Read Online Cloud Walker, All Fools' Day, Far Sunset by Edmund Cooper - Free Book Online Page B

pleased me to make use of him. I little recked that he would take panic when I rose into the air.’
    The neddy stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘That must indeed have been a sight.’
    ‘Indeed it must, brother,’ said Kieron with unguarded enthusiasm. ‘There was a steady and strong offshore breeze, and I rose up from the beach, my legs dancing and seeking footholds where there were none. It was a wonderful feeling. I rose more than ten times the height of a man before the loop of cord was jerked from its hook.’
    ‘You were lucky, Kieron, that the sea broke your fall.’
    ‘That is why I waited for an offshore wind,’ explained Kieron. ‘That is why I chose to experiment on the beach.’
    ‘Experiment?’ Brother Sebastian raised his eyebrows. Experiment was a dangerous word. It smelled of fire.
    ‘Experiment in the sense of finding out how to handle the kite,’ amended Kieron hastily. ‘Nothing more.’
    Brother Sebastian stroked his chin slowly. At length, he said: ‘The kite was made of sail-cloth and willow wands.’
    ‘Yes, brother.’
    ‘And the harness as you call it had metal fastenings which could only have been fashioned by the smith.’
    ‘Yes, brother.’
    ‘It was a very ambitious kite, Kieron.’
    ‘Yes, Brother Sebastian. It was a very ambitious kite.’
    ‘And you designed it alone?’
    ‘I designed it alone.’
    ‘Sholto did not know your purpose?’
    ‘No, brother.’
    ‘And the boy Aylwin helped you only by anchoring the cord and by moving as directed?’
    ‘Yes, brother.’
    ‘I am told you instructed him in the use of a pulley, by which means he could control the kite without great exertion to himself.’
    ‘You are well informed.’
    ‘Yes, Kieron. I am well informed.’
    ‘The pulley. It is a very simple principle.’
    ‘Simple principles can be dangerous, Kieron. You have been instructed in the Holy Scripture, have you not?’
    ‘Yes, brother.’
    ‘Men have burned for simple principles, Kieron. Remember that.’
    Kieron wanted to rise from his bed and strangle this dull-witted neddy. But he had enough wit to say docilely: ‘Yes, Brother Sebastian.’
    ‘I have heard,’ went on the neddy, ‘that folk call you Kieron-head-in-the-air. Why should they call you that?’
    Kieron thought quickly, gave a shrug, and laughed. ‘Since I fell from Mistress Alyx Fitzalan’s mare, they also call me Kieron-arse-in-the-muck. People amuse themselves as they wish.’ It seemed as good a time as any to remind Brother Sebastian that Kieron was permitted to ride with Seigneur Fitzalan’s daughter.
    The neddy was not to be distracted. ‘You do not know why they call you Kieron-head-in-the-air?’
    ‘Brother, perhaps it is because I often look at the sky. The sky is a wonderful place. It is ever-changing. Its moods are always different.’
    ‘You are fascinated by the sky?’
    ‘Yes, Brother Sebastian, I am fascinated by the sky.’
    ‘And you wish to voyage through it?’
    Now, there was a dangerous question. Kieron was immediately alert to its implications.
    ‘The sky, the firmament, is beautiful,’ he said carefully. ‘The artist in me is profoundly moved by its aspects, and by the subtle changes it undergoes throughout the seasons … To the greater glory of Ludd.’
    Brother Sebastian crossed himself. ‘To the greater glory of Ludd,’ he echoed automatically. After a reverent pause, he continued: ‘But do you wish to voyage through it?’
    Kieron’s leg was hurting, and sweat was forming on his forehead, and he did not know how long he could endure the damnable persistence of the neddy.
    ‘I can admire the freedom of the bird without wishing to sprout feathers. I am a man, Brother Sebastian, accepting the freedom and the limitations of men. I rejoice in my human condition.’
    ‘But, Kieron, my brother, do you wish to fly?’
    ‘Brother Sebastian, I do not wish to be a bird.’
    Brother Sebastian sighed, and looked unhappy. ‘Your answers are less than