Fable: The Balverine Order (Fable) Read Online Free PDF Page A

it that day, fighting the balverine. Fighting to save my life because I’d been stupid enough to go into the woods at night on a dare. He dropped it, and it fell near me, and the balverine gutted him, James. It gutted him. I saw the insides of my brother spilled out upon the ground like a spilled plate of noodles, and then the creature came at me. It grabbed me and roared at me, and I faced death at the hands of something that seemed like it stepped right out of one of my books. And it didn’t realize that I had grabbed up the fallen knife just before it took me, and I drove this knife”—and he jabbed it forward—“right into its eye. Right into the damned thing’s eye, James, and it dropped me and grabbed at its face, blood pouring down, and I ran. I ran and I felt like every step I took, at any point, the thing would leap upon me from the darkness and drive me to the ground and finish the job. If I hadn’t been such a damned coward—”
    â€œCoward!” James could scarcely believe it. “Thomas, you were a child! Nothing but a child! You’re beating yourself up because you didn’t press a momentary advantage that, if you had, would have ended with there being two corpses in the woods instead of one that night? That’s as ridiculous as . . . as—”
    â€œAs balverines being real?”
    James shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “It could have been a normal wolf.”
    â€œBut it wasn’t.”
    â€œBut it could have been . . .”
    â€œBut it wasn’t ! Come on, James, you sound like my father!”
    â€œYou don’t have to be insulting,” James said defensively.
    â€œDo you seriously think that I couldn’t tell the difference between a normal, mangy wolf and a creature from hell?”
    â€œI think it was dark, and you were young and terrified, and your mind might have built it up to become something torn from the pages of your books.”
    â€œThat it might have.”
    â€œYes,” said James. “Because it might also have been exactly what you say. I mean, I heard rumors . . .”
    â€œRumors from the huntsmen who found my brother’s body,” Thomas said, nodding. “That there were footprints far bigger than any wolf’s. I heard them, too. But they were shouted down”—and his voice was rife with sarcasm—“by those who knew so much better about such things. You ask me, they were warned against the prospect of hurting our city’s precious economy by possibly starting a panic.”
    â€œThat’s entirely possible.”
    Thomas looked down as if his feet had suddenly become of tremendous interest to him. “At least once a week, sometimes more, the thing stalks my dreams, James. I’ve tried to read up on them, gone through all my books, learn everything I can. But I haven’t found much beyond references to other volumes that I haven’t been able to acquire. Sometimes I think the books that the legends are referencing are also legendary. The more knowledge I have, the more I’m prepared . . .”
    â€œPrepared for what, Thomas? What in the world are you preparing for?”
    At that, Thomas chuckled softly. “I don’t know, James. But when I see it, I’m sure I’ll . . .” Then his voice trailed off, and his nostrils flared, confusion crossing his face. “Do you smell something?”
    â€œSmell something? No, why? What do you—?” Then he stopped, detecting it as well. “Wait, yes. Something . . . burning, I think. The house!” And his voice rose in alarm. “The house is on fire—!”
    â€œNo, it’s coming from outside. Why would . . . ?”
    Then his jaw dropped, his eyes widening, and he bolted from the room before James could determine what in the world was happening. James sprinted after him, but Thomas had already covered the stairs and was out the door and