Read Online The Way Into Chaos by Harry Connolly - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Harry Connolly
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Stoneface and said, “We should move closer to them.”
Treygar jabbed him lightly to catch his attention. “Turn the cart so the tether line is near the prince.”
To his credit, the driver did so immediately. “Lower!” Lar called from below. “I need more slack.”
The driver did so, fear sweat pouring down his face. Cazia leaned out over the rail and saw the prince loop the end of the tether around Timush’s waist, then press Col against him. “Embrace your cousin,” Lar said. “Your love will save you both.” There were no more of the creatures in sight.
Col threw himself against Timush and let Lar wrap the rope around them both. “Bad enough I have to stick my arm in a monster’s mouth for him. Don’t make me kiss him, too.” The prince grinned as he tied the knot.
Ciriam cast another dart, and this time she struck a beast on the hand as it climbed the chimney. A beast Cazia had not noticed until that moment. It lost its grip, falling out of sight.
Cazia turned to her. “How does it feel to finally hit one?” The clerk burst into tears.
“UP!” the prince called from below.
“Gently,” Stoneface added, holding the point of the spike close to the driver’s belly. The man moved the lever slowly but smoothly.
Cazia leaned over the rail again. Col and Timu dangled from within a knotted loop. Lar clung to the rope above them, his foot wedged into the knot. Treygar added, “Very good, Wimnel. Now take us over the wall. I want you to pick up speed without jarring the prince below.”
Cazia felt a sudden pointed elbow in her kidneys. The foreign princess squeezed between her and Doctor Warpoole, moving toward Stoneface. “Man, my rescuers are not yet safe. Set down on a flat roof so we can bring them aboard.”
“I am not your man,” Treygar snapped at her. “And we will not be setting down anywhere inside the walls. Now please sit down. You do not command here.”
“How dare you!” The girl’s voice was high and strident. “My line goes back forty-six generations to the Chieftains of the Forty Valleys! My people—”
Cazia caught the girl by the arm. “Vilavivianna, isn’t it?” The girl’s name came to her at the same moment she spoke it. “Princess Vilavivianna of Goldgrass Hill? We met last midwinter at Lar’s party. Do you remember me?” Cazia lowered her voice. “Let me speak honestly with you: we are not your subjects and you are twelve years old. No one is going to follow your orders. Now please let us do what we have to.”
The little princess looked as if she was about to fly into a rage, but instead, she clenched her jaw and turned her back. Cazia thanked The Child for small favors, then leaned over the railing.
They floated high over the wall, beyond the mudflat hovels that clung to the city wall. Screams and panic had already reached here, and Cazia saw a large creature leap from the top of the wall onto a muddy street, then dash into the nearest building. A half dozen muddy children burst screaming through the doors, and she saw the monster knock one down and sink its teeth into the back of her thigh, then leap at another. It occurred to her that the monsters were the same color as Pagesh’s lilacs and, for some absurd reason, that made everything even more terribly unfair.
“They’re tasting us,” Cazia said. “They bite, but since we left the palace, I haven’t yet seen anyone actually eaten.”
“Some creatures prefer to drag their food to a protected place to eat,” Doctor Warpoole said. “In fact, it’s possible that their bites are envenomed.”
Horrified, Cazia spun toward the doctor. Was she suggesting Col had been poisoned and was as good as dead?
The older woman met her gaze with an expression as flat and blank as a serpent’s.
On a high plaza between the mudflat slums and the Circle Way, soldiers had formed two squares. They were dressed in black and red, their spears extending far beyond their shield walls, and
Treygar jabbed him lightly to catch his attention. “Turn the cart so the tether line is near the prince.”
To his credit, the driver did so immediately. “Lower!” Lar called from below. “I need more slack.”
The driver did so, fear sweat pouring down his face. Cazia leaned out over the rail and saw the prince loop the end of the tether around Timush’s waist, then press Col against him. “Embrace your cousin,” Lar said. “Your love will save you both.” There were no more of the creatures in sight.
Col threw himself against Timush and let Lar wrap the rope around them both. “Bad enough I have to stick my arm in a monster’s mouth for him. Don’t make me kiss him, too.” The prince grinned as he tied the knot.
Ciriam cast another dart, and this time she struck a beast on the hand as it climbed the chimney. A beast Cazia had not noticed until that moment. It lost its grip, falling out of sight.
Cazia turned to her. “How does it feel to finally hit one?” The clerk burst into tears.
“UP!” the prince called from below.
“Gently,” Stoneface added, holding the point of the spike close to the driver’s belly. The man moved the lever slowly but smoothly.
Cazia leaned over the rail again. Col and Timu dangled from within a knotted loop. Lar clung to the rope above them, his foot wedged into the knot. Treygar added, “Very good, Wimnel. Now take us over the wall. I want you to pick up speed without jarring the prince below.”
Cazia felt a sudden pointed elbow in her kidneys. The foreign princess squeezed between her and Doctor Warpoole, moving toward Stoneface. “Man, my rescuers are not yet safe. Set down on a flat roof so we can bring them aboard.”
“I am not your man,” Treygar snapped at her. “And we will not be setting down anywhere inside the walls. Now please sit down. You do not command here.”
“How dare you!” The girl’s voice was high and strident. “My line goes back forty-six generations to the Chieftains of the Forty Valleys! My people—”
Cazia caught the girl by the arm. “Vilavivianna, isn’t it?” The girl’s name came to her at the same moment she spoke it. “Princess Vilavivianna of Goldgrass Hill? We met last midwinter at Lar’s party. Do you remember me?” Cazia lowered her voice. “Let me speak honestly with you: we are not your subjects and you are twelve years old. No one is going to follow your orders. Now please let us do what we have to.”
The little princess looked as if she was about to fly into a rage, but instead, she clenched her jaw and turned her back. Cazia thanked The Child for small favors, then leaned over the railing.
They floated high over the wall, beyond the mudflat hovels that clung to the city wall. Screams and panic had already reached here, and Cazia saw a large creature leap from the top of the wall onto a muddy street, then dash into the nearest building. A half dozen muddy children burst screaming through the doors, and she saw the monster knock one down and sink its teeth into the back of her thigh, then leap at another. It occurred to her that the monsters were the same color as Pagesh’s lilacs and, for some absurd reason, that made everything even more terribly unfair.
“They’re tasting us,” Cazia said. “They bite, but since we left the palace, I haven’t yet seen anyone actually eaten.”
“Some creatures prefer to drag their food to a protected place to eat,” Doctor Warpoole said. “In fact, it’s possible that their bites are envenomed.”
Horrified, Cazia spun toward the doctor. Was she suggesting Col had been poisoned and was as good as dead?
The older woman met her gaze with an expression as flat and blank as a serpent’s.
On a high plaza between the mudflat slums and the Circle Way, soldiers had formed two squares. They were dressed in black and red, their spears extending far beyond their shield walls, and
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