The Fifth Dawn Read Online Free PDF Page B

not sure. I don’t recognize her. She’s no elf. That looks like one of the Sylvok druids.”
    “Sylvok?” Slobad asked. “Looks pretty elfy to Slobad.”
    “They’re human. But Viridia hasn’t had high-level contact with the Sylvok in years. They keep to their part of the Tangle, and so do we.” She grimaced. “They’ve always given me the creeps.”
    The gong sounded a second time, followed by a familiar, gravelly voice that reverberated in the natural amphitheater. Glissa brightened a bit at the faint sound of metal scraping metal. Slobad was wasting no time working on his bindings. She hoped he could be subtle enough to do them some good.
    “Who accuses this Viridian elf?” Yulyn bellowed. “Step forward, and face the accused.”
    Yulyn referred to a piece of parchment and called Banryk to testify. Glissa heard heavy footsteps approaching her from behind, and a needle-sharp spear tip pressed into her shoulder, right behind her heart. She smelled sour, fermented gelfruit oil—a simple, abundant intoxicant the Viridians brewed called
nush—as
he leaned in close to her ear.
    “Quiet,” Banryk whispered. “Or I skewer you, then cut up the goblin while you’re bleeding out.”
    Glissa seethed. At least they hadn’t seen Slobad fumbling with his manacles. She was sure that would have created a little stir.
    “We will have order,” Yulyn said. “Who accuses this woman?”
    “I do,” Lyese said, stepping to the witness platform.
    “Of what crime do you accuse this Viridian elf?” asked the Sylvok judge. Her voice was soft, almost elven, but her humanity was unmistakable. Her green robes glittered like sheets of jade.
    The human’s presence was baffling. How bad had things gotten in the last few weeks, Glissa wondered, if the Viridians had to rely on human elders to judge her? Had her people and the Sylvok formed some kind of hasty alliance in the face of the leveler threat?
    “Murder. This Viridian killed my parents,” Lyese continued.
    “Did you see this act?” Yulyn asked. “How was the crime committed?”
    “I had gone for a walk,” Lyese said, her voice strong, clear and tinged with bitterness. “To pick moon’s breath flowers. I was only gone for an hour.” Lyese’s voice trembled slightly, but she held her composure.
    “And when you returned?” Yulyn asked.
    “There was blood everywhere,” Lyese continued without faltering. “The levelers—”
    Glissa heard a gasps from the crowd at the mention of the hated constructs.
    “The levelers had my mother and father, and were cutting them to pieces.”
    “Where was the accused?” the Sylvok asked, “Surely she, too, was … attacking them?”
    “I didn’t see her at first. I tried to fight the levelers, but there were too many. And,” Lyese added, “I was too weak then. They took my eye, but I escaped with my life.”
    “I’m confused,” the Sylvok woman continued. “When did you see the accused attack your parents? It sounds to me like she was lucky the levelers didn’t find her.” Glissa could hardly believe her pointed ears. This human was defending her against her own people.
    “I saw her when she came back to my home, and led them away!” Lyese shouted, her composure breaking at last.
    “Lyese, I wasn’t leading them,” Glissa said, “I didn’t know—”
    “The accused will have the opportunity to speak in her defense when she is called,” Yulyn interrupted. “There will be no further outbursts, or this tribunal will immediately find the accused guilty. Is that understood?”
    Glissa nodded. She wanted to scream.
    “Very well,” Yulyn said. “The witness may continue.”
    “I got out of the house, but I couldn’t just leave. I didn’t know what else to do,” Lyese said. “I saw Glissa head in, and when she came out the levelers were following her. And she had my mother’s ring.”
    The ring. Glissa’s last piece of her mother, which she’d recovered at the grisly scene. And it was still on her