Read Online [Shadowed Path 02] - Candle in the Storm by Morgan Howell - Free Book Online Page B

you think a Sarf’s life is all adventure and glory.”
    “Please,” begged Tarvus. “This farm’s so dull. Great deeds may not be my fate, but can’t I hear of them?”
    Gatt smiled indulgently. “I’ll speak about it if you keep this from your father.”
    “I will,” said Tarvus. “I swear.”
    “I’m off to slay a sorceress who has captured a virtuous man. He’s a Sarf, like myself.”
    “She captured a Sarf? How could she do that?”
    “With foul enchantments and other wiles you’re too young to know about,” replied Gatt.
    “Aren’t you afraid she’ll do the same to you?”
    “I’ll kill her before she has the chance, though I may have to fight the Sarf to do so.”
    Tarvus’s eyes widened. “Fight another Sarf!”
    “He’s under her spell. Until the evil one is slain, she’ll control him.”
    “Oh Holy Karm!” said Tarvus. “If I had to face a Sarf, I’d shake like grain in a hailstorm.”
    “Grab a straw and toss it in the air,” directed Gatt.
    Tarvus stooped to pick up one. Then he threw it. Gatt moved so quickly that the boy couldn’t follow his movements. All he saw was the flash of a sword slicing through air and the straw fluttering down, split lengthwise. “Zounds!” said Tarvus as he rushed over to pick up the two pieces.
    Gatt sheathed his sword. “I serve Karm’s will, so I shall prevail.”
    “And kill the other Sarf?”
    “Kill him? I intend to save him.”
    “But won’t he try to kill you?”
    “Most certainly,” replied Gatt, “but I’ll endeavor to spare his life. At the very least, I’ll save his soul, for when a man dies, his spirit’s released from sorcery.”
    Tarvus gazed at the Sarf, speechless with admiration. Gatt caught the boy’s look and felt whole for the first time since his Bearer had deserted him. Joy surged within Gatt, eclipsing his pain and restoring his sense of worth. Once again, he was traveling a holy path.
    That night, when Gatt was drifting toward sleep, he saw a misty landscape as viewed from above. From the breadth and vividness of the scene, he knew he wasn’t dreaming. Instead, he was being shown the world from a divine perspective. Gatt first saw Bremven and then the road he had taken from the city. Swooping above the highway, he passed over the house where he was resting and continued onward. He viewed an ancient stone bridge that spanned the Yorvern and the sprawling inn built on its nearest shore. Then he followed the road as it hugged the riverbank. He continued onward until he spied two vague figures camping by the river and felt a wave of hatred that arose from an otherworldly source. It was bitter and implacable. Although Gatt had always believed that Karm was stern, the virulence of the enmity startled him. Without seeing the figures distinctly or hearing a single word, he understood that one was Yim. He concluded the other must be Honus.
    Then Gatt rose higher until he had a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. He peered over mountains, valleys, rivers, and forests. Upon viewing them, Gatt knew the terrain as intimately as if he had spent his entire life tramping over it. Afterward, the scene dissolved into mist, and Gatt sat up shivering from cold. He was convinced that he had experienced his first vision, for he had foreseen the route that lay ahead and learned where his quarry was resting. The Sarf had the impulse to saddle his horse and ride off into the night to catch Yim. He suppressed the urge, knowing that she was beyond the reach of a single night’s journey. Moreover, with the certainty of foresight, Gatt knew that he would find Yim, just as he knew what he must do when he did. Gatt had been hesitant to paint his blade with poison, but the vision assured him that he had done the proper thing.   Rangar was right  , he thought.   The whore’s death must be certain. On no account should one whom Karm so thoroughly despises be suffered to live  .
    Yim and Honus sat at their campsite and gazed