Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

townhouse.
    The front door creaked on rusty hinges as Tyrell forced it shut. He lit a small oil lamp sitting on a nearby table. “Wait here for a minute while I check the house.”
    Ronan nodded.
    The oil lamp’s greasy light showed a set of rickety steps leading up to the second floor and a thick coat of dust layering every visible surface.
    Tyrell disappeared up the rotting steps and slid into the second floor shadows.
    A dreary hallway stretched out beside the staircase leading deeper inside the townhouse. Overhead, exposed ceiling beams supported rotting floorboards.
    Ronan pulled back his hood. Why had he believed Pride? He should’ve trusted his gut instinct.
    From the shadows of the first floor hallway Tyrell appeared. “All clear. Follow me.”
    Ronan’s brow furrowed. He didn’t recall Tyrell coming downstairs.
    Tyrell picked up the oil lamp, walked along the narrow hallway, and past the stairway.
    The lamp’s light revealed a small living room empty of furnishings save for a pair of tarnished wooden chairs and a small end table. In the far corner, a well-used iron stove sat dark and empty. Beside the rusty stove, a short pile of fresh-cut firewood stood neatly stacked appearing oddly out of place amid the decay.
    Tyrell placed a few pieces of firewood inside the stove as Ronan sagged into the nearest chair.
    “What happened to Sir Alcott? Is he okay?” Ronan said.
    With his back facing Ronan, Tyrell lit the stove and shut its door. “He’s fine. Don’t worry about him.”
    “What happened Master Tyrell?”
    Tyrell’s hand froze on the stove’s door handle. A moment later, he stood and pulled the remaining chair near Ronan. He sat and cleared his throat. “After I left you and your mother, I received a message that Bryson wanted to speak with me. I assumed he wanted to discuss the tournament, and I thought he might have something to confess, so I went to his room at the citadel.” Tyrell shifted and adjusted his cloak. “Bryson wasn’t there. Instead, three shard knights attacked me. I fought off two of them but not the third. I was near death when Sir Alcott arrived. He caught the shield knight off guard and healed me. After that, I went straight to the palace, but I wasn’t fast enough.”
    “How deep does this go Master Tyrell?” Ronan leaned forward. “Who can help us?”
    “I can’t answer that Ronan. If we approach the city guard, they’ll arrest me and turn you over to the palace. I believe Pride has convinced many of the palace guard with his charade. You’d be a marked man I’m afraid. Pride wants the throne, and he’ll do anything to keep it.”
    “How’s that possible? He’s the archbishop not a member of the royal family,” Ronan said.
    “The line for the throne ends with you Ronan. The order of succession includes the archbishop when no members of the royal family are living to accept the crown.”
    “He’s going to take us back to the policies of my grandfather isn’t he?”
    Tyrell paused for a few moments before answering. “It’s clear from the archbishop’s statements this evening that he’s hidden many of his feelings toward the Ayralen immigrants. I fear dark days ahead.”
    “We have to stop him Master Tyrell. He can’t get away with killing my mother in cold blood. I’ll die before I let that happen.”
    “We have to think this through Ronan. We can’t plow ahead without some help. I don’t know who to trust in Freehold. The city is too dangerous.”
    “You have a plan don’t you?”
    Tyrell nodded. “I have friends in Ayralen that will help us. We’ll be out of Pride’s reach there.”
    The wooden chair groaned as Ronan leaned back. “Master Tyrell, what do you know about my father that you haven’t told me?”
    Tyrell’s brow furrowed. “Your father? Why are you asking about him?”
    “When you stopped by my room earlier this evening, my mother was ready to tell me something about him. She said it was beyond time I knew. Do you know what