Read Online Call of Brindelier (Keepers of the Wellsprings Book 3) by Missy Sheldrake - Free Book Online Page B

says. Keep close to the ones you don’t trust. Keep them in your sights. That makes it difficult for them to hide their secrets.
    “You staying here at the Swoop?” I ask.
    He looks around a little distastefully. “I imagine,” he says.
    “I know a better place,” I offer. He looks at me. Thinks I’m trying to trick him, I bet.
    “I have to wait here for that guard to come back,” he says.
    “Suit yourself. It’s on Overlook,” I say. “Out of here, turn right. The Ganvents. They’re my family. Ask for them. Nessa takes kids in. She’ll be happy to have another even for a short stay. We’ve got a Mage girl there. Name’s Lilen. You two will have a lot to talk about. Tell them Tib sent you. I’ve got to take care of this anyway.” I gesture to the iron at my back. “I’ll be home before sundown.”
    “What is it?” he asks, pointing to the iron.
    “Later,” I reply. Before he can ask me anything else, I put a silver on the table and slide from the bench. I disappear into the rowdy crowd and out into the market.
    The sun is low in the sky, but it’s still so hot that sweat runs down my back. I shift the metal again and wipe my brow. I don’t have a lot of time if I’m going to get back to Nessa’s by supper. I hope Loren decides to show up. If not, he’ll be one more thing on my daily list to track down. I duck into alleys and jog along twisting, lesser-traveled routes until I reach the shack. Goosebumps prickle my arms and neck. The first time I came here, I was attacked by mercenaries, and then the Dreamwalker. I almost died. If Saesa and Raefe hadn’t found me and brought a healer to me, I would have.
    It was Mevyn who forced me here, I think to myself like I do every time I climb down this ladder. Into darkness. Into the cool underground. I think about Mevyn every time I come down here. I wonder if I’d have fought harder against him if I knew what we’d end up accomplishing together. No, I would have chosen it. Chosen to help him revive Valenor and restore Sunteri’s Wellspring and its fae. He was the last of them, after all. He should have trusted me with the truth from the beginning. Still, as difficult and controlling as he was, I miss him sometimes.
    I close my eyes as I climb down. Remember the fight above, when Mevyn drove my attacker away with a spear to the eye. Remember the vision Jacek, the Dreamwalker, created for me as I tried to escape him. Zhilee running through the red blooms. My little sister, happy and alive. My older sister, Viala, buried in the pages of her book. Red petals floating in the air. My foot finds the dusty bottom too soon. I hop down. Back to reality. At least I still have Viala. She’s changed, but she’s still alive. Her name is Ki now. She lives with the fae in Kythshire. In service to Iren, the Guardian of the North.
    It’s different down here since I’ve been working. I light the torches with my flint and unbuckle the iron from my back. It falls to the ground with a clatter. I roll my sore shoulders with relief. Look over my work. Chains. Gears. Cranks. Fins. Wings. Bellows. Bladders. This iron will be the brace for the left. Tomorrow I’ll track down another strip and have Benen shape the right for me.
    I get started attaching it with thick cords and screws. I’m too absorbed in my work to notice the shadows stretching longer. Thicker. My eyelids droop. It’s been a long day. I could sleep. Just a nap, a short one. My head bobs forward. My eyes close. I snap them open again.
    “Very funny,” I mumble. Tie a knot. Burnish the leather. The shadows laugh. I’m not afraid. I know very well who it is. A friend. Out of the corner of my eye I glimpse his billowing cloak. His bright grin against deep brown skin. His long, silver beard. Valenor. The rightful Dreamwalker, who reclaimed his position after Jacek’s defeat.
    “Don’t make me regret that I allowed you to help me sleep, Valenor,” I chuckle. When I turn to look at him properly, he’s