Empire of Bones Read Free

someone gave orders to have the guards shifted. The confusion left enough time for the rebels to sneak up and steal Argis’s body.”
    “Someone? Aren’t you supposed to be in command of the guards, Lord Jarrik?”
    Jarrik swallowed hard.
    Across the table, Skaning saw an opportunity to exploit himself. “Lord Harnin, I’ve had teams sweeping the Keep and surrounding grounds for the traitors. We’ll know who it was that betrayed you before nightfall.”
    Torchlight flickered subtly, reminding them of time when strife or chaos weren’t prevalent in their frozen northern kingdom. The large circular chamber was mostly empty, making it appear hollow. Half of the chairs hadn’t been filled since before King Badron took the bulk of the Wolfsreik and went to war with neighboring Rogscroft at the end of autumn. Cold, stone walls mocked the three lords, echoing their words to pointless levels.
    Jarrik shot him a violent glare.
    Harnin broke out in a fit of snide laughter, surprising them both. “Ever you seek to prove your value to me at the expense of another’s mistake, eh Skaning? I think I should have removed you long ago, because you’ve certainly done nothing usable since winter began.”
    “I’ve given this kingdom and you everything! My soldiers have secured countless enemy positions and stores, right up until the plague struck.”
    Harnin leveled his gaze and said, “Your soldiers have, but not you. You’ve kept yourself warm at my fires, eaten my food, drank my wine, and slept with my women but you’ve not gone out to the wolves and hunted. You show poor quality for a lord of Delranan.”
    Skaning opened and closed his mouth quickly.
    Harnin turned back to Jarrik. “I want the commander of the watch brought to me immediately. If I find any wrongdoing on his part he will be executed. From this moment every guard’s loyalty is in question. Trust none. This castle is no longer secure. I had thought the rebellion was finished, but they seem resilient. Perhaps your purge of Chadra wasn’t so successful after all, Lord Jarrik.”
    Entrusted with eradicating the rebellion during the time of weakness, Jarrik sent routine patrols into the main city and the docks with the standing order to kill on sight. They’d killed dozens. Under normal circumstances the number would have been inordinately small but the plague practically devastated the capital city. He felt dread growing in his stomach. Harnin would surely turn mediocre numbers into dismal mismanagement. The image of the executioner’s axe dropping on his neck chilled his blood.
    “Our patrols executed their tasks to standard, I assure you. The city was in disarray thanks to the effects of the plague. I wasn’t willing to risk the lives of my Men just to…”
    “To carry out the will of your ruler?” Harnin snapped bitterly. “If my own captains lack the willingness to fulfill their tasks what need have I for them?”
    Rebuked, he struggled to cover his inaction. “We will redouble our efforts. The rebels must have been considerably weakened. Rooting them out shouldn’t pose a problem.”
    “See that it doesn’t. I have no need of incompetent minions,” Harnin said, his voice deceptively calm. “Bring me the captain of the watch.”
     
     
     
    A pair of guards dragged the captain-of-the-watch’s body away by the ankles, careful not to get blood smears on Harnin’s carpets. His death was deemed necessary, even if there was no evidence linking him to the theft. Harnin needed an example. The guard captain was dead the moment Harnin summoned him. It was just a matter of how. Harnin was no stranger to violence. He’d been a warrior in one fashion or another for most of his fifty-odd years. Various battles and campaigns led him to the Man he was today. Or, rather, would have been if not for the dark, Cimmerian influences of the Dae’shan.
     
     
     
    Wiping the needle-like dagger clean, Harnin sat behind the grand desk that had belonged to the