Haydn of Mars Read Online Free PDF

to himself.   In the morning he will awake and find his wine nearby.   It is what he would want.   Ever since his son was killed he has been like this.”
    I started to protest in a louder voice, but Jamie gently but firmly forced me to lower the vintner’s head back into the thick nest of his waiting paws.
    Xarr snorted once, and then settled into a rough sleep suffused with loud snores.
    â€œAs I said, it is what he would want,” Jamie said, walking away.
    I caught up with him, and the two of us proceeded to the edge of the bluff.   Something dark stirred nearby, and my breath caught in my throat until I realized that it was a figure, a guard stationed nearby wrapped in a cloak against the night’s chill.   Jamie gave greeting, and was answered by a grunt, and we moved farther away.   I could see another guard huddled like a rock not far away on the other side.
    The new night was clear and cold, the pink of twilight fading like gauze on the western horizon into purple and then, higher, harsh black.   Stars dappled the sky, pale above the pink sunset and then sharp as knife points overhead.   With a pang I remembered such nights, and standing thus with my husband, at my home at Wells.   If such times had not been filled with love, they had at least been suffused with warm affection.
    â€œI am missing Kaylan at this moment,” I said.
    â€œNot Kerl?” Jamie said, almost slyly.   His transformation from young, waiting page to something more had become complete.   I wondered what other secrets he harbored...
    â€œI will not speak of that,” I said.   “What I will do is ask you if my presence here is a danger.”
    He laughed without humor.   “A danger?   We are in mortal danger each second we spend in this place.   Those hills out there, the rim of that crater” – he stretched his paw out and swept it broadly from left to right – “is suffused with our troops and those loyal to you.   There will be a great battle here within the week that will transform our planet and perhaps seal its fate.”   He turned and looked grimly at me.   “Danger?   I would say it is complete.”
    â€œWhat have I done to bring this on?”
    â€œNothing,” he said.   “It was inevitable.   But, when it is over, you will be a great Queen.”   His tone was almost obescient.
    â€œApparently for the moment I am to be a figurehead, nothing more.”                
    His gaze was on the distant hills, the invisible army.   “You are astute, and so is Xarr, in his own way.   This is the how it must be.   You are much too valuable to lead an army–”
    â€œEnough!”
    He shook his head.   “It has already been decided.”
    â€œA figurehead...”
    â€œYes.”
    I sighed.   “Then I must change their minds.”
    Another humorless laugh.   “Tomorrow morning at dawn you will be back in Xarr’s wine cask on wheels and heading farther north, toward the equator.   We have safe stops all along the way.   If Xarr doesn’t drink his own supply dry before we get there, you will be out of harm’s way.   And, if all goes well, soon you will be on the throne.”
    â€œWhat if I refuse to go?”
    His laugh was even drier.   “You have no choice.”
    â€œDid you lose anyone in Wells, Jamie?”
    He turned to look at me, his eyes widening slightly.   “You are astute.   Much more so than I ever saw you on the floor of the assembly.”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œMy sister, my mother.   Frane made sure I knew about it, only because of my closeness to you.”
    â€œI’m so sorry.”
    â€œYes.”   He turned to stare at the horizon again.
    â€œIf I had only known...”
    He was silent.
    â€œDo you know why my husband, Kaylan, was killed,