Read Online Of Sea and Shadow (The Elder Empire: Sea Book 1) by Will Wight - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Will Wight
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mother was giggling.
He flushed again, until he was afraid that the whole top half of his body glowed bright red. “Unloaded, of course.”
Alsa slowly got the laughter under control. “What? Oh, no, all the weapons in my house are loaded.”
She bent over, plucked a misshapen lead ball from the floor, and tossed it into his lap.
He examined the pillow, but other than a small black smudge from the barrel, it was pristine. “Then...how...”
“When you’re bragging, make sure you know who you’re talking to.”
Calder placed his hand against the pillow and focused his mind, Reading it.
His mother’s voice smothered his mind, You cannot be punctured. Every one of your fibers is a cord of steel. You only have to stop one shot. You cannot be punctured.
She had actually invested the pillow with enough Intent to stop a bullet? With that brief of a touch?
Calder straightened himself, striving to look as dignified as he could with a burning face. And without looking his mother in the eye. “You’re a Reader yourself, then.”
Alsa folded her arms, still holding the smoking gun. “I’m surprised your father didn’t tell you. What did you think I did for the Blackwatch?”
He had imagined her as a clerk or some kind of administrator, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud.
“You’re very fortunate,” Alsa went on, her voice softening. “Readers are very much in demand among all the Guilds. You speak well for your age, you’re obviously perceptive and intelligent, and if your talent is anything like mine...well, when I was only a little older than you, I had Guilds lining up to bid for me. Literally bidding.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” he admitted.
“There’s quite a bit of variety in the ten Guilds. I’m sure you’ll find a place where you fit in.” She straightened and set the pistol back on the table, presumably to be reloaded later. “In the meantime, I’ll have a tutor here for you before the end of the week.”
His eyes rose to the other display of weaponry, the pair of swords lying below the tusk. “Will he teach me to use those, too?”
In the first genuine sign of affection she’d given him since he stepped into this house, she placed a hand on his head. “You’ll learn all three of them, son. But he won’t be teaching you.”
He looked up at her, confused.
“I will.”
In the space of a day, he had traded thieving lessons with his father for fencing lessons with his mother. His father was still missing, and Rojric’s absence was like a burning hole in his chest. He would have to find a way to bring all three of them together.
He was a Reader; he could do it.
He could do anything.
C HAPTER F IVE
Calder had spent so long cleaning out the cabin for his passengers that it felt strange to be using it himself. Everything was tucked neatly away instead of lying conveniently within reach, and even the chest at the foot of his bunk had been rearranged and organized.
He dipped his sponge in the bucket of soapy water, then scrubbed at his bare chest. Jyrine had taken the time for a full bath at her parents’ house that afternoon, but Calder hadn’t gotten the same chance. He sponged himself off while cloth ruffled behind him: the sounds of her changing for bed.
“We could still make it out of the bay,” Jerri said lightly.
“It’ll be easier if we wait until dawn.” He leaned to one side as she reached past him for her hairbrush. At first, it had been difficult to move around each other in such a confined space, but now they were both used to it.
“If we move out of the bay and into the Aion, the Lyathatan can keep us anchored, and we’ll be farther out of the reach of any attackers. The longer we sit here, the greater the risk.”
Calder stood in a wide basin, squeezing the sponge over his head to unleash a waterfall of soap and water. “I’m tired, Jerri. You’re tired. Andel’s tired. Even the Witnesses are tired. If I make the Lyathatan drag us out
He flushed again, until he was afraid that the whole top half of his body glowed bright red. “Unloaded, of course.”
Alsa slowly got the laughter under control. “What? Oh, no, all the weapons in my house are loaded.”
She bent over, plucked a misshapen lead ball from the floor, and tossed it into his lap.
He examined the pillow, but other than a small black smudge from the barrel, it was pristine. “Then...how...”
“When you’re bragging, make sure you know who you’re talking to.”
Calder placed his hand against the pillow and focused his mind, Reading it.
His mother’s voice smothered his mind, You cannot be punctured. Every one of your fibers is a cord of steel. You only have to stop one shot. You cannot be punctured.
She had actually invested the pillow with enough Intent to stop a bullet? With that brief of a touch?
Calder straightened himself, striving to look as dignified as he could with a burning face. And without looking his mother in the eye. “You’re a Reader yourself, then.”
Alsa folded her arms, still holding the smoking gun. “I’m surprised your father didn’t tell you. What did you think I did for the Blackwatch?”
He had imagined her as a clerk or some kind of administrator, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud.
“You’re very fortunate,” Alsa went on, her voice softening. “Readers are very much in demand among all the Guilds. You speak well for your age, you’re obviously perceptive and intelligent, and if your talent is anything like mine...well, when I was only a little older than you, I had Guilds lining up to bid for me. Literally bidding.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” he admitted.
“There’s quite a bit of variety in the ten Guilds. I’m sure you’ll find a place where you fit in.” She straightened and set the pistol back on the table, presumably to be reloaded later. “In the meantime, I’ll have a tutor here for you before the end of the week.”
His eyes rose to the other display of weaponry, the pair of swords lying below the tusk. “Will he teach me to use those, too?”
In the first genuine sign of affection she’d given him since he stepped into this house, she placed a hand on his head. “You’ll learn all three of them, son. But he won’t be teaching you.”
He looked up at her, confused.
“I will.”
In the space of a day, he had traded thieving lessons with his father for fencing lessons with his mother. His father was still missing, and Rojric’s absence was like a burning hole in his chest. He would have to find a way to bring all three of them together.
He was a Reader; he could do it.
He could do anything.
C HAPTER F IVE
Calder had spent so long cleaning out the cabin for his passengers that it felt strange to be using it himself. Everything was tucked neatly away instead of lying conveniently within reach, and even the chest at the foot of his bunk had been rearranged and organized.
He dipped his sponge in the bucket of soapy water, then scrubbed at his bare chest. Jyrine had taken the time for a full bath at her parents’ house that afternoon, but Calder hadn’t gotten the same chance. He sponged himself off while cloth ruffled behind him: the sounds of her changing for bed.
“We could still make it out of the bay,” Jerri said lightly.
“It’ll be easier if we wait until dawn.” He leaned to one side as she reached past him for her hairbrush. At first, it had been difficult to move around each other in such a confined space, but now they were both used to it.
“If we move out of the bay and into the Aion, the Lyathatan can keep us anchored, and we’ll be farther out of the reach of any attackers. The longer we sit here, the greater the risk.”
Calder stood in a wide basin, squeezing the sponge over his head to unleash a waterfall of soap and water. “I’m tired, Jerri. You’re tired. Andel’s tired. Even the Witnesses are tired. If I make the Lyathatan drag us out
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