Broken World Book Four - The Staff of Law Read Free

in
colour, which matched the street and the landscape beyond, where
the town gates lay smashed on the road and trees had become piles
of rubble. On the living side of the line, people loaded their
worldly belongings into wagons with unseemly haste, driven to flee
the horror in their town.
    Kieran turned
away and nearly fell over Shan, whose soft eyes brimmed with tears.
He chivvied the boy into the common room, where the rest of the
Aggapae sat at a table. Talsy joined them a little later, her face
chalk white and her eyes ringed with dark circles of fatigue. She
looked fragile and vulnerable, her vitality and pluck gone. Her
hair hung in lank, dull strands and her thin fingers trembled when
she put her hands on the table. Catching his eyes on her, she shot
him a defiant look and hid her hands under the table.
    The innkeeper
returned with some of the items Kieran had asked for, piling them
on a nearby table. He shot a concerned look at the girl before
hurrying out again as the Prince went over to inspect the supplies.
The goods were inferior, the blankets thin and worn and the two
tents mildewed from long storage. This was no time to be choosy,
however. The innkeeper returned with an old saddle, two satchels of
dried food, water skins and an empty satchel. He dumped it on the
table and leant closer to Kieran.
    “ Your lady friend looks ill. Do you want the
doctor?”
    “ No, thank you. She’s not ill, she’s with child.”
    “ Ah.” The innkeeper smiled. “Your wife?”
    After short
pause, Kieran nodded. “Yes.”
    The plump man
shot a glance at Talsy. “She’s young, she’ll be fine. My wife was a
midwife, rest her soul, and she made a wonderful tonic for mothers
to be. Did them the world of good.”
    “ Do you still have any?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ I’ll buy two bottles of that as well then.”
    The innkeeper
beamed. “So nice to see a young husband concerned for his wife.
I’ll get it.”
    When the man
returned, Kieran paid for the supplies, far too much for such
inferior goods, but there was no time to quibble. The innkeeper
explained that his cook not around to make breakfast, but the
Prince shrugged it off, wanting only to get away from the town as
soon as possible. The Aggapae shouldered the supplies while Kieran
trotted upstairs to collect the pieces of the staff, packing them
into the empty satchel. Staggering under his burden, he joined the
others, and they left through the far gate without looking back.
Outside the town, the Aggapae summoned their steeds, and they
resumed their journey towards the mountains.
     
     
    Kieran glanced
back at the exhausted group, whose drawn faces and drooping mounts
revealed the toll that five days of arduous travel had taken. The
Aggapae had to urge their tired horses on, and they clearly hated
forcing their friends to endure such rigours. Talsy was worst off,
so pale and drawn that she looked as if she was made from
porcelain. It was all she could do to cling to her mare’s mane all
day and try to choke down a little food before she fell asleep each
night.
    Kieran’s
concern had grown as she weakened, and he cursed the Torrak Jahar
that still followed them. Chanter had gone back twice to try to
lead them away, but the Ghost Riders no longer took the bait en
mass. They despatched a few to follow the Mujar while the rest
continued after the chosen. Chanter had been forced to use other
delaying tactics, or the Riders would have caught up with them days
ago. First he had raised a wall of rock, forcing them to go around
it, then he had torn the earth apart in a great chasm, which had
delayed the Riders for two days. Nothing stopped them, however,
they just kept coming, their tireless steeds galloping day and
night. Sooner or later, they would catch up.
    When the
horses stumbled to a halt in the soft golden light of sunset,
Kieran scanned the terrain around them with bleary eyes. To his
right, a swathe of forest covered rolling hills to the horizon, and
ahead the mountain