The Grand Crusade Read Free

face. She could hear his voice and could not imagine him, like his father and grandfather, ever having gone over to Chytrine’s service.And she said it with such finality, he must be dead.
    She screwed her eyes shut against that possibility, because his death meant the end of the world. Tears gathered in her eyes and splashed down, spattering coldly against her hands. She pressed her body into a small ball and fought to gain control. Finally, she reached up and wiped the tears away.
    He’s not dead, she justthinkshe is. Wouldn’t be the first time she was wrong.
    That thought brought a smile to her face. Her tears stopped, but then her smile froze as she continued to hear adrip dripsound. She knew it wasn’t tears, but had no idea what it was.
    Then she opened her eyes.
    A man stood towering over her. Dark in mien and cold, he looked down at
    her through a bestial mask she almost thought she recognized. The eyes regarding her had no warmth or kindness, but instead were filled with an elemental curiosity. The blue orbs had white moving through them, much as slender ribbons of cloud move through a summer’s sky. The movement gained in speed and, for a moment, was the figure’s only motion.
    Then came anotherdrip.
    The mask was more than just a mask, flowing up into a cowl that ran down into a cloak. It had been fastened to the figure’s neck by the knotted arms of the creature that had once worn the skin. In the dim light Sephi saw enough bony plates to know it was the flesh of a Panqui.
    From there it was but a shudder for her to realize it was Lombo’s skin.And if they have killed Lombo, then the Norrington could be dead as well.
    She straightened up and met thesullanciri %cool gaze. “Your grandson, Will,
    is dead?“
    Nefrai-kesh nodded solemnly. “He died more of a hero than any of us will
    ever be.“
    Sephi hung her head and raised her hands to cover her face. She let herself sob once, then darted into the corridor and would have gotten free, save that Nefrai-kesh flicked his cloak, and the flaccid flesh that had covered Lombo’s tail swept her legs from beneath her. She crashed down hard, striking her forehead on the ground, then rolled to the far wall.
    Nefrai-kesh crossed to her and dropped to one knee. His hand caressed her cheek, then tucked an errant lock of dark hair behind her ear. “You, too, shall die well. Had you not been so curious, you might have lived.”
    Sephi narrowed her eyes. “I was spying for your grandson.”
    Thesullancirismiled. “He commanded loyalty. He was a Norrington truly.”
    “He still is. The greatest of them.”
    Nefrai-kesh paused for a moment, then said solemnly, “You are a fool if you believe that, child.” His hand slipped into her hair and closed on her neck right below her skull. His fingers tightened and her neck snapped. “And yet there are parts of me that hope you were right.”

CHAPTER
    Princess Alexia of Okrannel raised a gloved hand to shade her eyes as the green dragon upon which she rode dipped his right wing and began a lazy circle. Below lay Narriz, dusted in snow and spread out in several concentric semicircles emanating from the crescent harbor to the west. King Fidelius’ castle stood on the highest hill, with a clutch of cylindrical white towers that soared toward the sky. The brightly colored flags and pennants flapping away added an element of reality that banished any hope that she was dreaming.
    Beneath her the dragon’s flesh undulated as powerful muscles drove its wings. Though the air so high was quite frigid, the heat from the green dragon’s body made the space beneath a long red cloak quite warm, and she gladly shared that warmth with Crow. She pressed herself against his side, then turned and kissed his scarred right cheek.
    He smiled and his brown eyes sparkled. “What was that for?”
    “To make sure you don’t forget that I love you. And that I support you, no matter what happens below.”
    He tightened his arm around her shoulder. “Thank you.”
    The dragon