Read Online Stones of Power 01 - Ghost King by David Gemmell - Free Book Online
Authors: David Gemmell
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kings. Ah, but I had an ego in those days and I did like so to be flattered!'
'Some of the tribes believe that you will return when the land is threatened. It is taught around the camp-fires. I thought it a wonderful fable, but it could be true. You could come back; you could be king again.'
Culain saw the brightness of hope in the boy's eyes. 'I am not the king any longer, Thuro. And I have no wish to rule. But you can.'
Thuro shook his head. 'I am not like my father.'
'No, there is a great deal of your mother in you.'
'Did you know her?'
'Yes, I was there the day Maedhlyn brought your father home. Alaida gave up everything for him, including life. It is not a subject it pleases me to speak of, but you have a right. Alaida was my daughter, the only child I have fathered in my long life. She was nineteen when she left the Feragh, twenty when she died. Twenty! I could have killed Maedhlyn then. I nearly did. But he was so penitent I realised it was a greater punishment to leave him be.'
"Then you are my grandfather?' asked Thuro, savouring the feel of the word and seeing for the first time that Culain's eyes of wood-smoke grey were the image of his own.
'Yes,' said Culain.
'Why did you never come to see me? Did you hate me for killing my mother?'
'I think that I did, Thuro. Great age does not always ensure great wisdom - as Maedhlyn knows! I could have saved Alaida, but I refused to allow her to take a Stone from the Feragh.'
'Are the stones magical there?'
'Not all of them, but there is a special Stone we call the Sipstrassi, and it is the source of all magic. What a man can dream he can create. The most imaginative of men become Enhancers; they liven an otherwise tedious existence with their living dreams.'
'Maedhlyn is one of these,' said Thuro, 'I have seen him conjure winged horses no longer than my fingers, and whole armies to battle on my father's desk-top. He showed me Marathon and Thermopylae, Platea and Phillipi. I saw the great Julius fought to a standstill in Britain by Caswallon. I listened to Antony's funeral oration
'Yes, I too have seen these things,' said Culain, 'but I was speaking of Alaida.'
'I am sorry,' said Thuro, instantly contrite.
'Do not be. Boys and magic make for excitement. She had her own Stone but I would not allow her to take it from the Feragh. I thought, somehow, that when she needed me she would call. I knew I would hear her wherever I was. But she did not call. She chose to die. Such was her pride.'
'And you blame yourself for her death?'
'Who else would I blame? But that is in the past and you are the present. What am I to do with you?'
'Help me get back to Eboracum?' 'Not as you are, Thuro. You are only half a man. We must make you strong; you will not survive a day as the weakling prince.'
'Will you use Stone magic to make me strong?'
'No. Earth magic,' said Culain. 'We will look inside you and see what we can find.' 'I am not cut out to be a warrior.' 'You are my grandson and the son of Aure-lius and Alaida. I think you will find that blood runs true. We already know you can swing an axe. What other surprises do you hold in store?' Thuro shrugged. 'I do not want to disappoint you, as I disappointed my father.'
'Lesson one, Thuro: from now on you have no one to disappoint but yourself. But you must agree to abide by what I say and obey every word I utter. Will you do this?' 'I will.'
"Then prepare to die,' said Culain. And there was no humour in his eyes.
Thuro stiffened as Culain stood and pulled a gladius from a sheath behind his belt. The blade was eighteen inches long and double edged, the hilt of leather. He reversed the weapon and handed it to Thuro. It felt blade-heavy and uncomfortable in his hand.
'Before I can teach you to Jive, you must learn to die - how it feels to be vanquished,' said Culain. 'Move on to open ground and wait.' Thuro did as he was bid and Culain produced a small golden stone from his pocket, closing his fist around it. The air
'Some of the tribes believe that you will return when the land is threatened. It is taught around the camp-fires. I thought it a wonderful fable, but it could be true. You could come back; you could be king again.'
Culain saw the brightness of hope in the boy's eyes. 'I am not the king any longer, Thuro. And I have no wish to rule. But you can.'
Thuro shook his head. 'I am not like my father.'
'No, there is a great deal of your mother in you.'
'Did you know her?'
'Yes, I was there the day Maedhlyn brought your father home. Alaida gave up everything for him, including life. It is not a subject it pleases me to speak of, but you have a right. Alaida was my daughter, the only child I have fathered in my long life. She was nineteen when she left the Feragh, twenty when she died. Twenty! I could have killed Maedhlyn then. I nearly did. But he was so penitent I realised it was a greater punishment to leave him be.'
"Then you are my grandfather?' asked Thuro, savouring the feel of the word and seeing for the first time that Culain's eyes of wood-smoke grey were the image of his own.
'Yes,' said Culain.
'Why did you never come to see me? Did you hate me for killing my mother?'
'I think that I did, Thuro. Great age does not always ensure great wisdom - as Maedhlyn knows! I could have saved Alaida, but I refused to allow her to take a Stone from the Feragh.'
'Are the stones magical there?'
'Not all of them, but there is a special Stone we call the Sipstrassi, and it is the source of all magic. What a man can dream he can create. The most imaginative of men become Enhancers; they liven an otherwise tedious existence with their living dreams.'
'Maedhlyn is one of these,' said Thuro, 'I have seen him conjure winged horses no longer than my fingers, and whole armies to battle on my father's desk-top. He showed me Marathon and Thermopylae, Platea and Phillipi. I saw the great Julius fought to a standstill in Britain by Caswallon. I listened to Antony's funeral oration
'Yes, I too have seen these things,' said Culain, 'but I was speaking of Alaida.'
'I am sorry,' said Thuro, instantly contrite.
'Do not be. Boys and magic make for excitement. She had her own Stone but I would not allow her to take it from the Feragh. I thought, somehow, that when she needed me she would call. I knew I would hear her wherever I was. But she did not call. She chose to die. Such was her pride.'
'And you blame yourself for her death?'
'Who else would I blame? But that is in the past and you are the present. What am I to do with you?'
'Help me get back to Eboracum?' 'Not as you are, Thuro. You are only half a man. We must make you strong; you will not survive a day as the weakling prince.'
'Will you use Stone magic to make me strong?'
'No. Earth magic,' said Culain. 'We will look inside you and see what we can find.' 'I am not cut out to be a warrior.' 'You are my grandson and the son of Aure-lius and Alaida. I think you will find that blood runs true. We already know you can swing an axe. What other surprises do you hold in store?' Thuro shrugged. 'I do not want to disappoint you, as I disappointed my father.'
'Lesson one, Thuro: from now on you have no one to disappoint but yourself. But you must agree to abide by what I say and obey every word I utter. Will you do this?' 'I will.'
"Then prepare to die,' said Culain. And there was no humour in his eyes.
Thuro stiffened as Culain stood and pulled a gladius from a sheath behind his belt. The blade was eighteen inches long and double edged, the hilt of leather. He reversed the weapon and handed it to Thuro. It felt blade-heavy and uncomfortable in his hand.
'Before I can teach you to Jive, you must learn to die - how it feels to be vanquished,' said Culain. 'Move on to open ground and wait.' Thuro did as he was bid and Culain produced a small golden stone from his pocket, closing his fist around it. The air
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