Queen of the North (Book 3) (Songs of the Scorpion) Read Online Free PDF

them.
    “There’s nothing to fear,” Thaeson assured them, though he looked uneasy.
    Edrik scrubbed his hands up and down his arms. The soft linen sleeves of his tunic felt damp. No , he thought, distressed. It’s frost! As added proof, delicate white feathers of hoarfrost had begun spreading over the ferns, weighing them down. More frost grew like a plague of pale fungus over nearby tree trunks.
    “We must reach the Shield of the Fathers,” Thaeson said, his calm breaking. “Quickly, now!”
    He spoke too late. The others had turned to run back the way they had come.
    “Cowards!” Thaeson snarled.
    Edrik wanted to join them, but he forced himself to stand fast beside the man who had released him from the dreary existence of a farmer’s only son, and placed him within the powerful bosom of the Munam a’Dett Order. If it came to it, he would give his life for Essan Thaeson.
    “What now?” Edrik asked.
    Thaeson faced the mist, now waist-deep off the forest floor, and silently spreading out through the trees. “First we must retrieve the girl. After, if it’s possible, we have to find out what has happened, and repair the damage.”
    Damage? Edrik could not contain himself. “What do you think happened?”
    Thaeson turned, his timeworn face nearly lost in shadow. “I … I don’t know, boy, but whatever this is, it’s not a welcome omen.”
    They pushed on, carefully wading through the fog. Roots and stones threatened to trip them, but they kept on. Edrik swallowed the dry lump in his throat. He had occasionally suffered doubts about their purpose—only a fool refused to question the consequences of his actions—but now he deeply considered that maybe the priesthood ought to let things alone, allow the malcontents to have their way, and let Targas fall. If the Munam a’Dett stayed strong and true to itself, the Order’s adherents could build another city somewhere else, attract new and faithful followers. In short, begin again.
    “Perhaps we should go back,” Edrik said, coming as close as he dared to speaking his thoughts aloud.
    Thaeson stumbled and caught Edrik’s arm to steady himself. “By the Fathers, boy, I’d not have expected you to turn back at the first sign of trouble. Maybe those other cowards, but not you. That’s why I let them run off without a word. I’ve always counted on you to stand with me.” His eyes narrowed. “Was my trust misplaced?”
    Edrik felt a surge of pride at Thaeson’s praise, but at the same time, he felt shame that the essan saw the need to question his loyalty. “I’ll stand where you stand, walk where you walk, Essan ,” he said humbly, but he could not leave their ultimate purpose alone. “Yet, what Quidan Salris plans, what he expects of us, is dangerous, as you’ve often said. If he has us move too quickly, too forcefully, the faith of our people will shatter.”
    “For some,” Thaeson reasoned, “it will shatter anyway. Such is always the price of change—particularly when that change involves turning people from what they mistakenly believe they want. Trust me, what many of the citizens of Targas think they desire is nothing but a well-crafted lie spread by blind fools.”
    “Such as escaping the authority of the Munam A’Dett?”
    “ Especially that,” Thaeson said, his lips turning down in distaste. “More foolish still is their belief that life beyond the Shield of the Fathers, a life spent amongst the deycath , would be better than a life spent amongst their own kind. For their sakes, we must never allow them to see the ugliness and horrors beyond our border. Targas is their home, and within the bounds of the Everlasting City of Light, they shall remain.”
    “I understand,” Edrik said. “Still, maybe we should try to show the folk that we share their concerns, convince them that the Order is still powerful, and that they can rely on us to keep their best interests at heart.”
    “Thinking like that might earn you the Staff of the