Tarah Woodblade Read Free Page A

into the magic holdin’ it together, it’s liable to die on you.”
    The way the rogue horses had been created was a great mystery and the reason they were so rare was that most of them had died in the hands of wizards. Once again Lenui was glad Puppy was going to a scholar. Even if the gnome was curious about how it was made, he wouldn’t be likely to kill it with magic. Especially after Blayne’s speech.
    The gnome didn’t even look at Blayne. He simply shrugged and said. “I won’t need it for that long, I’m afraid. Anne, would you bring me the implements please? The animal’s odor is much too strong to bring it all the way back to the stables.”
    “Yes, High Scholar,” said the steward with the black sash. She ran to the camel and unstrapped a long cloth-wrapped bundle from its side.
    When she returned, the gnome withdrew a golden chalice from the bundle and handed it to her. Then he unwrapped the rest of the cloth, revealing a peculiar scepter. It was three-feet-long and made of polished copper. The length of the scepter was covered in intricate runes and its end was shaped into the likeness of a gnome’s head. The look on its face was joyous and its mouth was open as if it were singing.
    “Hold the animal still,” Abernathy commanded.
    The four guards surrounded the rogue horse, each one grasping a leg. Puppy didn’t like this treatment. He struggled and whimpered. The men had difficulty holding on. The gnome approached the rogue and wrapped the arm holding the scepter around its neck. Then he reached into his robes with his other hand and pulled out a wicked looking knife.
    Lenui’s eyes widened. “Hey, what’re you gonna-?”
    In one smooth motion, the gnome scholar drew the blade across Puppy’s throat. The rogue horse staggered as blood spewed from the wound. While one of the stewards caught some of the blood in the chalice, the scholar held the scepter underneath its neck, letting the blood soak into the runed length of it.
    “Puppy!” Lenui ran towards the rogue horse, but the gnome warrior darted in front of him. Lenui froze as he felt the cold of the gnome warrior’s blade against the skin of his throat. It gave him a warning glare. Blayne and Donjon grabbed Lenui by the arms and yanked him back.
    “What’re you doing, you blasted idjit!” Blayne snapped in his ear. They dragged him over to his horse. Blayne reared back and punched him in the mouth. Lenui fell backwards, his vision blurring. “Get up and get on your garl-friggin’ horse!”
    Lenui rolled to his knees and looked up in time to see the black-sashed steward hand the blood-filled chalice to Scholar Abernathy. The gnome drank deeply, then grimaced and handed it back to the steward. One of the other stewards rushed over to hand him a towel. The other held out a waterskin. The gnome rinsed out his mouth and spat, then began to clean the blood off of his face and hands.
    Puppy fell to his knees and shuddered, then the guards let go and he rolled onto his side. By the time the gnome handed the towel back to his stewards, the rogue horse had stopped breathing.
    Blayne kicked Lenui in the side. “I said, ‘on your horse’!”
    Lenui stood and spit out the blood that filled his mouth, noticing that one of his bottom front teeth came out with it. Numbly he realized that Blayne must have landed a knuckle right on it. Only twenty-four-years-old and he’d already lost a tooth. Maggie wouldn’t be happy about that. He climbed the set of stirrups and swung his leg over the saddle.
    “I told you not to get attached to them critters!” his uncle said, then walked over to talk to the steward.
    Lenui swallowed and ignored the snickers of the other smugglers as he looked at Puppy’s unmoving form. He clenched his fists. This was wrong. This was all wrong. He knew what his mother would have said. Maggie would have called this business. What the scholar did with his property was none of his concern. But his daddy would’ve seen things