Grym Prophet (Song of the Aura, Book Three) Read Free Page B

her head. “The Raitharch isn’t being very cooperative. He says he won’t spare even a single ship from the restoration efforts, not for a miscreant like Lauro.”
     
    “A princely miscreant,” Gribly added, and Elia laughed in spite of herself, sending odd little shivers up his neck. He tried to clear his head and concentrate on the problem at hand. “That seems unreasonable, don’t you think? I mean, even though Mythigrad was attacked by a Sea Demon…”
     
    “…which almost tore straight into the Sanquegrad…”
     
    “… we did save them from it. Shouldn’t we have more, uh… bargaining power?” He bumped into a hurrying Reethe guard, who cursed at him in the nymphtongue before hurrying away. “Sorry,” he mumbled irritably. His mind was distracted in a dozen directions.
     
    “Well, yes,” Elia responded, “except that we caused the demon to wake in the first place, from the Raitharch’s point of view. It doesn’t matter that we were being chased by your look-alike pit-striding assassin, or that it was really him that woke the demon. It’s still our fault, in a way.”
     
    Gribly snorted. “Why isn’t Karmidigan or Cleric Lithric convincing King Varstis to change his mind?”
     
    “Oh, you’ve been walking around with your eyes closed and your ears plugged, haven’t you?” Elia answered irritably. “They have been. It’s just not enough- and who can blame the Raitharch, anyway? Varstis just lost most of his city… most of his people’s livelihood, even if most of them escaped the attack unharmed.”
     
    They were at the great double doors leading to the Raitharch’s throne room, at the farthest end of the Sanquegrad. Two masked Reethe guards stood motionless on either side, with round shields and curved spear-like weapons of a strange crystal substance in their very capable grip. The sight shocked Gribly back into reality a little. His rest was over now, just as Traveller had said in his dream. He was in the middle of an impending war , even if there were no clear sides yet. And the Pit Strider that had the same face as he did was still out there somewhere, alive and probably ready to take revenge.
     
    “Elia, wait,” he called after her as she strode towards the doors. She stopped and turned on him impatiently.
     
    “What is it? We need to talk to Raitharch Varstis ourselves, before we lose all our favor. We need to make amends.”
     
    “Not yet,” Gribly said quickly, stepping close to her and taking her shoulders. “First I need to make amends with you .” She stared at him, incredulous, and he continued. “For being so blind, and for acting as if I was the only one who mattered. I know I’ve been slipping back into my old attitudes these past days, and I’m sorry. I’ve let you carry the burden of this quest, when it should be me taking charge instead. I’ve… I’ve forgotten what you must be feeling still, even now… about your family… and…” his words slowed down, and Elia interrupted him before he could finish. Her family had died at the claws of bloodthirsty draiks, mere weeks ago.
     
    “I understand.” Her voice was quieter than it had been, and her words were softer. She shrugged his hands off, but she wasn’t frowning any more. “It’s been hard on all of us, Gribly, and this was the only time we’ve had to rest. It’s been pleasant, I’ll admit…” her eyes sparkled, and Gribly remembered their dance on the cliffs above the city, the day after he’d stopped the Sea Demon from destroying it. “But when your family cries out to you every night from beyond this life, cries out for someone to remember them… I’ll never forget, and I won’t rest until they rest in peace.”
     
    Gribly just nodded, dumbfounded. “How will you do that? How will you help them?”
     
    “I don’t know,” she whispered, and suddenly her eyes were full of tears, “I don’t know… maybe you should show me how, prophet .”
     
    The Sand Strider and