Read Online NexLord: Dark Prophecies by Philip Blood - Free Book Online Page A

about
the murder.  Darel had made it plain he thought that was
the proper course of action.
    Tocor's bronze gaze took in the fine clothing
that Darel wore, and the two Guardsmen.  He could tell by
the way the Guardsmen watched the crowd, and how they positioned
themselves compared to the boy that the guards were assigned to
protect, not apprehend the young boy.
    "Who is your friend?" Tocor asked, with far
more interest than he showed.
    "I don't know a lot about him, but he lives
in the city.  I think he comes from a wealthy part of
town," Aerin guessed, remembering the many coins Darel had
displayed while paying for the sweets.  He had to smile
remembering the way Lor's eyes had nearly bulged from his face at
the sight of those coins.
    "Indeed," Tocor responded, his interest
piqued.
    Darel and the Guardsmen turned a corner
without seeing Aerin and were soon lost to sight.
    Tocor motioned with his staff, and they
started off again toward the shops.
    As they turned the corner at the end of the
block a small knot of people could be seen a few steps ahead, they
seemed to be gathered around something to the side of the
road.  Whatever captivated their attention was blocked
from Aerin's sight by the backs of the watching spectators.
    Some kind of colorful balls rose above the
people's heads in a regular pattern; there was a gasp of pleased
surprise from the crowd, followed immediately by light
applause.  The crowd started to disperse and you could
hear the sound of coins being tossed into a cup.
    Tocor herded Aerin across the street to avoid
the dispersing crowd.  Aerin looked back to see what had
pleased the spectators and caught a glimpse of Lor picking up a cup
and emptying it into his pocket.  When he was done
Aerin’s friend started juggling the small colorful
balls.  New spectators started to gather but soon Aerin
and Tocor were too far away to see.
     
    There was no sign of the Guardsmen when Darel
met Aerin that afternoon in front of the Inn.
    Aerin looked up and down the street before
speaking to his new friend.  "Darel, you didn't go to the
Guardsmen, did you?” he asked as soon as Darel drew close.
    Darel frowned.  "Of course not, we
all agreed on our plan, though I still think we should talk about
this."
    "Then who were those Guardsmen with you
earlier?"
    Darel's eyes glanced away.  "One of
my," and here he hesitated, "teachers asked the Guardsmen to look
after me, I got in a little trouble for coming in so filthy and
late yesterday," he admitted.  "But I left them at the
Library.  I told them I was meeting a friend to do some
research and wouldn't need them for at least four
hours.  I didn't actually lie..."
    Aerin was new to the city so Guardsmen
guarding wealthy boys didn't seem like such a strange thing.
    Darel lowered his voice.  "Don't
mention the Guardsmen to Dono and Lor, they don't seem too keen on
Guardsmen and I don't want to upset them."
    Aerin nodded, looking around for the two
mentioned boys.
    "I wonder if those two rascals will
show?" Darel asked.
    "I'm sure they will after what we saw..."
Aerin trailed off, not wanting to actually say something about a
dead man.  "You keep an eye out for them; I need to tell
someone something real fast."  Then Aerin ran back to the
Inn courtyard looking for Tocor or Yearl.  He nearly ran
into the large Quarian who stood leaning on his gray staff just
inside the gate.
    "Oh!" Aerin said, sliding to a halt when he
found the Quarian so close.  "I was just looking for you!
Mara told me to tell you when I was going somewhere.  I'd
like to go and play with my new friends, Darel, Lor, and Dono if that is all right?"
    Tocor's eyes had not left the gate opening
where he was studying the profile of Darel.  "All right,
just make sure you're back by supper time or Mara might skin you
and make a new scabbard out of your hide."
    Aerin's eyes widened a bit, but he nodded and
then ran back to Darel.
    They walked a
little ways while looking up