Death Comes To All (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

from underneath the hood that
she wore.
    She
really had heard me , he realized.
    "I'm
not interested in eating apples," she said, sheathing her
freshly oiled weapon. She stood up and walked a little closer so it
would be easier for her to join the conversation. "There's a
small waterway a few miles ahead. I'll catch us a few fish there.
That's a bit more to my liking. I know that such a meal won't
interest you, but I'm sure Garan will join me."
    She
reached up and pulled back the hood that had, up until that moment,
hid her features from Drom's eyes. Short, tan and black colored fur
covered her entire face in an intricate pattern, with white around
her eyes and the inside of her sharp, pointed ears. Her ears were
black along the backs, with bright white tufts of hair at the very
tips. The black lines continued passed her face to the back of her
head, changing from lines to spots as they progressed, continuing on
until they were obscured by her clothing. His mother had taught him
about this race in her histories, and one of the books she had spoke
briefly of them as well, though he had never expected to see one.
    "You're
a feral!" he exclaimed.
    "Thank
you for noticing," she replied sarcastically. "I don't
think I ever would have known if you hadn't told me. The name is
Raine by the way."
    "I'm
sorry," Drom said sheepishly. He hadn't realized how rude that
must have sounded. "It's just I never thought I would meet a
feral. What little I've read about your race said they all keep to
the jungles on the other side of the world, and don't have much
contact with outsiders."
    "That's
mostly true," she replied. "I'm one of the few to leave the
jungles. I, um, had some disagreements with my elders. They make all
the decisions for our people. In our culture it is thought that the
elders can do no wrong. They are considered the wisest of our people,
simply based on the fact that they have lived longer.
    “ They
were fools, in my opinion. Following them would have had us
worshiping long forgotten gods again and working in stone instead of
steel. Our people would have regressed as a culture, simply on the
belief that tradition was more important than progress. Don't
misunderstand me, I agree that traditions are important. Knowing our
past allows us to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors. Our past
traditions make up an important part of our culture. Who we were
helps us to define who we are, and allows us to consider who we
should become. However, it shouldn't mean that we should go back to
old ways that were discarded once before, with good reason.
    “ Our
elders wanted to go back to those ways, simply because they were
unable to look forward. I couldn't do that. In the end they agreed
that it would probably be best for everyone if I were to leave."
    "Wait
a minute," Garan interrupted, looking at Drom. "Did you
just say you can read?"
    "My
mother taught me since I was young," Drom answered. "I was
never very good at it, at least not as good as my mother would have
wanted me to be, but I know my letters and can read most words
passably enough."
    Garan
looked thoughtful for a moment. "Can you read me this letter?"
He asked, handing a small note to Drom. He looked over the note.
    "Two
thousand gold pieces for removal of Brill Darkheart, trog guard in
Port Dayton. likely to frequent...."
    "OK,
that should be enough," Garan said quickly, taking back the
note. "I'm impressed. There are not many men who can read or
write. You should have no trouble finding work in any port you want
to visit. Merchants would pay good money for a worker who can both
handle the heavy labor and read the ledgers."
    "Did
you really get paid two thousand gold pieces for killing that trog?"
Drom asked, fascinated. "I've never heard of anyone making that
sort of money at anything. My father would be lucky to make five
hundred gold for his entire season, and most of that would go to
paying the workers. Do you think maybe I could learn to be an
assassin?"
    Garan
gave