Read Online The First Life of Tanan by Andrew Riley - Free Book Online Page A

page.  When he looked directly at the parts he thought were moving, they seemed to be still.  But when he relaxed his vision slightly, the lines crawled on the page.  It was an amazing effect and Tanan wondered how the illusion had been created.
    Sweelin was standing in front of Tanan, talking.  Tanan shook his head and snapped out of the haze of his concentration.
    “I’m going to have some lunch,” Sweelin was saying.  “Would you care to join me?”
    Tanan hadn’t realized what time it was, he’d been studying the symbol in the book for nearly three hours.
    He put the book back on the shelf and followed Sweelin to the kitchen where they had cold chicken and spiced potato soup, left over from Sweelin’s dinner the night before.
    After lunch, Tanan thanked Sweelin and made plans to come study again the next day.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
    It was a beautiful afternoon in Port Billen.  The late summer sun was warm and there was a nice breeze coming off the sea.  The only sounds were the gulls and the ever-present rhythm of sea and its gentle assault on the beach.
    Tanan thought he would go down to the docks and spend some time with Jelak, who would almost certainly be on his bench this time of day.  The square was deserted, but he knew Jelak would be along soon enough, so he sat down to wait.
    Tanan watched the water slide up the beach only to retreat with a hiss.  As he watched the waves, his mind wandered back to the syllables of the incantation he had been studying.  The rhythm of the incantation played through his mind, and fell into time with the rhythm of the waves that moved up and down the beach.  The minutes slipped past him.
    Tanan pictured the eight-sided rune from the book.  He was curious about the illusion of the moving lines, and wondered how lines drawn on a page could play that trick on the eyes.  He would have to ask Sweelin if he knew how that…
    A rock slammed into the back of Tanan’s head, jarring him away from his thoughts.  He was suddenly in pain and angry.  Tanan jumped up from the bench and turned just in time to see Grapf hurl another rock, which flew straight at Tanan’s face and struck him above his left eye.  It hurt like hell and sent Tanan into a rage.
    Kirkik came around the corner of the butcher’s shop just in time to see Tanan, with blood streaming down his face, scream, “Pig faced bastard!” and charge at Grapf with fists clenched.  Kirkik bolted, intent on stopping the fight.
    He reached them just before Tanan got to Grapf, and threw his arm between the boys, sweeping back toward Tanan to gather him up and prevent the impending punch.
    The moment Kirkik touched Tanan, there was a deafening boom, like a clap of thunder.  Kirkik was sent tumbling through the air and landed ten feet away, motionless.
    Grapf screamed like a startled little girl and ran away from Tanan, tripping over his own feet and then scrambling up to run some more.
    The thunderous noise brought people out of the Rusty Hook, shops and homes.  A crowd gathered, fed by more people who came running down the hill.  Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.
    Tanan was stunned.  He stood staring at Kirkik’s body.  Lindelin arrived, and pushed through the crowd to where the Constable lay, and placed his fingers on the man’s neck.
    “What happened here?” asked Lindelin.  His tone left no room for anything other than an immediate answer.  The crowd of faces turned toward Tanan, who was still staring at Kirkik with a stunned expression on his face.
    Lindelin went to Tanan, taking him by the shoulders and giving him a gentle shake.  “What happened, Tanan?”
    Tanan could barely whisper, “I don’t… did I… is he… dead?” His eyes were filling with large tears that began to stream down his cheeks.
    Lindelin left Tanan and returned to the dead Constable.  He closed his eyes and began to chant.  His lips moved, but he made no sound.  After half a minute he laid his hands on Kirkik’s body