The Last Protector Read Online Free PDF

and a couple days before the Pageant he waxed off all his body hair.” She licked her lips. “What a hunk of meat."
    "Um.” Scrornuck now felt more than a little envious. “Do they have women Acolytes too?"
    She nodded. “Spring and fall."
    "And do the women dress like that?"
    "Of course.” Her look made Scrornuck feel like he was setting the world record for stupid questions. “Why else would we pick the girls with the biggest..."
    "We get the idea.” Jape said.
    Scrornuck grinned. “We need to come back in the fall."
    The parade disbanded, the floats heading into the short street as the performers mingled with the crowds. Trumpets sounded, and everyone turned to face the Temple as flames and smoke suddenly belched from the mouth and nostrils of the great dragon statue. “Bloody hell,” Scrornuck muttered, noticing for the first time the mountains of sacrificial merchandise beneath the dragon's outstretched wings.
    Rosaiah walked grandly to the High Altar at the Temple's gate, where he reverently removed his sandals and set them atop the altar. A moment later, flames roared forth, consuming them.
    The crowd went wild as the Sacrifice got underway. In seconds the many altars around the Square were ablaze. The Acolytes, soaked in sweat and streaked with soot and ashes, carried armloads of clothing, furniture and footwear to the fires, while the faithful threw more and more offerings onto the piles.
    Jape shook his head in amazement as he stared at the spectacle. Scrornuck was less impressed. “Let's get out of here,” he muttered, striding purposefully toward the Cast Quarter.
    "You!" the High Priest roared as they passed beneath the dragon's flaming mouth. Rosaiah stretched out his arm and pointed at Scrornuck's boots—knee-high dark leather, trimmed with fringe and encrusted with silvery bits that seemed to move as he walked. “That is the finest footwear ever seen in Taupeaquaah! An offering worthy of the High Altar!"
    "Not bloody likely,” Scrornuck muttered. He pointedly turned his back on the Priest and kept walking.
    "Did you not hear?” Rosaiah demanded. “I grant you the honor of making your sacrifice on the High Altar!"
    With the crowd blocking their path, the three had no choice but to face the Priest. Jape attempted to intercede. “We are guests in Taupeaquaah,” he said, stressing the word guest. “We aren't familiar with your traditions."
    "And the mighty Dragon has brought you here to learn! Now come up and make your offering!"
    "Forget it, turban-boy!” Scrornuck shouted. “Your pet lizard can buy his own shoes!"
    Rosaiah staggered back as if punched in the belly. “Blasphemer!” he bellowed.
    "Idolater?” Scrornuck suggested.
    "You cannot keep from the Dragon what is rightfully his!"
    The crowd closed in around Scrornuck, Jape and Nalia, and more than a few Mayoral Guards moved in their direction. Almost unconsciously, Scrornuck pulled the sword-grip from his belt and gave it a firm squeeze. The sparkling, glass-like blade appeared, nearly five feet long and pointed directly at the Priest. “You want my boots? Well, come and get ‘em!"
    Scrornuck and Rosaiah stared, unblinking, into each other's eyes for several tense seconds. Finally, the priest turned away, sneering, “Go! You are not yet worthy to offer your gift to the Friendly Dragon! But know this: you will suffer for your arrogance. You will be humbled. You will find out what it means to offend the great Spafu. And before this Fortnight of Sacrifice is out, you will return to this altar and present your offering!"
    "In your dreams, Rosey,” Scrornuck shouted as he led the group away. “In your dreams!"
    "Mister Saughblade,” Jape said, as they left the Square and entered the narrow, twisting streets of the Cast Quarter, “can't you go even twenty-four hours without picking a fight?"
    Scrornuck shrugged. “He started it."
    "You didn't have to pull a weapon,” Nalia said. “Nobody was going to hurt you."
    "Could've