Shaper of Stone (The Shapers Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the time for my Uncle, and this has
never happened before, but I’ve never had headaches before
either. Not like these. There must be something special about you
that made this happen. How long have you been able to understand
Harithean?”
    Switching once more to Harithean I
said, “A few days now. I noticed Tavi could understand me, and
with a little effort I can switch between the two languages. I was
going to say something, but the only time I see you is when you are
helping me with the translator. So, I... uh...”
    Oh man, where did that last bit come
from. I didn’t want her to think I had lied to her all week,
but the only explanation that I could think of was that I enjoyed
spending time with her. What would she think of me then. Ah crap, how
was I going to explain this now. Fortunately Abella saved me from
myself.
    Patting me on my hand she told me,
“We’ll have to tell my uncle, but it can wait until
tomorrow. The reason I came to your room was to invite you to join us
in the morning. A caravan is coming into town, and my uncle needs to
greet it. Since you hadn’t been out of the estate since you got
here, I thought you might enjoy coming with us.
    “We can tell him on the way down.
Then when he is taking care of his business I can show you and Tavi
around the town.”
    “I’m sure Tavi will love
it,” I said. To myself, I thought if we waited until we were
down there Vatrale won’t separate us. At least not right away.
    I couldn’t help but smile.
    How did you like that. Things were
starting to look up already.
    -o-
    The next morning we climbed inside a
carriage pulled by four snow white horses. An honor guard of a dozen
men formed a circle around us as we made the journey to the ten foot
tall wall that surrounded the estate where Abella and her uncle
lived. Another four men stood guard at the arched gate.
    Inside the perimeter wall was a dense
forest of tall trees with a cobblestone path leading from the gate to
the estate’s courtyard, but once through the gate the road was
mostly a rutted dirt track bordered by tightly packed single story
buildings. The widest road ran beneath the shadow of the wall and
circled the compound with smaller roads branching off into the town
like spokes on a wheel.
    We followed the wider street for a
short distance before veering off onto one of the side roads. It
looked like a straight run to the town’s outer wall. The
caravan was camped just beyond since the streets were too narrow to
allow their wagons to pass easily. Even the carriage had some
difficulty navigating the way. Several times we had to stop as the
guards rode ahead to clear the path for Lord Vatrale.
    Each time we paused, I felt the urge to
confess to the old man, but Abella and I had decided to wait until we
cleared the town’s wall before speaking. So each time, I bit my
tongue and waited. Which meant that most of the trip was made in
silence.
    This time when we stopped I was looking
out the window wondering how close we were to the gate and wishing I
could ask. The carriage was at an intersection. In front of us a cart
was in the process of being unloaded. The guards were arguing with
the merchant, trying to get him to move the cart off to the side.
    -o-
    The argument was cut short by the sound
of thunder. I looked up to the cloudless sky, but then I caught
something out of the corner of my eye. A flaming wagon was barreling
down the road toward the side of the carriage. It wasn’t
thunder I had heard, but the sound of the wagon bouncing over the
rough road.
    I screamed, “Hold On!” and
dove for Abella just seconds before it hit. I tackled her to the
floor as the wall I had been sitting against exploded inward.
Splinters of wood flew across the carriage.
    The wagon that hit us didn’t
stop. I felt the carriage start to tip with the force of the moving
wagon, and the next thing I knew we were rolling sideways. There was
a bone jarring crash when we flipped and slammed into the ground.
    The