Tokus Numas Read Free Page A

thought, maybe it’s under the rug . He squeezed out from under the bed, grunting as he made his way to his feet, and began to pull the bed frame off the rug and onto the wood floor. It made an eerie sound with each pull. It was not going well for him; he still could not find the tablet, and he was cursing himself for losing it in the first place—and waiting until now to look for it. What would King Amerstall think of him? Not being prepared, not taking it seriously enough? The king might laugh it off, in his good-humored way, but it meant something to Petro. When he finally got the frame all the way over to the center of the room as much as he could, having to stop and push the other debris he’d created out of the way, there was a knock on the door. He ignored it and started to pull the rug up. There was another knock, and he still ignored it. His head was under the rug when the door creaked open.
    “Why, you! Don’t you have any respect for this house? You are a ward of King Amerstall of Dugual, and you treat your gracious host as if you come from a den of filthy, ragged bums!” Henry said.
    Henry was a groundskeeper, sent to fetch Petro from his room to meet with Princess Dia and her companion, Silda. The years had taken hold of him, leaving their ancient, noticeable lines across his face and hands.
    Petro came out from under the rug and popped his head up over the debris to see the old man. “I was just trying to find my tablet. The one the Numas sent. I can’t find it,” Petro said, and then he began to look again, disappearing behind the debris.
    “You lost something the Numas sent you? Oh, you are hopeless. Finish getting dressed and come out. Princess Dia is waiting for you,” Henry said and walked away.
    Petro poked his head up once more to ask if they were still in the garden, but Henry had left. So much for making a good impression with Henry before he left Dugual. The two of them didn’t quite get along; Henry apparently saw Petro as getting a free ride whereas he himself had had to work all day, every day, since he was the age of ten. Petro’s shoulders slumped. There was no more time now to keep looking. Princess Dia and Silda waited, and there was little time left for visiting before he finally set forth and put Dugual behind him.

The red of life gives meaning to everything. There is a pathway, passed down through generation to generation; the Mother’s life beats in my heart as it beats in yours. Do you give the red of life so willingly? Will you not attempt to pass on your red of life to the next generation, or will it be spilled?
     
    —From The Journal of the Father, Father to All Orphans, King of Tallud , by the Father
     
    T he Father slumped forward, the spear resting across his lap. He was ever aware of the orbs above, making sure he had not given away too much of the real reason he had come here. There was hidden truth, a technology withheld from humanity, but for reasons unknown to him. The Numas never benefited from it, and neither did anyone else. Numas are fools to trust men like King Offing with their treasures of information , the Father thought. He’d find the Keepers—it was only a matter of time—but the Numas would find out what he intended soon enough, with their agents woven into every community across Spearca.
    The horse shuffled. “There, there,” he told it. “We will go soon enough. I know you are weary from battle; we’ll feed you the fine straw of this land, give you drink, and maybe find you a mare to breed with; and then we’ll call you ‘sire.’”
    Chuckles and snickers rippled through the men as they stood and watched.
    The stallion jostled under the Father. “He is a feisty one; I think he’s ready to get on with his siring.” His voice boomed for all to hear.
    The men’s laughter grew even louder, yet behind their outwardly carefree appearance was tension as they waited to see what would happen next.
    “I see your men here enjoying themselves.”