explanation than he could possibly have expected. “I see. In a location that isn’t a trap, that no one will know we’re going to. And a finding stone no one else knows about?”

“The Immortal Blessed know there were finding stones in the Summer Halls.” Ziede studied Ramad critically. She had taken a seat up toward the bow near Kai. Tenes and Sanja were still in the stern, excitedly watching the city flow past. “But it’s certainly not going to be the first spot that leaps to mind.”

“And I know exactly where this one is,” Kai said, and thought, as long as it didn’t float away.

Ramad had nodded slowly. “So it’s worth the risk.”

They hadn’t spoken of it since then. Kai thought Ramad was holding back his questions, trying not to push, trying to appear trustworthy. Or possibly actually being trustworthy. Kai still didn’t know, and the whole thing made him want to groan.

The only way to know was to trust Ramad and then wait for the knife in the back.

Tenes had brought some of the Immortal Blessed ship’s silk blankets, and they used them to fashion a tent in the stern under the awning. The weather was hot now during the day so it was worth it for the extra shade and the occasional need for privacy. Everyone had taken off their coats, and Kai and Ramad had tied their skirts up to keep them out of the water.

The country turned hilly, with the sharp walls of low bluffs on either side of the river. After they had taken their first turn into a canal, they passed a place where a cliff loomed above a pool so round it clearly wasn’t natural, even with the trees and brush that grew all around its banks. The skeleton of a building stood against the striated rock, taller than the cliff itself, with stone pillars still supporting heavy wooden beams. It was overgrown with vines, but it formed an odd shape, like a giant wagon wheel.

Leaning out of the boat, Sanja asked, “What is that big round house?”

Kai was about to say it was probably an old fort, but Ramad pointed to the top of the cliff and said, “This is Lu-draya. There used to be a waterway that led from a lake somewhere across the plateau to a stone basin on this cliff.

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.