Read Online City in the Sky by Glynn Stewart - Free Book Online Page B

male.” The glimmer of the crystals vanished as Arien clenched it in her fist. “Which means, my grandson, that we must find you a replacement for this amulet, as it would never do for Lord Erik septon Tarverro, heir to and master of the most ancient and respected sept in the city of Newport, to wear a discharged protective amulet.”
    Erik stared at her in shock. He was a lord? The descendant of an ancient and powerful line?
    “It can't be,” he said aloud.
    “It is,” Arien said simply. A grin, a small one under the grief he'd brought her, appeared on her face. “And aren't some of our fellow ept going to just piss themselves at the thought of a half-blood septon !”
     
     
     
    Arien refused to tell him any more that night, simply arranging for him to be put up in a room, with a comment of “Now that you're here, we can justify opening up the main house.”
    The room was as comfortable as he could imagine, but sleep refused to come to him. In the course of a handful of hours, everything seemed to have changed. A few hours ago, he'd been a poor smith seeking his father's family. Now, he was apparently the lord of a noble clan.
    It was hard to accept, and the thought kept him tossing and turning all night. When the maid knocked on his door in the morning, he was already awake, up and shaving.
    “Come in,” he answered, and stepped out of the small bathroom attached to the room, toweling off his face.
    The Aeradi maid curtsied nervously to him, clearly made nervous by this huge stranger. Conceiving of himself as large and intimidating – the last thing he'd been among humans – was enough to bring a smile to his lips, which seemed to help the girl relax.
    “Milord septon ,” she addressed him, “your lady grandmother sent me to fetch you. She's presenting you to the kep this morning.”
    Erik still wasn't entirely clear on just who the kep were, but he also knew that, official authority or no official authority, Arien septol Tarverro would rule this sept in reality until she died. Which meant that if she wanted Erik Tarverro, the official septon of this clan, to turn up to be presented to the kep , Erik septon Tarverro was bloody well going to turn up.
    “Thank you,” he said quietly. “I will be down shortly.”
    The girl curtsied again and fled the room. With her absence, Erik began to sort through his trunks, looking for his formal tunic. He doubted it was Aeradi style, but it was all he had.
     
     
     
    In the end, the charcoal gray tunic and doublet appeared to pass Arien's inspection. When he came down, she looked him over, straightened the doublet and nodded cordially to him.
    “It's not what they'll expect,” she murmured, “but that's all to the good.”
    “Oh?” Erik asked.
    “By now,” she told him, “the rumor that there is a new septon Tarverro is beginning to percolate around the city. Without any intervention on our part, it will be all over the city by morning. By tomorrow morning, the fact that you're a half-blood will begin to spread. That will take longer to spread, as people will find it difficult to believe.” The old Aeradi woman shrugged. “I don't intend to let that happen.
    “We'll introduce you to the kep this morning. That's important – technically, you're not septon until they approve you. There won't be an issue, though,” she told him, soothingly. “You're Karn's son and have my support. They'll accept you.”
    “Good to know,” Erik replied, still nervous over the sudden change in his status and life.
    “Later, we'll take you to the tailors and get you fitted out in the sept colors,” she added.
    “Didn't you just say the clothes were fine?” Erik asked.
    “They're fine for being presented to the kep ,” Arien replied. “They won't do, however, for your presentation to the King and the Court tonight. We'll also need to get you a sky steel sword, but that may take too long to have it for tonight.”
    “I have one,” Erik told her. “The story behind