The Crown of the Usurper Read Online Free PDF Page B

Salphorian women and their graphic stories of the Salphor warriors they had killed bit deep.
      Gelthius was forced to content himself with the knowledge that he had managed to save his family, bringing them to safety before the ire of the Thirteenth had fallen on the village of Landesi. They had not passed back through the lands of the Linghar, and he was glad of that. It would test his new loyalties to the limit to see the blackened remains of his own house and the crow-gnawed bones of his cousins and former friends. His wife, Maredin, had been set up in a new home in Thedraan, close to the border. Gelthius hoped that he would have a chance to see her and his children on the way back to Askh, though it was the lot of the legionnaire to be far from his family for years at a time.
      A call attracted his attention. Looking back towards the camp, Gelthius saw that the abada carts were being filled. He raised a hand to acknowledge the shout and took one more look at the waste of Magilnada and the king who had ordered it.
      For all that he was saddened by the fate of Salphoria, it was better to be on the winning side than not.
     

II
    As the small column of men and carts headed along the road – now a paved, Askhan road instead of a packed dirt trail – Ullsaard sat to one side of the men on Blackfang and considered his plans. It was two days to the border with Ersua and the empire proper. If Urikh really had made a grasp for the kingship, it would be now that his son would have to strike. Ullsaard had considered bringing all of the Thirteenth back with him, and several other legions too, but the risk of giving the Salphors cause to rebel outweighed the king's concerns for his own wellbeing. There was little point in returning to Askh to restore his authority if it lost him his greatest conquest.
      It reminded Ullsaard very much of the last time he had crossed back into Ersua, avoiding Anglhan's Magilnadan legions. Many of the men he had taken with him on that journey were with him now. There was no hiding this time. Urikh was expecting him and would have schemed accordingly if Ullsaard's worst suspicions were correct. It was just a question of getting one step ahead of the usurper. If Ullsaard could reach Askh he would be able to deal with the matter quickly and quietly, and the rest of the empire could carry on as it had been. The great drama of the war against Lutaar did not have to be repeated.
      Slapping the reins against Blackfang's shoulder to urge her into a walk, Ullsaard fell in behind the last group of legionnaires following the carts. Within two days, Ullsaard would have to choose a course of action and a route.
      He could march straight to Askh, relying on speed to get him to his goal. There was much to be said for haste, but Urikh's first concern would be the speedy appearance of the true king. He would have patrols, or at the least spies, on the border looking for Ullsaard. The most direct route would be the most closely watched.
      An alternative was to take the road coldwards towards the Ersuan capital at Marradan. Once there, Ullsaard would be able to take control of the Ersuan legions belonging to Asuhas, the governor. With some military clout behind him, Ullsaard could rely on support from his old friend Allon, the governor of Enair to coldwards, and that would pretty much be all he needed to return to Askh and demand the surrender of his son.
      Which was why it was also an obvious plan, and one that Urikh, being a devious son of a bitch, would be expecting. Ullsaard considered the possibility that his son might have Asuhas on his side already. The ruler of Ersua owed nothing to Ullsaard as a man, and could easily be swayed by promises from Askh. Yet to simply give up on a potential ally on the chance that he would be an enemy was not in Ullsaard's mind. The governors' and their support, or their apathy, was key to the power of the empire. If they united, there was not a king that could