Dragonmaster Read Online Free PDF Page B

crimson face.
    “She has an eye for you, I think,” Hhana remarked afterthe maid had gone on to serve some others. The words were muffled by an enormous mouthful of bread and meat.
    “You promised not to talk,” Norl said.
    They set to their work in the stable with a will, their bellies comfortably full. There were several horses in stalls along the walls. The beasts snorted and stamped their feet as Norl and Hhana worked, but they were not threatening. Norl found himself breathing in the warm, animal smell of them. It was not unpleasant. He stopped to put a hand to the soft muzzle of one tall, brown horse. The horse snuffled into his hand and Norl wished he had something to give it to eat.
    “There are some apples on the ground under a tree in the stable yard,” Hhana said, seeming to read his mind again. “I’ll fetch some for the horses.”
    She darted out and came back with an armful.
    “Hold your hand flat when you’re feeding them,” she commanded.
    Norl did as she ordered. The brown horse nipped the fruit off the palm of his hand delicately. Norl flinched, then laughed, brushing his hands off on his leggings. “How is it you know so much about feeding horses?” he asked.
    “Oh, there were often horses in my village,” she said. “I liked to share apples with them when I could.”
    “Gudruna’s apples, I warrant?” Norl asked.
    “Of course,” Hhana replied.
    Hhana and Norl worked together in silence. Finally, they were finished. Every horse in the stable had been watered, brushed down and fed, and the stalls had been thoroughly mucked out, with fresh straw replacing the soiled. Only then did they turn to the business of making a place for themselves for the night. Norl chose a corner where the winds did not winkle in, and spread his cloak over a bed of fresh, sweet-smelling straw. He threw himself down and motioned for Hhana to sit beside him.
    “Not exactly a bed,” he said, “but comfortable enough, and warm.”
    “Better than under the trees,” Hhana agreed. “Especially in the rain.”
    Norl had been thinking hard while they worked. For several moments they sat in silence, resting. Finally he spoke. “I think we should talk,” he said.
    Hhana looked up at him. She began to say something, but Norl stopped her with a quick motion of his hand.
    “No, I meant I should talk. Not you. Not yet, anyway. When I have finished I will hear what you have to say. It may well be that you will want to leave me when I am finished and go back to where you came from. It might be less dangerous for you.”
    Hhana made as if to interrupt, but again he waved her silent.
    “I must tell you where I go and why,” he said. “You should know that.”
    Hhana closed her mouth, but with obvious difficulty.
    Norl drew another breath.
    “Three years ago, when I was not much older than you must be,” he began, ”I lived with my mother in a small village not too very far from here.” He stopped for a moment as if considering what to say next, then continued. “Her name was Mavahn. But she was not really my mother. I had been given into her care for safe-keeping. I come from…” He hesitated. “A very faraway place,” he finished.
    Hhana seemed almost bursting with the need to ask questions, but to Norl’s relief, she did not. Her eyes were riveted onto his face. Norl passed a hand over his own eyes to shield them. He could almost feel a current, thrumming and heavy, stretching from the girl to himself. He shook himself to break it, then went on, but without meeting Hhana’s eyes again.
    “When our king, Dahl, was young, he was forced to fight another who had usurped his throne. He won the battle, with the help of Catryn, who is now Seer of Taun, but it was at a great cost. Then, when all supposed that Taun would remain in peace, the evil that had placed the Usurper on Taun’s throne rose again. Dahl and Catryn were forced to set out to meet it and defeat it yet once more. On their way they found me. I do