Thornbear (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“What’s the point, Matt? Warriors, knights, protectors, whatever you want to call them, they aren’t needed anymore! The Knights of Stone, they don’t have the earthbond anymore. The Order of the Thorn, they don’t either. Do you know why? Because they’re obsolete! The good guys won, it’s over. We’re all living happily ever after.
    “The dark gods are gone, the shining gods dismissed, the Queen protects us from the capital, and she’s got wizards to see her will done. There won’t be any more wars, and if there are, your father will crush them. There’s no need for men to carry steel anymore.” Gram’s speech was one that he’d heard in various forms on many occasions from his mother. He’d hated hearing it then, but he used it now defensively.
    “I don’t think so,” said Matthew. “I’ve heard too many stories, and I’m sure you’ve heard them too—like when they sent assassins to kill my parents while they were visiting the old king. If it weren’t for your dad, both of my parents would be dead now, and that’s just one occasion. And that wasn’t gods or wizards, it was just ordinary men. No one is perfect, no one is safe, not completely, that’s why there are knights, that’s why there are soldiers! And you, you could be the greatest knight ever!”
    “Damnitt, just shut up!”
    “No,” said Matthew. “I won’t. I don’t care how stupid it sounds, it’s true! You wish you could be a wizard, don’t you? I’ve heard your remarks, don’t think I didn’t notice. But you know what? Sometimes I wish I could be you!”
    That brought Gram up short. “You what?”
    “I said, ‘Sometimes I wish I could be you’,” repeated Matthew.
    “You really are an idiot then.”
    “You just can’t see yourself the way everyone else does. Me, Conall, all the boys in the castle, hell even the adults, they all see it! The only thing you aren’t is a wizard.”
    Gram gave his friend a blank stare.
    “You’re the perfect son of the perfect knight and your mother is the most accomplished noblewoman in the entire kingdom. You dance better than anyone in the keep, your penmanship is immaculate, your archery is flawless, your riding—I could go on. You’re the best at everything you do, and people know it. They can see it. Even when you walk, your balance is so good it makes me feel like I’m just stumbling along.”
    “I’m not even close to being able to beat you at chess,” noted Gram.
    “As if anyone cares about that,” said Matthew. “Watch this.” Reaching over he picked up a wooden mallet from the worktable, and without warning he threw it at his friend’s face.
    Gram caught it in midair, “What’s that about?”
    Matthew gave him a lopsided grin, “If you did that to me I’d have a nasty bruise.”
    “You always have those shields up.”
    “The point is, I wouldn’t have caught it, and even accounting for my own clumsiness, most other people wouldn’t have either. But I knew you would,” responded the young wizard.
    “There’s nothing magic about catching a hammer.”
    “Someday, someone is probably going to throw something much worse than that at me, or someone we care about, and I’m hoping that you are there to catch it.” As he finished Matthew turned red, feeling embarrassed.
    Gram didn’t answer. He was dealing with his own embarrassment. His first instinct was to make a joke of things, or to poke fun at his friend’s sentiments, but something stopped him. After a while he replied, “Alright. What do you want me to do?”
    “First we test you, to see if you’re a stoic or not. If not, I can try to show you what it’s like to use aythar,” answered Matthew before adding, “Hold out your hand.”
    Gram stretched out his hand, and Matthew took it with his own.
    “I’m going to try channeling some of my aythar into you,” he explained. “If you’re a stoic, you won’t feel anything, but if you’re not, you’ll start to feel a sort of warmth, almost