Read Online One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes - Free Book Online
Authors: John Barnes
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sure afterward whether he had seen the Captain of the Guard descend, or whether he had merely caught moments when the twisting, bucking rope passed through blots of dim torchlight.
It would have been natural for someone else to go next, but before anyone had a chance Amatus had drawn on the heavy glove he carried with him for such occasions and was sliding down the line to the bottom. He had seen how the rope swayed under the Twisted Man, but nothing had prepared him for the wild way it whipped in and out of the darkness, sometimes swinging into the great sewer-mouth, and sometimes far out over the river, or for the heart-stopping slips every time his grip loosened. As he neared the bottom, the line began to steady, and with an almost-gentle bump his foot touched the slimy pavement.
"You might have steadied the line," he said to the Twisted Man.
"You did not need it. Those who follow will, so give me your hand here." Their three hands took up slack in the line.
"You're quite the bodyguard," Amatus said, not liking the whining tone he noticed in his own voice, and regretting it instantly.
"I'm not. I'm a mysterious Companion." The Twisted Man's voice rasped like a file screaming against a grindstone. "That's what the tale calls for. And if I were anything else, I would be the Captain of the Guard, and I would be carrying you home to your father and administering a sound spanking. Fortunately I have no taste for administrative duties and your father has a keen understanding of what goes into the making of princes."
"Enough chatter. The others are coming down. Slitgizzard will come last, so that he can help others onto the line," said Mortis's voice behind them.
Amatus knew better than to ask the Royal Witch how she had gotten there; possibly she had flown or just walked through some little fold in the world. So he nodded acknowledgment and braced his foot.
The first one down was Calliope, scrambling down and yanking the rope in all directions. Amatus helped catch her at the bottom, his open hand pressing upward to stop her, then letting her slide down into his arm, and enjoyed it a great deal. Psyche came quickly and lightly, barely moving the rope; Golias clambered after, more clumsily because he was stout. Finally Sir John Slitgizzard made his quick, neat descent, and they were ready for their journey into the dark wet spaces under the city.
5
Rational Beast and Rationalizing Royalty
For a long time there was no need to speak, and so they only followed the torch that Golias held aloft, and glanced at each other now and then. Mortis was calm as ever, and now that they were belowground had thrown back the hood of her cloak so that her white hair and blue skin shone in the near darkness. Golias, John Slitgizzard, and the Twisted Man all seemed to be waiting calmly for something, and Amatus decided it must be because they were more experienced adventurers than he. He tried to act like them but all he could manage was a moment or so of it between his heart lurching at shadows and walking along as if he were trailing behind his father at some boring Court function.
Behind him, Calliope and Psyche walked; he didn't look back because he was afraid that either they would be cowering, and seeing them his own nerve would break, or that they would look more brave and unconcerned than he felt.
They had walked for a long time before they saw any signs of goblins. Since Boniface had given him the army, Cedric had been systematic and efficient about goblin control, and nowadays it was only a rare one who came to the surface, usually on a dare, and usually doing only slight harm, writing something scurrilous on a wall or dumping the milk sitting by someone's door. As they neared Goblin Country, they could see byproducts of goblin control; skeletons of goblins and pieces of armor and escrees appeared around every bend. The skulls were the worst of it, for the torchlight flickered in the eyeholes so that for a moment a light would
It would have been natural for someone else to go next, but before anyone had a chance Amatus had drawn on the heavy glove he carried with him for such occasions and was sliding down the line to the bottom. He had seen how the rope swayed under the Twisted Man, but nothing had prepared him for the wild way it whipped in and out of the darkness, sometimes swinging into the great sewer-mouth, and sometimes far out over the river, or for the heart-stopping slips every time his grip loosened. As he neared the bottom, the line began to steady, and with an almost-gentle bump his foot touched the slimy pavement.
"You might have steadied the line," he said to the Twisted Man.
"You did not need it. Those who follow will, so give me your hand here." Their three hands took up slack in the line.
"You're quite the bodyguard," Amatus said, not liking the whining tone he noticed in his own voice, and regretting it instantly.
"I'm not. I'm a mysterious Companion." The Twisted Man's voice rasped like a file screaming against a grindstone. "That's what the tale calls for. And if I were anything else, I would be the Captain of the Guard, and I would be carrying you home to your father and administering a sound spanking. Fortunately I have no taste for administrative duties and your father has a keen understanding of what goes into the making of princes."
"Enough chatter. The others are coming down. Slitgizzard will come last, so that he can help others onto the line," said Mortis's voice behind them.
Amatus knew better than to ask the Royal Witch how she had gotten there; possibly she had flown or just walked through some little fold in the world. So he nodded acknowledgment and braced his foot.
The first one down was Calliope, scrambling down and yanking the rope in all directions. Amatus helped catch her at the bottom, his open hand pressing upward to stop her, then letting her slide down into his arm, and enjoyed it a great deal. Psyche came quickly and lightly, barely moving the rope; Golias clambered after, more clumsily because he was stout. Finally Sir John Slitgizzard made his quick, neat descent, and they were ready for their journey into the dark wet spaces under the city.
5
Rational Beast and Rationalizing Royalty
For a long time there was no need to speak, and so they only followed the torch that Golias held aloft, and glanced at each other now and then. Mortis was calm as ever, and now that they were belowground had thrown back the hood of her cloak so that her white hair and blue skin shone in the near darkness. Golias, John Slitgizzard, and the Twisted Man all seemed to be waiting calmly for something, and Amatus decided it must be because they were more experienced adventurers than he. He tried to act like them but all he could manage was a moment or so of it between his heart lurching at shadows and walking along as if he were trailing behind his father at some boring Court function.
Behind him, Calliope and Psyche walked; he didn't look back because he was afraid that either they would be cowering, and seeing them his own nerve would break, or that they would look more brave and unconcerned than he felt.
They had walked for a long time before they saw any signs of goblins. Since Boniface had given him the army, Cedric had been systematic and efficient about goblin control, and nowadays it was only a rare one who came to the surface, usually on a dare, and usually doing only slight harm, writing something scurrilous on a wall or dumping the milk sitting by someone's door. As they neared Goblin Country, they could see byproducts of goblin control; skeletons of goblins and pieces of armor and escrees appeared around every bend. The skulls were the worst of it, for the torchlight flickered in the eyeholes so that for a moment a light would
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