Dragonhammer: Volume II Read Free Page A

defend themselves in the middle of a melee.  Can you do that?”
    Aela nods.
    “Can you promise me that?”
    “Every warrior will meet their match,” I interrupt.  “It is not possible to promise one’s life.”
    “I can,” Aela says quietly.
    “What?” Nathaniel says.
    “I promise you I can defend myself,” Aela repeats.  “I have skill enough.”
    Genevieve glances at me and I nod covertly.  She shakes her head and calls, “Jarl Hralfar?”
    “Yes?” he says from the table by the wall, without looking up.
    “We have a soldier that has yet to take the oath.”
    Aela’s only response is to nod, as if she had known that this was the way it would turn out.  The Jarl looks up and says, “Who?”
    Genevieve gestures to Aela.
    The Jarl nods doubtfully and he thinks about his next words carefully.  Before he says them, he stands and walks deliberately to our position.  Then he gazes stonily into Aela’s brilliant eyes.
    “You can fight?” he asks.
    She nods.
    “You are willing to offer yourself and your life to our cause?”
    “I am.”
    “Then repeat after me.”
    I listen sincerely, almost mouthing the words as Aela’s euphonious voice echoes Jarl Hralfar’s gruff tone.  The oath goes as follows:
     
    I, Jarl Hralfar, do swear fealty to the clan of Gilgal and all of its authorized leaders,
    And offer myself as a protector of its values, to the death,
    And take upon myself all honors and responsibilities that calling holds.
    All Hail Gilgal.
     
    But, of course, Aela substitutes her name in for Jarl Hralfar’s.  She speaks the last line almost at a whisper, and a small smile tugs at her lips as she says them.
    “Good,” says the Jarl.  “You are a soldier.”
    “I have only one request,” she says.
    “Ask away,” he responds, striding back to the table.
    “That I be in the same company as he.”  She jerks her head in my direction as she says the last word.
    Genevieve glowers at her but Aela does not notice, or even seem to care.  The Jarl smiles and says, “I believe that was the understanding first of all,” he says.  “That will not be a problem.”
    “Thank you,” she says softly.  As the Jarl sits himself at his table, she walks to the middle of the room and studies the architecture.
    Nathaniel nudges me in the side with his elbow, but I remain stone-faced.  Aela stares intently at the throne for a long while.  I wonder what she is thinking.
    Suddenly the doors bang open and a messenger runs in, holding a folded piece of parchment.  “Message for Captain Armstrong,” he says.
    I take it hastily and unfold it.  On the parchment are written two words.
     
    One Week
     
    “One week,” I say softly with Jarl Hralfar reading over my shoulder.  I repeat the words even softer.
    “Why all the time?” Hralfar mutters.
    “I don’t know,” I reply.  “How long is the trip to Balgr’s Monument?”
    “Three or four days,” he answers.  “He’s given us time to prepare.”
    “He’s given himself time,” I decide.  “Either way, I’m going to take it.”
    “As you should,” he concurs.  “You will fight him there?”
    “Of course, Jarl,” I reply, turning away from the parchment and looking towards him.  “I am a man of my word.”
    “You are,” he agrees.  “I have faith in your ability to succeed.”
    “Thank you, Jarl.”
    He nods and walks back to his table.  I glance at Aela, but she avoids my gaze.  Nathaniel looks at me with an expression caught somewhere between awe and concern.
    “What?” I ask.
    He looks away and shakes his head.  “I see in you what I saw in our father,” he says.
    I nod.  “I have no problem with that.”
    Aela follows us out of the room, and as soon as we enter the hallway I voice, “I’m going to visit Percival and James in the infirmary.  They need to know.”
    Nathaniel agrees and Aela says nothing.
    Beds line the walls lit by large windows.  The room is large and bright, with a few nurses walking about