Read Online Wall of Spears by Duncan Lay - Free Book Online

looked at a half-naked man with a beard hanging down near to his knees. He was rolling some sort of dung between his fingers and chanting, eyes going back in his head.
    ‘I find that hard to believe,’ she said wryly.
    ‘Well, there had better be some. Or Vales is finished,’ Huw said fiercely.
    ‘It doesn’t depend on only these,’ Sendatsu said softly. ‘But we shall begin immediately.’
    ‘You get to test the dung sniffer,’ Rhiannon said instantly.
    ‘Mai would have more magic than him,’ Sendatsu grumbled.
    ‘Then test her as well! But for sky’s sake, find us some more people with magic!’ Huw cried.
    Sendatsu laughed. ‘Calm down. This is only the first of many such days. If we find a couple with magic, then we will have done well. Don’t lose hope. They will be out there.’
    ‘Will they? Rhiannon is Forlish, what if there is nobody in Vales with that talent —’
    ‘The more you worry, the less time we have to test,’ Rhiannon said tartly.
    Huw snorted. ‘Things would go much faster if you had Asami to help you test for magic, and Gaibun to help train the dragons,’ he said meaningfully.
    ‘Not going to happen,’ Sendatsu said abruptly.
    ‘Well, I thought it was worth a try. They would make a difference and, perhaps, if you asked them —’
    ‘They have made their decision and that is the end of it,’ Sendatsu snapped.
    ‘Enough foolishness, we are wasting daylight,’ Rhiannon told them.
    ‘Fine!’ Huw held up his hands. ‘Not another word from me, I promise.’
    Sendatsu and Rhiannon looked at each other.
    ‘Who first?’ Sendatsu asked.
    But before they could walk in, a young man, dressed neatly in tunic and trews, pushed past a pair of goats and strode by them.
    ‘Where are you going?’ Rhiannon asked.
    The young man had brown hair cropped close to his skull, and a broad face that was twisted in revulsion.
    ‘Home. This is a waste of time,’ he said disgustedly.
    ‘But we haven’t tested you yet,’ Sendatsu pointed out.
    ‘Are you going to tell me that the man playing with sheep dung is the saviour of Vales and steeped in magic?’
    They looked at Dung Sniffer.
    ‘He’s steeped in something,’ Sendatsu admitted.
    As they watched him, he broke open one of the round droppings, obviously found something to his liking in there and popped it into his mouth.
    ‘Not even angry dragons could make me test him for magic,’ Rhiannon declared, while Sendatsu had to look away.
    ‘As I said, this is a waste of time,’ the young man grunted and resumed walking.
    Rhiannon grabbed his arm. ‘Wait. You must have dreamed of dragons to come here in the first place.’
    ‘Yes, I did,’ he admitted.
    ‘Then let us test you first. What’s your name?’
    ‘I am Bevan of Crumlin.’
    Rhiannon bent down and snatched up a small tuft of grass with soil attached and placed it on the flat of her hand.
    ‘Very good. You just need Dung Sniffer there to fertilise it and in a few months you’ll have a lovely plant,’ Bevan said.
    ‘I don’t need any of that,’ Rhiannon said softly and reached into the magic, making the grass grow, until it covered the whole of her hand. She looked up at Bevan. ‘Did you feel what I did then?’
    He shrugged. ‘I felt something strange, as if all my senses had come truly alive for the first time …’
    Sendatsu and Rhiannon exchanged glances.
    ‘Try to make the grass grow,’ she suggested, her voice betraying her excitement. ‘Reach out and imagine you can talk to it, then tell it to get bigger.’
    Bevan glanced across at Sendatsu and then back to Rhiannon. ‘That sounds as crazy as wanting to share a meal with Dung Sniffer.’
    ‘Try it,’ Sendatsu urged.
    With a shrug, Bevan held his hand over the grass on Rhiannon’s hand and Sendatsu felt the ripple as he reached into the magic and laughed aloud as the grass doubled in height in the blink of an eye.
    ‘Was that right? Did I do it?’ Bevan asked as Huw glanced eagerly at an excited