Orphan of Destiny Read Online Free PDF

better for us if we had just one group chasing us at a time,” he remarked.
    “I say we rest here tonight and leave refreshed in the morning,” Maryam suggested.
    “Good idea,” I said wearily. Exhaustion and pain were enveloping me again. My hip still burned and my eyes grew heavy.
    Robard stood, kicking at a few of the logs on the fire with his boot. The flames died down and he banked the coals so only a slow warm glow flowed over me. He strung his bow.
    “What are you doing?” Maryam asked.
    “I’m going to scout around a bit,” he said. “Keep an eye on things. You won’t see me until tomorrow morning, so don’t be alarmed. But I’ll always be nearby. If there’s trouble, give one of those Al Hashshashin war cries of yours. They’re loud enough to wake the dead. I’ll hear it and be back before you know it. Tristan, rest easy. Try not to injure yourself any further, if you don’t mind.”
    Then as if he were a ghost, Robard disappeared into the night.

5
    M y eyes opened as dawn broke. Maryam slept on the other side of the fire with Angel curled next to her. It was too early to rise, I thought, and there was no sign of Robard. It wouldn’t hurt for me to rest awhile longer.
    When I opened my eyes again—surely just seconds later—Robard was standing by the fire, leaning on his bow, staring at me with a giant grin on his face.
    “Good morning,” he said. He surprised me and I lurched awake, straining my side. I lay back quickly with a groan.
    “Don’t do that!” I exclaimed.
    “What?” he asked.
    “Sneak up on us!”
    “Who is sneaking up?” Robard made a show of raising his bow and twisting his neck around as if an attack were coming.
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I said. I braced against the boulder and lifted myself to my feet. “Did you see anything or learn where we are while you were parading about?”
    “Parading? I most definitely was not! Perhaps scouting, but I don’t know about parading,” he said in an irritatingly cheerful tone as he knelt to warm his hands by the still-glowing coals.
    “Please, Robard, I don’t feel well, and your cheerfulness is making me irritable,” I pleaded. My head ached and my side still burned.
    Robard paid no attention. “I found a village not far from here and spoke to a smith. Told him I was on my way home from the Crusades and had gotten turned around. Friendly fellow. We’re about two, maybe three days’ walk south of Dover. You, however, are probably four or five days’ walk,” he said, pointing at my wounded hip. “So Maryam and I will meet you there.” His grin told me he was joking, but I was stiff, in pain and not in the mood for comedy.
    “Robard, please . . . stop . . . ,” I said, my voice tinged with exasperation.
    Robard laughed in response. “Ha! We couldn’t have planned it better if we’d tried. Well, of course we could have hit Dover directly, I suppose, but still a remarkable feat of sailing, if I do say so myself. And if we can find horses, it’ll take us even less time to get there.”
    “Get where?” Maryam asked groggily from the ground.
    “Well, good morning, sunshine!” Robard nearly shouted.
    “Ugh,” Maryam said, staring up at the sky, which was overcast and gray again. Rain would be coming later in the day. “Sunshine! Pfff. I’ve yet to see any of it since we landed here!” She sat up and stoked the fire, and soon had water boiling in a small pot she had procured somewhere.
    At Robard’s mention of Dover, my mind raced.
    “Dover,” I muttered to myself. “Not everyone I knew and trained with left for Outremer when our regimento did. There may be squires and even knights who remember me, and they might be willing to help. If I show them Sir Thomas’ letter . . .” My words trailed off. It felt like the best option. We were so close, it seemed foolish not to at least try.
    “Okay,” Robard agreed. “There is a village not far north of here. We should be able to get horses there, or at