Stonewiser Read Online Free PDF Page B

you.”
    “What if you do?” The man squared his bulky shoulders.
    “You're Josfan. You used to be a roamer, until Leah ran you out.”
    “That was a while back,” Josfan said. “I follow the executioners now.”
    “I can't imagine you had many options after the roamers’ gathering upheld Leah's view.”
    “What does that have to do with anything? I demand my shot.”
    “I'm afraid it can't be. I have no quarrel with you, but we've struck a settlement with the executioners. The execution is off. Stand aside.”
    “I paid good coin for four shots at her. I'm still owed one.”
    “My brothers will refund your coin.”
    “Do you think coin will buy her way out of this?” The man's spiked club bounced against his palm. “Think again, Son of Ars. Princes and lords are a thing of the past in the Domain. I'm afraid they're all dead.”
    It happened too fast. A blur of half-moon swords exploded from Kael's weapons belt. The clash of steel prevailed over the crowd's cries. The man's club flew from his bleeding hand. His belt dropped to the ground in lieu of his guts. When it was over, he writhed at Kael's feet with twin swords angling at his throat.
    “Next time, take the coin,” Kael said. “Princes and lords are a thing of the past, but I am here to stay.”
    He wiped his swords on the man's tunic and returned the weapons to his scabbards. Before Sariah could say a word, he plucked her from the executioners' deck and, heaving her over his shoulder, carried her through the grumbling crowd. Without a weave to protect her legs from the dead water, Sariah had no option but to accept the favor.
    The rabble was even more incensed than before. Some were bitter because they had been denied the spectacle of her death. Some were mad because they had lost their bets or their chance for profit. Some were friends of the defeated shooter and some were simply angry at the injustice. Yet they didn't dare pelt her openly as they had done before, mostly because they respected and feared Kael.
    Kael's traveling deck was just arriving, pulled by some of his fastest runners, loaded and ready to go. Kael dumped her feet-first on the deck and pointed toward the shelter. “Don't come out unless I say so.” He turned and huddled with the runners, whispering muted orders.
    Sariah swallowed an angry retort and did what she was told, only because she realized the situation was precarious. She didn't have to wait long. Kael wore his pulling harness when he entered. He ignored her thoroughly, going about the shelter with his usual methodical efficiency, inspecting the goods stored there with a measure of haste.
    He must have known that the executioners didn't feed their wards, because he dropped a skin full of the strong drink Domainers favored on her lap. The spicy brew soothed her parched throat and warmed her empty stomach. He also produced a huge chunk of dark bread and a wedge of buttery cheese from his pack. Sariah didn't realize how hungry she was until she bit down on the glorious offering.
    He poured water from the barrel in a bucket and parked it in front of her. “Clean those eel bites. They like to fester. Eat and rest. We have hard going ahead.”
    He was gone from the shelter right away. The deck began to move, first slowly and then increasingly faster, until it ran at a good clip. Daft man, not overly expressive either. No sense in complaining, though. He had come.
    She took stock of the shelter while she ate. Kael must have arranged to have provisions retrieved from Ars before he came to the executioners' camp. She was glad to see some of her things as well, the few garments she owned, her pack, her stones, her leather-bound engrossments and annotations, her scribing floor desk and her tool baskets. The man was a stubborn ox, but she had to admit that when it came to planning, he was brilliant.
    With a lick of her fingers, she finished her meal. She washed her wounds, and in doing so, discovered the grime of the last two days.