The Warlock Enraged-Warlock 4 Read Online Free PDF Page A

warden who did find our son, might be censured if his lord did know of his forbearance." Rod shuddered. "I'm glad I let him go, then. But, my lord! It's not as though the boy'd been trying to bring down a deer! All he was after was a rabbit!"
    "Even so, the Forest Laws would say 'twas theft," Gwen reminded him. "Every hare and goose—nay, each mouse and sparrow—doth belong unto the manor's lord; and to hunt them is to steal!"
    "But how do these people live?" Rod cupped an empty hand. "We didn't do badly today, for tinkers—we made a penny and a half! But we had to spend the penny for a chicken, and the half for bread! What would we live on, if nobody broke a pot?"
    "The law..." Gwen sighed.
    "Well, it won't, for long." Rod curled the hand into a fist. "I'm going to have a few words with Tuan, when we get back to Runnymede!"
    "Do," Gwen said softly, "and thou'lt have proved the worth of this journey, even an we find naught wrong i' the North."
    "I'm afraid that's not very apt to happen." Mollified, Rod watched her stare at the kindling. It burst into flame, and he sighed, "I'd better see how the kids are coming along with their foraging." He stiffened at a sudden thought, staring at her. "We are allowed to gather berries, aren't we?" Rod sat bolt upright with a hissing-in of breath, staring about him, wide-eyed.
    The night breathed all around him, hushed. Far away, crickets and frogs wove counterpoint that darted harmony with the myriad of stars. The land lay deep in peace. Rod sagged against the prop of his arm, relieved by

THE WARLOCK ENRAGED 23
    reality. Adrenalin ebbed, and his hammering heart began to slow. He couldn't even remember the nightmare—only that, vaguely, the face was Lord Kem's.
    This had to stop. Somehow, he had to break this spell. Somebody moaned; not surprising, the way he felt. Then he stiffened, all his attention concentrated on his ears. Whoever had moaned, it hadn't been him.
    Then, who...?
    The sound came again, louder and closer. It wasn't a moan, really—more of a grinding sound. Not moving. Rod murmured, "Pess?"
    "Here, Rod." Being a robot, Fess never slept. In fact, he scarcely ever powered down.
    "Hear anything out of the ordinary?"
    "Yes, Rod. The sound is that of rock moving against rock. When the frequency of its repetitions is accelerated, there is a discernible Doppler shift..."
    "Coming, or going?"
    "Coming—and rather rapidly, I should..." Trees at the edge of the meadow trembled, and a huge, dark form came into sight. The silhouette was crudely human. Rod was on his feet and darting over to Fess. He yanked a light out of the pack, aimed it at the dark form, and pressed the tab. "Gwen!"
    Gwen raised her head just as the beam struck the huge figure.
    If it was female, it was a caricature. If it had breasts, it also had shoulders like a fullback's and arms like a gorilla's. It did have long fingernails, though—and they glinted dangerously in the actinic glare. Its face was blue. It flinched at the sudden stab of light, lips drawing back in a snarl—
    revealing fangs.
    "Black Annis!" Gwen gasped in horror.
    The monster froze for a moment, startled by the beam—
    and Rod snapped, "Magnus! Cordelia! Wake the babies and get into the air!"
    The elder children snapped out of sleep as though they'd been jabbed, galvanized by Gwen's mental alarm. Geoffrey rolled up, sitting, knuckling his eyes and muttering. "Not a baby! Six!" But Gregory just shot straight into the air. 24 Christopher Stasheff
    Then the monster roared, charging, and caught up Geoffrey with one roundhouse swipe. He squalled, but in anger, not fright, and wrestled his dagger out of its sheath. But Rod thundered rage, and the monster rose into the air, then slammed down onto its back. Geoffrey jabbed the huge hand with his dagger, and Black Annis howled, dropping him. He shot into the air, while Rod stalked toward the horror. Red haze blurred his vision, obscuring all but Black Annis struggling to its feet in the center of