Read Online The Western Wizard by Mickey Zucker Reichert - Free Book Online

positions on either side of him.
    A moment passed, during which Arduwyn felt his heart rate double. Then the door creaked open, and Bel stood framed in the doorway. She wore a simple house dress of her own making that hung loose over her plump curves; her dark hair fell to her shoulders in disarray. No womanhad ever seemed so beautiful to Arduwyn. “Bel,” was all he managed to say.
    Bel’s gaze roved over Arduwyn’s scrawny frame, then fixed on the eyepatch. A look of horror glazed her features. Before she could speak, her younger daughter shoved between her mother and the door, hurling her three-year-old body into Arduwyn’s arms with a force that drove him back a step. “Uncle ’dune! Uncle ’dune’s back!”
    Footsteps pattered across the floorboards as the elder two children approached, peeking at the newcomers. On tiptoes, the elder girl looked over her mother’s shoulder. The boy, Effer, stared from beneath Bel’s arm.
    “What’s this?” Rusha, the child in Arduwyn’s arms, reached for the eyepatch.
    Not wanting to upset Bel and afraid the sight might frighten the girl, Arduwyn caught Rusha’s hands and spun her until she collapsed into a giggling heap. Trying to salvage the situation, he began the introductions, counting on the presence of important strangers to give him a reprieve from Bel’s wrath or rejection. “Bel, this is Mitrian’s father, Santagithi.” He indicated the leader, who nodded a greeting. “And this is Colbey, once general of the Pudarian army.” He indicated the children in order of age. “Jani, Effer, and Rusha.”
    The color returned to Bel’s face, along with her manners. “Please, come in. We’ve eaten, but I’m sure I can find more food.” She turned, heading back into the cottage, though only Arduwyn followed her. “Of course, you’ll stay the night.” She turned. Then, realizing the two guests had not entered, she raised her brows in curiosity. “Please come in.”
    Santagithi shook his head. “Madam, thank you so much for the invitation, but we can’t stay.” He glanced at Colbey, who formed a tight-lipped half smile at some private joke. “We’ve just come for Rache.”
    “Rache?” Bel glanced at Arduwyn.
    Rusha seized Arduwyn’s hand, swinging it with childish excitement. The hunter gave the girl’s hand a loving squeeze. “That’s Kinesthe’s new name. It’s a cultural thing.” He did not explain further. The information that Kinesthe was a Renshai might prove the final shock thatdrove Bel over the boundary into madness. In Pudar, mentioning the name of the tribe of rampant murderers was considered rude. In other towns and cities, it was a crime punishable by death.
    Bel turned to her oldest child, a girl of thirteen. “Jani, honey. Get the baby and his things. And as much milk as we have around.”
    Santagithi went suddenly rigid. Apparently, it had just struck him that the infant would require special care that a lot of dirty, foul-mouthed soldiers might not be able to deliver. Surely, his wife had provided most of the feeding and care during Mitrian’s infancy, so that her husband could focus on the needs of the town.
    Jani headed into the room to obey. She clomped up the loft ladder.
    Rusha headed into the main room, dragging at Arduwyn’s arm. “Sit! Sit!” she insisted.
    The main room looked exactly as Arduwyn remembered. The single couch sat beneath the eastern window. Crates that served as chairs lay scattered about. Beyond the couch, a ladder led to the loft bedrooms. A doorway opened into the kitchen. Arduwyn hooked a crate with his toes, drawing it over to where the others stood. Removing his bow and quiver form his shoulder, he tossed them on the couch then sat on the crate.
    Effer pulled up a crate beside Arduwyn. Rusha plunked into her stepfather’s lap. Again, she reached for the eyepatch.
    Arduwyn caught her hand. “No, sweetheart, you don’t want to touch that.”
    “What’s it for?” Obediently, she withdrew, but