Man Who Should be King Read Online Free PDF Page B

surprised look on his face. Before he could speak,
Syranna lifted her right hand. With her fingers barely touching his skin, she
ran them down his face. A moment later, he slumped into complete
unconsciousness.
    She saddled her horse quickly and was riding to the gate
within a few minutes. The guards had not been told to stop anyone from leaving
because Marcus had never considered that she would be able to even get out of
her room.
    * * * * *
    Syranna rode through the night, and as dawn came, she had
reached one of the major exit cities on Vikalla. It didn’t take long for her to
arrive at the transfer station and book passage for herself and her steed.
Paying for the transfer used the last of her exchanges. Once she got back to
Kalledane, she doubted that she would be leaving ever again. The exchanges
she’d used had belonged to Sir Ralus, and those had been left from when he had
first brought Syranna to Kalledane.
    She waited tensely over the next hour, until finally the
old-style, yet totally modern air-ship rose from the ground and began its long
journey, which would eventually return her to Kalledane. Traveling home,
Syranna was intensely aware that the other people on board were probably
vacationers coming to Kalledane for a brief time. The number of travelers was
proof that the war had ended and interplanetary transfers had been restored.
    The ship they were traveling on was fashioned after one used
by their ancestors to travel the seas to distant shores and was considered just
another part of the Kalledane experience for visitors. Syranna had noticed how
popular it was becoming for people from the sister moon, Kallas,
to visit now that the war had ended.
    All three planets’ forbearers had chosen which aspects of
modern life to use and which to ignore. The differences of old traditions and
new scientific advances on the three planets were most obvious on Kalledane,
where the people lived much simpler lives, choosing health and safely proven
developments over those advancements that were strictly for pleasure alone.
Simple, loose clothing was worn by most, except those who worked within the
transit system. Some people still embraced the advanced technologies, but most
were drifting back into simpler lifestyles.
    By far Kalledane, of the three worlds, was the most gadget
and technology free. People traveled here to see how they and their ancestors
had once lived, and quite often many would begin making plans to retire on
Kalledane. Of course, while all of this was true of Kalledane, it was most
certainly not true of Mystonia. Rarely did strangers venture into the
mist-laden, myth-shrouded land.
    Since the ship was small, the other travelers had soon begun
questioning one another’s destinations, usually volunteering where they were
from as well. Syranna had been brought up by her grandfather to always be
polite. Aware of her fellow shipmates waiting for her reply, Syranna finally
murmured her answer.
    “I’m returning to my home, Mystonia.”
    The young boy traveling with his parents was too young to
observe proper rules of etiquette. He got out of his seat and crossed to stare
at Syranna.
    “Wow! Do they really have dragons and wizards?” he
questioned guilelessly and with wide-eyed wonder.
    His mother had quickly followed him, anticipating trouble,
but not able to stop it. “I’m so sorry.”
    Syranna looked into the other woman’s eyes. “It’s all right,
really.” She turned to the little boy. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and was
completely innocent in his reasons for asking such questions. All she had to do
was reach out and touch him, and he would see all the wonders and beauties that
made up Mystonia. But to do that would probably frighten the child, so Syranna
smiled at the boy.
    “It is a beautiful place, lush and green, with water
everywhere. It’s usually foggy, making some things look mysterious. We ride
horses, not dragons.”
    The boy smiled and let his mother drag him back to his