The Glass of Dyskornis Read Online Free PDF Page A

Raithskar’s ancient stone wall.
    Keeshah would have had no trouble meeting me at the gates or at the meatmonger’s shop. But the riders of the house of Serkajon had always taken pains to make it clear that their sha’um were under control. When Keeshah was in Raithskar, he stayed home unless I was with him.
    We walked through the caravan market area that lay just within the city gates. It was bustling with people, but everyone made sure we had plenty of room to pass through.
    As soon as we were out of the city, Keeshah crouched down and I sat on his back. I tucked my feet up just ahead of his hindquarters and held down the glith carcass with the weight of my body. The sha’um stood up, moving slowly because he knew I wasn’t as securely attached to him as I usually was.
    *
Where?
* he asked me.
    *
Somewhere peaceful, Keeshah. You choose.
*
    He set off at an easy run, following the city wall westward. We crossed the Skarkel River on a jiggling pontoon bridge that made me so queasy that I had to close my eyes. Then he turned northward, following the river on its western bank. Past the city, the eastern bank was crowded with buildings. Grain mills, refineries, a big building that housed the Raithskarian mint—the river’s power assisted most of Raithskar’s industry.
    The western side of the river boasted more agriculture than industry, though we did pass a grain mill or two. When the ground began to rise toward the Wall, cultivated fields gave way to wilder country, lush grassy growth, and thick groves of the short Gandalaran trees.
    The Great Wall of Gandalara was a sheer escarpment, so high that its upper edge was obscured by the ever-present cloud layer. When I had awakened, dazed and irrational, in the middle of a salty desert, I had seen the Great Wall as a faded blue line in an otherwise featureless vista. I had scrambled toward it desperately, until Keeshah had decided, finally, that I was worth saving.
    The Wall ran roughly east to west, several miles north of Raithskar. Ahead of us now, striking up the thunder that had been growing louder with Keeshah’s every step, were the Sharkel Falls. A massive sheet of water poured down the rock face from the clouds above. The spray it cast around the lake at the base of the Wall formed a new, ground-hugging cloud in the hot Gandalaran air. If we had gone further north, we would have run into the misty cloud. As it was, beads of moisture were already collecting in Keeshah’s fur.
    The sha’um turned aside to climb a short, steep slope that was crowned with several of the curly-trunked
dakathrenil
trees. These seemed to be part of an abandoned orchard, for they had been trained, at one time, to stand upright and form an umbrella-like topknot. Now branches twisted downward, intertwined between the trees, and created a perfect backrest for a man sitting on that knoll and looking out over the mist-shrouded lake.
    *
Picnic?
* Keeshah repeated the strange image.
    *
It’s perfect, Keeshah. Let’s eat.
*

3
    *
What should I do, Keeshah?
* I asked the sha’um. We had finished our food and drunk the water I had brought in a pouch from home. Keeshah was stretched out on his side, and I was sitting propped up against his back, shredding stalks of a hardy, thick-bladed weed.
    *
Scratch between shoulders,
* he suggested. I laughed and complied, enjoying the way his thick fur whispered through my fingers.
    *
I mean, which job should I take? Or should I pass up both of them? What should I do about Worfit?
*
    *
l kill?
*
    *
No. At least, not unless you have to, OK?
*
    He agreed, with the mental equivalent of a shrug. Unless Worfit actually caused me harm, or I gave Keeshah specific orders regarding him, the little roguelord meant absolutely nothing to the great cat.
    *
You don’t want jobs,
* Keeshah volunteered.
    *
Yes, I
…
You’re right, as usual, Keeshah. Both jobs need doing, but I’m not the one to do them. At least, not yet. Still
—
I have to do something to make a