Read Online Rebels and Fools (The Renegade Chronicles Book 1) by David Michael Williams - Free Book Online Page B

though he did hear bits and pieces about pirates,
who were allegedly gathering en masse all along the coast. Some said that the
pirates were going to plunder Port Town. Others predicted that the mayor had
secretly hired them to find and capture his daughter.
    “You
are looking for a token to give to your lover?” a hook-nosed jeweler asked him.
    “Ah,
yes,” Klye said, setting the bracelet down. Leslie’s face flashed in his mind,
but he banished it immediately
    “You
seek to dazzle her with shiny baubles?” said the jeweler. In other words,
thought Klye, do I want to pay a king’s ransom to impress her?
    “Actually,
she prefers jewelry of subtle beauty,” Klye replied. Translation: I’m looking for
something cheaper than a gem-encrusted crown.
    “Hmm,”
said the jeweler, looking Klye up and down, deciding how much the man was
likely to spend. “Is your lady one of Aladon’s faithful?”
    Well,
she does spend an awful lot of time in his church, Klye thought. Apparently,
Klye’s answer was of no consequence because before he could say anything, the
jeweler drew his attention to a necklace made from a mirror-like mineral Klye
knew to be hematite.
    It
wasn’t worth much, but some believed hematite possessed the power to ward off
evil spirits. Klye was not superstitious, but he thought that the simple charm
would look nice resting between Leslie’s well-defined collarbones—not that he
was going to give it to her.
    “It
is in the shape of Aladon’s holy symbol, the ankh,” the merchant provided.
    “How
much?” Klye asked.
    They
haggled, for Klye was not about to be cheated, and finally the jeweler threw up
his hands and cried something in a language Klye did not know. The Renegade
Leader gave him three copper coins and left the merchant to moan about how he
and his large family would end up living on the streets if he continued to
practically give away his wares.
    Rolling
his eyes, Klye thrust the necklace in his pocket, glanced up at the sun, and
decided it was time to get on to the Cathedral.
    When
he got to the church, he entered through the garden because he hadn’t been told
to do otherwise. Elezar did not appear to be out and about, so Klye followed
the way they had taken the night before, choosing an incorrect path only once.
Cautiously, he entered the Cathedral and stepped down into the dark passageway.
    A
little light had found its way down there, and for the first time, Klye noticed
that there were doors off to either side of the corridor. He thought it
possible that valuable relics—made of gold or silver—had been stored in those
rooms and forgotten, but Klye denied his desire to explore.
    He
didn’t have time to root around the basement of the Cathedral, and what would
he say if Elezar or Leslie caught him? Quickening his pace, Klye reminded
himself that he was no longer a petty thief. He was a Renegade Leader on
important business.
    When
he reached the double doors, he knocked twice, just as the High Priest had done.
    “Come
in.” Because of the thick, wooden doors, he did not so much hear the individual
words as interpret the inflection.
    He
entered, closed the doors tightly behind him, and took a seat in the same chair
he had used yesterday. The Renegade Leader alone. No ambush. As it was, Leslie
didn’t even look up from what she was doing, which was writing a letter, by the
looks of it.
    She
wore the same outfit as last night—a thin white tunic covered by an unbuttoned
leather vest—and her shoulder-length brown hair was again tied back in a
ponytail. Klye wondered if she spent the night in the cramped room. When she
finished the paragraph she had been working on, she pushed the quill and
parchment aside and met his eyes.
    Her
eyebrows rose, but only for a second. “Well, Klye Tristan, you’re early. I
thought you were Scout.”
    “I
found myself in the neighborhood, so I thought I would drop by,” Klye said
dryly. “Come to think of it, what is to prevent just anyone from