[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

* * * *
Once the crowds had departed, Kynyr circled back to the treehouse with Finn
and Erskine. He put his hand on the rope ladder. "I'm going to have a look
around."
"Why?" Finn stared up at the treehouse.
"Because I don't trust Malthus."
His companions followed him up the ladder and the three of them crowded into
the treehouse. Kynyr changed at far into hybrid as he could without making the
kendaryl armor he wore beneath his outer clothing uncomfortably tight. He
spied a few drops of blood on the coverlet and put his nose to it, sniffing.
"This is where it happened. Double-check me, Erskine. You've got a good nose."
Kynyr straightened and moved aside.
Kynyr's War [Lycan Blood Vol. IV]
by Janrae Frank
166
Erskine lifted his head from the bedding, frowning.
"There's been no one here except for Ros, Lyrri, and
Darmyk."
"That's what I was afraid of." Kynyr walked to the door and stared out. "Keep
it quiet, but we're riding to Hell's
Widow in three days. I want every member of the unit in on this, and eleven
others that you consider trustworthy. Picked myn. Those who started training
with Todd..." Kynyr started to add 'since Ramsey's death' and swallowed the
words back, leaving them unsaid. Following the death of his wife, Erskine had
taken Ramsey under his wing, turning a youth into a soldier as a way of
mitigating his private sorrows.
Erskine nodded. "Something happen?"
"Amos is in trouble. His daughter was murdered."
"Which one?" Finn eased back into human form.
"Sainy." Kynyr exhaled through his nostrils. "Another thing. I want the
members of the unit to go to the shop and tell Todd I sent them for armor and
weapons."
"You got armor in the shop now? I didn't see it the last time I was there."
Erskine joined Kynyr at the door.
"Not exactly. We've a room filled with kendaryl and rustrametan that we've
been hoarding."
Finn let out a low whistle. "Who's paying for this?"
"I am."
"First come, first pick?"
"Yeah."
"Mind if Erskine and I head over there now?"
Page 78
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Go on. I can take care of matters here."
* * * *
Kynyr's War [Lycan Blood Vol. IV]
by Janrae Frank
167
Claw tipped himself forward in bed and grabbed his robe. A
wave of dizziness hit him, and he sat still for a few breaths, letting it
pass. The old wolf pulled the robe around him and sashed it closed, and then
he swung his legs off the edge and stood up, using the furniture to keep his
balance, walking from one piece to the other until he reached the door.
"Claw!" Aisha exclaimed, coming in through the outer door to their suite. "You
should not be up."
He grumbled under his breath, tottered to the sofa, and sat down, feeling
momentarily defeated by exhaustion. "I
want to see my grandcub."
Aisha shook her head at him, her white streaked gray hair hanging about her
shoulders. "When you're better."
"Now. I'm going now even if I have to crawl." Claw's mouth settled into an
obstinate line that Aisha knew all too well. Knowing the way people had been
refusing to let
Darmyk visit him, had added a twinge of guilt to his mood. If all the pushy
people had not been keeping the cub away, Darmyk would have been with him,
instead of in the treehouse alone, "Then let me get someone to help you, old
dog."
Claw glared. Aisha put her hands on her hips and glared back. He surrendered
with a sigh. "Go on old bitch and get me some help."
He had begun to worry about his family. The heart attack and the lingering
weakness in his body made him feel, for the first time in his life, that he
was no longer as able to protect
Kynyr's War [Lycan Blood Vol. IV]
by Janrae Frank
168
them as he had once been. One thought led into another, and he found himself
reliving the night Troyes died.
They had found a note from Isranon that Troyes had run off with Merissa. Claw
flew into a rage and set after them with one hundred guardsmyn, all running as
wolves with blood lust roaring in their veins, and a desire to simply tear
Troyes apart. Aisha and his sisters had insisted upon going with them, certain
that Merissa would need them.
Dawn light suffused the clearing as they plunged into it, growling.
Along the way, they had picked up mounted warriors from
Angus' battle-clan that dwelled in Red Wolf and had pledged allegiance to
Claw.
Troyes' body draped a stone sa'necari bleeding table on his belly, positioned
for the rite of mortgiefan. Isranon lay wrapped in a blanket beside the table.
He roused and caught the edge of the table, using it to stand and once erect,
he pushed away from it. His eyes flicked from Troyes' body draping the altar
to Claw.
"So, Isranon." Claw regarded him steadily, his head tilted and his eyes hard.
Filthy sa'necari. They always turn. Sooner or later. Claw forced the thought
away, reminding himself that this was still Isranon. "Mort ta giefan at last."
"Nahn. Nahn mort ta giefan."
"You killed him. You drank from him. He is lying on that table. Is it yours?
You cut him up good."
"Nahn. Nahn mort ta giefan."
Page 79
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Kynyr's War [Lycan Blood Vol. IV]
by Janrae Frank
169
"There was a rite. A rite, if not the rite. It's all right, man."
Claw came closer. "It's your nature. You're sa'necari. You took on his power."
Isranon's expression turned to horror. "I am not a monster. Yes, I killed him
and I drank from him I drank from him after he was dead. Not before. And I
filled his bottles."
"The bottles he intended to fill with my blood, father."
Merissa emerged from the cave.
"He said we would run away together. But it was a lie, just to get me to his
table in the hills." She hung her head, her dark hair falling about her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]