Read Online A Joust of Knights (Book #16 in the Sorcerer's Ring) by Morgan Rice - Free Book Online Page B

turning and twisting it; he felt as if his insides were being
destroyed.
    “You are not a very good liar,” the
taskmaster said. “We found their ships burned. How could she have crossed the
sea?”
    Boku shrieked, blood coming from his
mouth, determined not to speak.
    “I will ask you but one more time,” he
demanded. “Where did she go? Where are they hiding? Her people are not among
the dead, and we have already ransacked your village—and all your caves. They are
nowhere to be found. Tell me where they are, and I will kill you quickly.”
    Boku’s pain was unimaginable, but he
gritted his teeth and shook his head, tears coming from his eyes, determined
not to give Gwendolyn up. With one great burst of energy, he managed to spit.
He watched in satisfaction as blood from his mouth sprayed into the Empire
taskmaster’s eyes.
    The taskmaster, furious, reached down
with both hands, pulled out the corkscrew, and plunged it into Boku’s chest. Boku
felt an even worse agony, as the man pushed down with all his might, turning
and twisting. He felt his bones breaking in every direction, an agony even he
could not bear. He would do anything to make it stop. Anything in the world.
    “I beg you!” Boku pleaded.
    “Tell me!” the taskmaster replied.
    “The…Waste,” Boku found himself screaming,
involuntarily. “The Great Waste. I swear to you! I swear it!”
    Boku wept, ashamed he had given them up.
He had wanted more than anything to protect them, but the pain had been too
intense, taking over his brain, making him unable to think straight.
    Finally, the Empire soldier stopped,
satisfied, and grinned down at him.
    “I actually believe you,” he said.
“Though I am sorry to say—it won’t save you.”
    Several Empire soldiers stepped forward,
daggers drawn—and Boku felt himself pierced by a million knives, in pain from
every corner of his body.
    Finally, he was able to let go. Finally,
sweet death came for him.
    Before leaving it all, embracing his
ancestors, the great light, one final thought came to him:
    I am sorry, Gwendolyn. I betrayed you. I
betrayed you.
     

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
     
    Erec stood at the stern of his ship,
taking up the rear of his fleet as they all continued to sail upriver, and he
looked out behind them, downriver, watching the twisting river for any sign of
the Empire. On the horizon, he could still see the faint outline of black smoke
from where they had created a blockade and had set the ships on fire, and judging
by the smoke, it was still burning strongly. Given how tightly wedged those
ships were in such a narrow area—and given the fires keeping them at bay—Erec felt
confident that the Empire could not break through quickly. Erec imagined they
might have to resort to ropes and grappling hooks to pull away the debris. It
would be a slow and tedious process. It had bought Erec and his fleet the
precious lead they needed.
    Erec turned and looked back upriver, saw
his ships sailing before him, and felt relieved that he was at the rear; if the
Empire did catch up with them, Erec would be the first to defend his people.
    “You need no longer worry, my lord,”
came a soft voice.
    Erec felt a gentle, reassuring hand on
his arm and he turned to see Alistair, coming up beside him and smiling
graciously back.
    “Our ships are faster than theirs,” she
said, “and there has been so sign of them all day. As long as we keep sailing,
they shall not catch us.”
    Erec smiled back and kissed her,
reassured by her presence, as always.
    “There is always something a leader must
worry about,” he replied. “If it’s not what’s behind us, then it’s what lies
ahead.”
    “Of course,” she replied. “All security
is an illusion. As soon as we stepped foot on this ship and set sail from the Southern
Isles, safety did not exist. But that’s what ships are meant for, is it not?
That is what makes us who we are.”
    Erec was impressed by her wisdom, her
courage, and he knew that royal