Read Online The Prince of Exiles (The Exile Series) by Hal Emerson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Hal Emerson
Ads: Link
out on such a dangerous mission with only two children to lead them.”
“The Goldwyn siblings are not children, they have both passed their Naming,” came the response. This voice, thin and reedy, yet strong and proud in its own right, belonged to Elder Crane, and while raised, it was also carefully controlled. “And not only that, they were both integral to defeating the Ox Lord at the Stand. With so many of our commanders fallen in battle, and very few of the remaining ones tested, I for one am glad to see new Kindred willing to continue the fight.”
“And there aren’t just two,” said Elder Keri, the beautiful, matronly woman who had apparently nursed him back to health. “The Prince of Ravens was with them, not to mention Ashandel Banier and Lamas. If you know a safer place in the entire camp than with that pair, I’ll step down right now. Besides, if the report they give confirms the rumor that says the Prince of Ravens was able defeat four Death Watchmen on his own, I’d say we’re lucky he’s on our side.”
“The others may have passed their Naming, but he has not. He is by technicality still a boy,” responded Elder Spader very matter-of-factly. Raven pictured what he knew the man to look like – middle height with a patch of gray hair and the beginnings of a late-life paunch showing through his deep amber robes. His tone was the dry, devil’s-advocate voice of a man who dealt in the gray world of the law. “As much as it galls me to say it, Warryn is right. He cannot hold such responsibility yet. His intentions may be noble, but he is not yet eighteen, not yet a man.”
“If what Crane says is true,” the voice of Elder Lymaugh, the Elder of Mercy, responded, “he has lived longer in spirit than you or I could hope to ever live in body. He has seen more than most men five times his age, and felt the weight of nations on his back.”
“Then he has aged quite well,” Elder Keri said with a pleasant, fluttering laugh that was echoed by several other voices. “Though, I don’t know if we can say he is really seventeen. When I was tending to him I took the chance to examine him more closely, and I think that something, perhaps his Talisman, has aged him. Physically at least – I cannot speak for the mental aspect. Seven years exactly unless I miss my guess. He may have only been born seventeen years ago, but he has the body of a man in his twenties now, strange as that may sound.”
Raven felt a chill go through him, and the others avoided looking in his direction though he knew they were hearing all of this as well. It was something none of them wanted to talk about. He did look older. It had happened after he’d killed Ramael and revived Tomaz. Upon waking he’d looked in a mirror and found that he’d aged practically overnight. He didn’t look old, but it had been a strange occurrence in a long line of strange occurrences that had left Raven feeling wary of everything. He felt like himself, spoke like himself, he just looked … older.
“Exactly seven years?” Asked Crane, surprise and interest clear in his voice.
“It seems odd to me too,” said the voice of Elder Ekman, Elder of Truth, “and obviously some explicit sort of Bloodmagic side effect. Nothing so neat ever happens by nature or medicine – but it’s his true age now, you can see it in his walk and in his manner. It will make things difficult – we must keep him contained and under our control until he reaches his Naming. He needs protection.”
A silence fell, and still the Elders did not realize that Raven and the others were waiting within earshot. Raven wondered idly if the attendant who’d been supposed to announce them had died along the way. Perhaps he’d been killed by the awkwardness.
Finally, Tomaz cleared his huge bullhorn of a throat, and the silence inside the tent deepened. There was the sound of boots treading the ground, and the inner flap was thrown
“The Goldwyn siblings are not children, they have both passed their Naming,” came the response. This voice, thin and reedy, yet strong and proud in its own right, belonged to Elder Crane, and while raised, it was also carefully controlled. “And not only that, they were both integral to defeating the Ox Lord at the Stand. With so many of our commanders fallen in battle, and very few of the remaining ones tested, I for one am glad to see new Kindred willing to continue the fight.”
“And there aren’t just two,” said Elder Keri, the beautiful, matronly woman who had apparently nursed him back to health. “The Prince of Ravens was with them, not to mention Ashandel Banier and Lamas. If you know a safer place in the entire camp than with that pair, I’ll step down right now. Besides, if the report they give confirms the rumor that says the Prince of Ravens was able defeat four Death Watchmen on his own, I’d say we’re lucky he’s on our side.”
“The others may have passed their Naming, but he has not. He is by technicality still a boy,” responded Elder Spader very matter-of-factly. Raven pictured what he knew the man to look like – middle height with a patch of gray hair and the beginnings of a late-life paunch showing through his deep amber robes. His tone was the dry, devil’s-advocate voice of a man who dealt in the gray world of the law. “As much as it galls me to say it, Warryn is right. He cannot hold such responsibility yet. His intentions may be noble, but he is not yet eighteen, not yet a man.”
“If what Crane says is true,” the voice of Elder Lymaugh, the Elder of Mercy, responded, “he has lived longer in spirit than you or I could hope to ever live in body. He has seen more than most men five times his age, and felt the weight of nations on his back.”
“Then he has aged quite well,” Elder Keri said with a pleasant, fluttering laugh that was echoed by several other voices. “Though, I don’t know if we can say he is really seventeen. When I was tending to him I took the chance to examine him more closely, and I think that something, perhaps his Talisman, has aged him. Physically at least – I cannot speak for the mental aspect. Seven years exactly unless I miss my guess. He may have only been born seventeen years ago, but he has the body of a man in his twenties now, strange as that may sound.”
Raven felt a chill go through him, and the others avoided looking in his direction though he knew they were hearing all of this as well. It was something none of them wanted to talk about. He did look older. It had happened after he’d killed Ramael and revived Tomaz. Upon waking he’d looked in a mirror and found that he’d aged practically overnight. He didn’t look old, but it had been a strange occurrence in a long line of strange occurrences that had left Raven feeling wary of everything. He felt like himself, spoke like himself, he just looked … older.
“Exactly seven years?” Asked Crane, surprise and interest clear in his voice.
“It seems odd to me too,” said the voice of Elder Ekman, Elder of Truth, “and obviously some explicit sort of Bloodmagic side effect. Nothing so neat ever happens by nature or medicine – but it’s his true age now, you can see it in his walk and in his manner. It will make things difficult – we must keep him contained and under our control until he reaches his Naming. He needs protection.”
A silence fell, and still the Elders did not realize that Raven and the others were waiting within earshot. Raven wondered idly if the attendant who’d been supposed to announce them had died along the way. Perhaps he’d been killed by the awkwardness.
Finally, Tomaz cleared his huge bullhorn of a throat, and the silence inside the tent deepened. There was the sound of boots treading the ground, and the inner flap was thrown
Similar Books
