Read Online The Pearls by Deborah Chester - Free Book Online

Well, no more! You’re finished, just like the rest of us. Finished!”
    â€œAllow me to—”
    Shadrael gestured in disgust. “Not even a ducat for my hire. Instead, you offer me a soul . Marvelous. How in Faure’s lying name am I supposed to put it back in? Eh? You tell me that.”
    â€œCommander Shadrael—”
    â€œBe damned!”
    Spinning on his heel, Shadrael faced the blackness yawning before him and spoke a brief, harsh word. It cracked the blackness open, letting gray light spill forth once more to illuminate the passage out.
    â€œWait!”
    Hearing footsteps coming after him, Shadrael angrily quickened his stride. He didn’t bother to look back, and after a moment the sound of pursuit faded and stopped. The only noise he heard was the quick crunch of his boots over the bones of the dead.

Chapter 4
    R iding in her wheeled litter, closed in by heavy leather curtains lined with silk, and reclining on soft cushions, Lea E’non made one last effort to read from her scroll of poetry, but the jolting was so bad it caused her small overhead lantern to swing wildly from side to side, casting dizzying shadows across the words. Her eyes ached from trying to read in such impossible conditions, and with a sigh she tossed the scroll aside. It made no sense to her why she had to stay out of sight while they traveled through these small towns dotting the banks of the Parnase River, when two weeks ago she’d been allowed to ride her cream-colored gelding along a road lined with cheering villagers.
    Imperial politics. She frowned impatiently. “Sit here. Eat this,” she muttered aloud. “Ride out of sight. No, today wave to the crowds. Don’t smile. Smile with your utmost charm. Be friendly. Be aloof. Bah!”
    Flinging open one of the curtains, she peered out and found herself looking at a rock cliff face rising almost from the very edge of the road. Trees grew atop the hill, towering above her. Some of them leaned precariously, with roots exposed where the thin soil had worn away. In places, water was seeping from the stone, dripping down to pool beside the road. The air smelled clean and very cold.
    Lea smiled to herself and inhaled deeply, letting her eyes nearly shut. She smelled frost, and woods, and imminent winter.
    â€œWonderful,” she whispered.
    At that moment, her conveyance lurched violently, nearly tossing her out on her head. She clutched the frame hard to save herself, and the leather curtain swung down, slapping her in the face. The litter lurched again and stopped.
    Around her came the sound of shouts, punctuated by the bitter cursing of her driver.
    Lea righted herself, grabbing a cushion just in time to save it from tumbling out into the mud, and opened a curtain on the opposite side.
    She saw an enormous bog of mud and cinder where the road should be. Her litter appeared to be stuck in the middle of it. To her right, a cluster of cavalrymen gathered at the edge, talking among themselves with much head shaking and shrugs. More men rode up but didn’t dismount. Instead, they called out several joking suggestions and were answered in kind. Deployed from the Household Regiment of cavalry for her protection, the Crimsons looked bright indeed against this gray, sunless day with their short, scarlet cloaks banded in tawncat fur, their shining steel cuirasses and helmets sporting long horsehair plumes, their immaculate black boots, and white gauntlets extending nearly to their elbows. They were also going to be quite useless, Lea told herself, for wading in mud to free her litter.
    â€œThirbe!” she called.
    Her protector came to her at once. “Yes, m’lady?”
    â€œAre we stuck?”
    â€œAye. Sit tight while the men give this thing a push.”
    Lea frowned. “No, I—”
    But Thirbe closed the curtains and stepped back. Lea was about to push them open again and ask to be lifted out when there came a loud