Read Online Blood Of Kings: The Shadow Mage by Paul Freeman - Free Book Online Page A

from a small jug and handed it to Tomas. “As to the second question, Brother Joshan brought you here three days ago. He found you by the river and came to me for help. We would have brought you to the monastery, but it was too far and you were close enough to death as it was. He patched you up and applied the poultice to your wound. If you were wondering what the stink is, it’s the salve Brother Joshan applied.” In truth, Tomas had yet to regain full control and awareness of all his senses, but now that Rorbert mentioned it, his nose wrinkled at the pungent odour. “What happened, Tomas? I was long enough in the King’s Lancers to recognise an arrow wound.”
    “Aliss,” he answered, “they took her to the keep. I have to get her back!” Tomas tried to sit up again. This time he took it slower, and with a little help from the village elder, he managed to attain a seated position. Pain still shot though him, forcing a grimace and several silent curses.
    “You are in no condition to go anywhere.” Rorbert shook his head.
    “Where is Brother Joshan now?” Tomas asked through gritted teeth.
    “He was here this morning. He said he would look in later.”
    “Find him,” Tomas interrupted.
    “You are in no position to…”
    “Find him!” Tomas insisted, causing Rorbert to take a step back.
    “Okay, but first eat something.” Tomas nodded his assent and eased himself off the bed, while Rorbert piled some bread and smoked meat on a wooden plate, before placing it on the only table in the room. “I’ll be back shortly. Don’t leave this room,” the village elder said before turning and leaving.
    Easing himself into a rickety wooden chair, Tomas contemplated the meal. His stomach growled loudly reminding him he had not eaten in days.
    A little while later, exactly how long he couldn’t be sure, he was woken from a restless slumber by the sound of the door creaking.
    “Come in, come in quickly,” Rorbert instructed anxiously. Behind him a figure in a grey-hooded robe ducked through the narrow doorway. Once inside, the priest pushed back the cowl to reveal a worn unshaven face, with tufts of grey hair standing on top of an otherwise bald head. Cold, hard eyes, the colour of a winter sky regarded him.
    “So he yet lives,” a rasping voice came from the throat of the stooped priest.
    “Aye. Tomas is a strong one.”
    “You speak as if I am not here before you,” Tomas said.
    “Whist, boy! Let me see the wound.” The priest fumbled none too gently at the dressing, releasing the vapours from the poultice. Tomas flinched when he probed the wound grunting in satisfaction. “The gods will not claim you for a while yet. Now tell me, what has happened?”
    “The magistrate has taken Aliss,” Tomas snarled. The priest shook his head and turned to Rorbert for an explanation.
    “Aye, what Tomas says is true. The magistrate was called here on another matter. A charge of witchcraft was levelled against Aliss by another woman. It was her baby the men searched for…”
    “Hold,” the old priest cut Rorbert off. “Another woman? A baby? How does this concern Aliss and the charge of witchcraft? Please, start from the beginning.”
    Rorbert began again. How the men of the village went in search of the missing baby, what happened while they were away in the Great Wood. Tomas too listened to the story intently, a pained expression crossing his face when the older man related how his wife had been taken.
    “Hmmm.” The robed priest sat back into a chair. “The babe may well have been taken to the Great Wood, but not by any wolves.”
    “What do you mean?” Rorbert asked.
    “Enough on that for now.” He turned towards Tomas then. “And you, like a big dumb ox went thundering after them, facing the magistrate’s guards all alone.”
    “They are hypocrites. The king surrounds himself with mages and then orders the arrest of women who are just helping their community with simple healing gifts. And the church