Solace Shattered Read Free Page A

said.
    The general didn’t reach for the sword with his single hand, so Juvenot, with a chest full of breath, held it for him to examine.
    Brow contracted, the general said with heavy disappointment, “It isn’t what I expected.”
    Juvenot’s pulse raced in alarm. How could it not be the sword? Why in the Eternal Master’s name would there be more than one sword at the bottom of the lake? Did Aleniusson mean to keep the sword’s identity a secret? Steal it? Juvenot cast the gaze of his one eye to the ground and with all the respect in the world said, “It looks a fine sword, my sovereign’s son.”
    “It is so fine that Captain Degarius had his name put upon it. What a bastard, to mar such a blade with his foul name.” The general grabbed the sword and went to the two skeletons baking in the sun. One was that of the man who killed Seraph; the other was the creature’s. It stretched a hundred paces along the shoreline. The corpses had floated to the top of the lake before Aleniusson arrived. Now, three new moons later, the flesh had all decayed and the bones were bleaching. Aleniusson took the sword and thrust it downward through rib cage of the man’s skeleton. The blade stuck upright in the ground. Then he bent, took the forearm bone, and flung it into the lake.
    The rest of the men had arrived from the boats and the barracks. They gathered around the pot, looking at turns from Juvenot to the general. Juvenot smelled fear all around him. Not the sweet smell of the captives he’d fed to Seraph. It was like the stink of common farmhands, part sweat and part manure. It hung around the men in dense clouds like the mosquitoes at twilight.
    Their glances to him were accusing. Because he had found the blade, they were deprived the chance of mercy. Maybe the smell of fear was tainted with anger. Though certainly fear was stronger. They feared for their fates because they weren’t the lucky one to find the sword, and the general was in a rage. What punishment would he bestow on them for allowing Seraph to be killed?
    The general pulled the sword from the ground and returned to the waiting men. “It is the sword that killed the draeden and the sword that took my arm. I am ordered to bring the man who found this to the Forbidden Fortress so that the sovereign may reward him. That is you.” He pointed the sword at Juvenot.
    “It has been my honor to serve the sovereign.” Juvenot bowed. He was to receive a reward from the sovereign! “I was caretaker of the creature during our journey here.”
    “You are the man who cannot smell,” said the general.
    Juvenot nodded.
    “And you’ve lost an eye. You have suffered a great deal in this life. I am glad I shall not have to inflict another deficit upon you.”
    In Aleniusson’s face there was sympathy. Having lost an arm, he understood. What a noble son the sovereign had chosen. But of course, the sovereign would chose brilliantly.
    “I am required to ask that you promise to speak to no one about what happened here. The sovereign does not want his enemies to know that the draeden existed...and was killed. Do you promise?”
    Juvenot pounded his fist to his heart. “With all my soul.”
    “Good. As for the others, guards—”
    The Fortress Guards drew their swords and Juvenot put his hand to his nose. The place was rotten with fear.
    “The sovereign ordered your deaths, but since you worked diligently dredging the lake, I am moved to mercy.”
    A relieved cheer went up.
    “Cut out their tongues.”

    The Forbidden Fortress, Gheria
    “I have most excellent news for you, my Sovereign,” said the Cleric Rorke. His mouth salivated at the sweetness of the announcement, as if it was cream-filled pastry presented on gold plate.
    The sovereign was sitting alone in the coffin room. Only a few of the candles in the glass globes were lit, giving the soft glow of twilight to the scenes of the four seasons painted on the walls. “We are glad you are here. We have an