Read Online In Service Of The King (Book 2) by Steven Styles - Free Book Online Page B

watch for return of Jensen and his fellows.
    “Faster, fool!” the hairy man bellowed at him. “Work or I’ll see you taste the Master’s whip!” He threw a wide shovel at Joseph’s feet; taking it, the young man scooped up the broken rock. He carried it to the cauldron and dumped the heavy contents inside. Looking over the edge Joseph flinched at seeing its contents. The cauldron was nearly filled with molten gold; a bit of dark dross flaoting on top of a fortune in hot precious metal. Staring at the glowing mass,Joseph shook his head and turned back to the ore pile again.
    Before too long, he spied Jensen crouching behind a massive pile of broken stone nearby, along with three others; all looked wasted away, but each face bore a desperate hope, as each strained to look at the new stranger. He gave Jensen a quick nod and motioned for them to wait, out of sight. He broke rock and shoveled, waiting for the burly smith at the cauldron to turn away.
    Suddenly, a strange, piercing cry filled the air. It sliced through the noise and silenced all voices, echoing off the rock walls. All work seemed to stop and the workers cowered down in fear. Even the hairy smith sank to his knees. Joseph kept on his feet, looking around for the source of the cry.
    “Joseph!” the voice screeched. “Joseph of Rishown! The new slave! Kill him!”
    All over the structure and below it, the workers stood up and slowly turned--in an eerie display of synchronization--directing thier eyes upon Joseph.
    “Kill him!” they said, almost in one voice. “Kill him where he stands!”
    The hairy blacksmith stood from his work, an evil grin on his glistening face. Swinging the borrowed hammer Joseph let it fall full force on the hairy brute, knocking the man over. Jensen and the others clambered up onto the rockpile and took up rocks; with what strnegth remianed in them, they threw ore down upon the fiend until he moved no more.
    Joseph turned to the cauldron as his fellows finished off the smith. The smelter stood close to one of the massive timber supports of the wood-structure overhead. Wedging the handle of his hammer at an angle--at the base of the cauldron--Joseph pushed with all his might down upon it. Slowly the cauldron began to tip. Molten metal splashed out onto the cavern floor with short, hissing sounds.
    “Help me!” he called out, bearing down on the hammer. Using planks, Jensen and his fellows aided Joseph to tip the cauldron further; the steaming gold flowed out like a flaming river, right up against the timber column. The wood support began smoking, bursting into flames within a few seconds. Cries of “fire!” rang out in the levels above. Losing no time, Joseph ran to the next forge and it’s cauldron of molten gold.
    With the help of the thin prisoners, he fought off the workers and tipped the next cauldron over like the first, running away from the work structure. Hot, smoking metal swirled around under the open building and around it. The workers lost interest in finding their quarry; some fled the structure, others crowded the ramps to escape. Flames roared up the bottom columns and first level of the great structure, rising at a breathtaking speed. What men were not caught in the structure were hemmed in by the smoking pools of liquid metal under it.
    His back to a pile of ore, Joseph motioned for Jensen and his fellows to move behind him. Stepping in front of them, he faced what guards and workers had escaped the fire. The raging fires ahead reflected in his eyes as his fingers gripped the handle of the gold-spattered hammer.

    AT THE base of the winding staircase the gatekeeper fell to his knees, exhausted. Tyrus grabbed the man’s tunic and dragged him to his feet.
    Hezekiah stepped up to the wooden door and knocked. When the door cracked open, Hezekiah and Dunner threw themselves against it, knocking the cloaked servant back. As the Shamar entered the room, the servant picked himself off the floor and fled towards the