Read Online Prelude to Fire: Parts 1 and 2 by D. K. Holmberg - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: D. K. Holmberg
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hurt, but less than it had. He might be injured, but he would survive. Would the same be true for Veran?
“When you disappeared as quickly as you did, I figured something was off. Then, when I realized I was in the student library… let’s just say that I haven’t been in the university in quite a while.”
Jayna smiled. When she did, she looked quite lovely.
Lacertin pushed the thought out of his head. He wasn’t willing to even teach students; why should he get involved with them in another way?
“You were in Incendin?” Jayna asked.
“Not Incendin. Near Incendin. Nara.”
“Then how did the hounds…”
Lacertin shook his head. Veran had made a mistake, but he wouldn’t share that with others. “The barrier isn’t completely secure. It holds, but there were three hounds, and they were determined,” he said.
Still, had Veran not shaped the barrier, they wouldn’t have managed to attack. Other shapers would need to know about that weakness before they made the same mistake, before they were injured in the same way.
A different thought came to him. Was that how Pherah and Roln had died?
He struggled to sit up, but he couldn’t. The effort of shaping his way here had sapped his strength, and the injuries he now had made it even worse. He wouldn’t be going anywhere, at least not for a while.
Jayna pressed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him from moving too much. Either she was strong or he was even weaker than he realized. Lacertin sagged back onto the cot.
“Where do you think you were going to go?” she asked. “You’ve got a few broken ribs, a gash on your head that had to be healed, and you’ve been sleeping for the last day straight. Even the great Lacertin can take a few moments to recover, don’t you think?”
Lacertin closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. “Nothing great about Lacertin,” he said.
Jayna laughed. “You’re probably right. All I see is a man too battered to move, mostly because he shaped himself and another warrior across the kingdoms.”
“I need to see him.”
“Master Veran?” she asked. “He’s in no shape to talk, and I’m not sure that Master Wallyn would allow anyone to try. Rest, let him recover, and then you can talk to him.”
Lacertin noted the hitch to her voice when she mentioned Veran recovering and realized that it wasn’t a sure thing that he would. If they lost Veran after losing Pherah and Roln, that would be more warriors than had been lost in the last five years. With the barrier in place, the kingdoms and her shapers should be more protected, but so far, Lacertin wasn’t seeing that to be the case.
“If not Veran, then find Alice. I need to speak with her.”
He needed to understand what had happened with Pherah so that he could make certain that it didn’t happen to another shaper.
“Master Alice? She left the city about the same time as you did,” Jayna said.
“Left?” Lacertin repeated. Alice wasn’t going to leave; she had intended to remain while Veran brought him to the place Pherah had died. “Where did she go?”
Jayna flushed again, and this time Lacertin couldn’t help but notice how attractive it made her. Maybe it was the fact that she was older than the typical student, or maybe he’d been gone so long from the city that the self-imposed restrictions were altered.
“As you said, I’m just a student,” she said.
“A student working with Master Wallyn. There aren’t many he’s willing to teach,” Lacertin said.
Jayna smiled at him. “He knew my father. I think that’s the only reason.”
Lacertin laughed lightly, and even that hurt his ribs. He reached his hands across his chest and hugged himself. As he did, he realized that it wasn’t only his shirt that was missing, but also his jacket and sword. Inside the jacket pocket was the box he’d been sent to retrieve.
“Where are the rest of my belongings?” he asked.
Jayna shook her head. “I don’t know. When you were brought
“When you disappeared as quickly as you did, I figured something was off. Then, when I realized I was in the student library… let’s just say that I haven’t been in the university in quite a while.”
Jayna smiled. When she did, she looked quite lovely.
Lacertin pushed the thought out of his head. He wasn’t willing to even teach students; why should he get involved with them in another way?
“You were in Incendin?” Jayna asked.
“Not Incendin. Near Incendin. Nara.”
“Then how did the hounds…”
Lacertin shook his head. Veran had made a mistake, but he wouldn’t share that with others. “The barrier isn’t completely secure. It holds, but there were three hounds, and they were determined,” he said.
Still, had Veran not shaped the barrier, they wouldn’t have managed to attack. Other shapers would need to know about that weakness before they made the same mistake, before they were injured in the same way.
A different thought came to him. Was that how Pherah and Roln had died?
He struggled to sit up, but he couldn’t. The effort of shaping his way here had sapped his strength, and the injuries he now had made it even worse. He wouldn’t be going anywhere, at least not for a while.
Jayna pressed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him from moving too much. Either she was strong or he was even weaker than he realized. Lacertin sagged back onto the cot.
“Where do you think you were going to go?” she asked. “You’ve got a few broken ribs, a gash on your head that had to be healed, and you’ve been sleeping for the last day straight. Even the great Lacertin can take a few moments to recover, don’t you think?”
Lacertin closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. “Nothing great about Lacertin,” he said.
Jayna laughed. “You’re probably right. All I see is a man too battered to move, mostly because he shaped himself and another warrior across the kingdoms.”
“I need to see him.”
“Master Veran?” she asked. “He’s in no shape to talk, and I’m not sure that Master Wallyn would allow anyone to try. Rest, let him recover, and then you can talk to him.”
Lacertin noted the hitch to her voice when she mentioned Veran recovering and realized that it wasn’t a sure thing that he would. If they lost Veran after losing Pherah and Roln, that would be more warriors than had been lost in the last five years. With the barrier in place, the kingdoms and her shapers should be more protected, but so far, Lacertin wasn’t seeing that to be the case.
“If not Veran, then find Alice. I need to speak with her.”
He needed to understand what had happened with Pherah so that he could make certain that it didn’t happen to another shaper.
“Master Alice? She left the city about the same time as you did,” Jayna said.
“Left?” Lacertin repeated. Alice wasn’t going to leave; she had intended to remain while Veran brought him to the place Pherah had died. “Where did she go?”
Jayna flushed again, and this time Lacertin couldn’t help but notice how attractive it made her. Maybe it was the fact that she was older than the typical student, or maybe he’d been gone so long from the city that the self-imposed restrictions were altered.
“As you said, I’m just a student,” she said.
“A student working with Master Wallyn. There aren’t many he’s willing to teach,” Lacertin said.
Jayna smiled at him. “He knew my father. I think that’s the only reason.”
Lacertin laughed lightly, and even that hurt his ribs. He reached his hands across his chest and hugged himself. As he did, he realized that it wasn’t only his shirt that was missing, but also his jacket and sword. Inside the jacket pocket was the box he’d been sent to retrieve.
“Where are the rest of my belongings?” he asked.
Jayna shook her head. “I don’t know. When you were brought
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