Starfinder: A Novel of the Skylords Read Online Free PDF

batted his hand away. “Don’t mother me, boy. It’s time to tell you.”
    “You’re sick.” Moth blinked hard to clear his sleepy mind. “I should get the doctor. What time is it?”
    “Are you listening to me? You have to listen, Moth.”
    Leroux seemed desperate, completely unlike himself. Moth studied his face, wondering if he was sleepwalking. “All right,” said Moth calmly. “Just go back to sleep and tell me in the morning. You can tell me in the morning, all right?”
    “Now,” Leroux insisted. He came in close enough for Moth to feel his breath and whispered, “Lady Esme isn’t a kestrel.”
    Moth sat up. Leroux was frightening him now. He’d never seen the old man so badly off. “I think we should both go back to sleep,” he said gently.
    “Listen to me!” Leroux shrieked. “It’s time to tell you the story! Lady Esme isn’t a kestrel. She’s a person, not a bird! Do you hear?”
    “A person.” Moth nodded. “Okay.”
    “Yes.” Leroux grew calmer. “A woman. Not a regular woman, Moth. She’s a woman that I loved . . . from over the Reach.”
    A grin of relief broke over Moth’s face. It really was just one of his mad tales. “So the women across the Reach are birds?”
    Leroux frowned. “What? No! She’s not a bird at all. She’s a woman, Moth. The Skylords changed her into a bird. And you have to help me change her back.”
    “Who is she?” Moth asked, playing along.
    “I can’t tell you that.” Leroux put a finger to his lips. “Secret things.”
    “Oh.”
    “If I could tell you everything, I would. How I wish I could! But now you know the truth about Esme, and that’s what’s most important. She needs your help, Moth, to get back.”
    “Uh huh.” Moth turned to sit upright on the sofa. “You sit down,” he urged Leroux. “Tell me.”
    Leroux sat beside Moth, his shoulders slumped from his mad burden. “I’ve tried for years to change her back, but I could never figure out how. It’s the Reach, you see? It’s damnable once you cross over. I’d be lost.” He shook his head, looking sick with grief. “My poor Esme. I’m too old to help her now. But I tried, Moth. I did try.”
    His story made no sense at all, yet Moth pretended to understand. “You’ll feel better in the morning. Just sleep.”
    “No,” Leroux whispered. “It’s too late.” He turned, staring intensely. “Moth, I have to hand this all to you now. You have to save her. You have to take her back across the Reach. Find Merceron. He’ll help you.”
    Afraid of the answer, Moth asked, “Who’s Merceron?”
    “A friend. A wizard. He knows about Esme. By now he’s figured out how to help her.” He licked his dried lips. “Yes, surely by now. Otherwise she’ll be like this forever. . . .”
    Out on the balcony, Lady Esme had fallen back asleep, paying them no attention at all. It seemed to Moth that the bird had more sense than its master.
    “Esme looks fine to me, Leroux. She’s happy! Why don’t we just leave her the way she is? She’s gets everything she needs. Gumdrops . . .”
    “No! I promised her I’d save her, Moth. She’s been like that so long she’s probably forgotten what it’s like to be real! You have to help her.”
    “But how? If you couldn’t do it, how can I? Maybe it’s better this way, really.”
    “But there is a way,” said Leroux carefully. “My gift to you. It will help you find Merceron. I’ve spent my whole life trying to figure it out. Now you must try, Moth.”
    “I thought this story was your gift. Now there’s another? Where is it?”
    Leroux grimaced. “I can’t tell you. But it’s yours, Moth. I’m giving it to you.”
    Finally Moth was too frustrated to hear any more. “All right,” he said firmly, “I get it. I understand. Thanks.”
    “Will you help Lady Esme?” asked Leroux. “Promise me you will, Moth. You must promise me.”
    “I will, Leroux, I promise. I’ll help Lady Esme. I’ll figure out the gift and I’ll go