Jean Lorrah - Savage Empire 06 - Wulfston's Odyssey

VIP免费
2024-12-19 0 0 291.16KB 120 页 5.9玖币
侵权投诉
/* /*]]*/
Scanned by Highroller.
Proofed by .
Made prettier by use of EBook Design Group Stylesheet.
Wulfston's Odyessy by Jean Lorrah and
Winston A. Howlett
Acknowledgments
The Savage Empire series is dedicated to the person who got me into professional sf writing and then
encouraged me to start my own series:
Jacqueline Lichtenberg.
This book, of course, is also dedicated to Winston Howlett, who came up with the original idea, the
African culture and the African characters, as well as collaborating on the book.
I would also like to thank the many readers who have sent comments about the first five books in the
series; I hope you enjoy this sixth book in the Savage Empire universe, If you've missed the previous
books, though, don't be afraid to start here. Each of the books can be read independently of the others.
If there are readers who would like to comment on this book, our publishers will forward letters to us. If
you prefer, you may write to us at Box 625, Murray, KY 42071. If your letter requires an answer, be
sure to enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
All comments are welcome. I came to professional writing through fan writing and publishing, where there
is close and constant communication between writers and readers. Thus I shall always be grateful for the
existence of sf fandom, which has provided me with many exciting experiences, and through which I have
met so many wonderful people—including the coauthor of this book!
Jean Lorrah
For my wife Gwen, who is my Tadisha.
Winston A. Howlett
Chapter One
Wulfston, Lord Adept of the Savage Empire, stared out at the strange ship approaching his coastline,
several miles from the harbor. A merchant vessel by the look of her—so why did he see a one-vessel
invasion fleet threatening his shores? A chill that owed nothing to the cool summer evening ran down his
spine as the sunset's crimson painted the ship with shades of blood.
Gulls shrieked their disapproval at a boat being lowered from the anchored ship, the figures boarding it
putting the vessels size into perspective. Even from Wulfston's hilltop vantage point, it appeared huge and
imposing.
The bay stallion Wulfston rode whinnied nervously and stamped the ground, snorting a challenge. The
Lord Adept patted the beast's massive neck. "Easy, boy. We'll go down and see why these Visitors' are
sneaking ashore."
Urging Storm down the hillside, Wulfston caught from the corner of his eye the flashes of the watchers'
message from a distant peak, reporting to his castle the arrival of the strange ship. He knew they would
also report that the Lord of the Land was riding to investigate.
He let Storm choose the path and pace down to the beach. By the time they arrived, the boat was
nearing shore. Wulfston counted eight people in it, two rowing, the others staring at him, whispering,
pointing—
Cautiously, he braced his Adept powers, ready to call a greeting as soon as they were close enough to
hear.
A fist of energy seized his heart!
Intense pain shot down his left arm. He realized, They're Adepts! and shoved away the assault with his
own powers. Or at least one of them is. But why are they attacking?
Storm neighed and reared as fire bolts exploded around them. Wulfston leaped from the saddle into a
fighting stance, deflecting the bolts sent to consume him. Ignoring pain, he concentrated on the people
clambering from the boat. A wave of his hand and three of them collapsed, asleep on the sand.
Two others fanned out in opposite directions to divide his attention, splashing through the shallow surf.
Wulfston dropped the one on the left and was turning toward the other when he realized they were
diversions.
A lightning bolt shot from the sky, searing the air about him. He deflected most of its ferocity, but was
enveloped in blinding light and Storm's screams.
His vision cleared while his nostrils flared at the smell of burning meat. Fighting nausea, he concentrated
his anger on the tall man standing in the boat. With one urge of fury, he knocked his opponent out of the
vessel, into an oncoming wave. A glance to the right dropped the other man unconscious.
Such steady use of his powers was weakening the Lord Adept, but he dared not stop until he had
subdued them all. He charged the boat, staggering as the waves pounded at his knees, gambling that he
was safe from those watching from the ship.
A veiled woman and a small boy huddled in the bottom of the boat, shaking with fear. Wulfston stared
into the woman's eyes, forgetting everything—
He whirled at the sound of hoofbeats on the sand.
Lenardo and Julia pulled rein on their horses.
Lenardo's face reflected the grimness Wulfston felt. "Are you all right?" the Lord Reader asked.
Wulfston almost laughed at the question. If anyone could tell instantly whether someone was injured, it
was Lenardo.
However, he replied, "Yes, I'm all right," surprised at the weariness in his tone. "But—"
Storm. The corpse was still smoldering. He shook his head at the senseless loss, and looked around at
his captives. The man he had knocked into the water floated face down. He had to be pulled out before
he drowned.
Lenardo swung from his horse and, with the ease of an active man in the prime of life, pushed past
Wulfston's weakened efforts to drag the man ashore. Wulfston didn't have to ask if his attacker was
alive; Lenardo would Read his condition and take appropriate action.
But Lenardo was demanding of Wulfston, "Why did you come out here to face these people alone?"
"I didn't," Wulfston replied tersely, insistently helping to drag the man ashore by his soggy cloak.
"Well, you must have had some reason to leave a celebration at your own castle and go riding this far
south! I should have been Reading—"
"I was… restless," Wulfston replied slowly, analyzing his memories. "Something… drew me to this place,
to these people."
"But why did they attack you?" Lenardo's daughter demanded.
"I don't know, Julia. I don't even know who they are."
"You don't?" the girl asked in a puzzled tone. "But Wulfston, they're all black—just like you!"
That fact had not escaped Wulfston's notice, but its significance had. The strange chill touched him again,
stronger than before. Why would a shipload of people come, possibly all the way from Africa, to attack
the only black Lord Adept in all the Savage Empire?
The answers had to wait until the next day. Some of Wulfston's guards and servants took the unexpected
visitors back to his castle, fed them, healed those who had been injured, and put them all in guest rooms
under heavy Adept guard.
Other guards rowed Wulfston and Lenardo to the merchant ship. Speaking in the tongue called Traders
Common, Wulfston ordered the Nubian captain and crew to move the ship up the coast into the harbor
known as Dragon's Mouth. Having witnessed the Lord Adept's powers, they moved quickly to comply.
Interrogating the captain revealed little; the eight who had come ashore were the only passengers, and the
tall man named Sukuru—the one Wulfston had knocked into the surf—had hired the ship for this
journey, his intentions never stated.
A nod from Lenardo was all the assurance Wulfston needed that the captain was telling the truth.
The moon was high when the two lords finally returned to Castle Blackwolf. Word of the brief battle had
already reached everyone there, so the cook had a lavish meal waiting for the Lord of the Land by the
time he sat down in the banquet hall.
Though he had eaten dinner a few hours before, the heavy use of his powers made Wulfston feel like a
starving man as he rapidly consumed enough food for three.
To eat his meal in peace, he had to fend off a dozen people who wanted to fuss over him.
He succeeded with all but his sister Aradia.
"But why did you go out there in the first place?" she demanded, sitting opposite him at the table.
He looked at her testily. "Aradia, why do you ask when you know I don't have the answer? Don't give
me that innocent look. I know you and Lenardo were in contact with each other! For the last time, I
don't know why I went riding along the cliffs, leaving a celebration I'm supposed to be hosting. Now, will
you please leave me alone?"
Her look of puzzled hurt made him regret his harsh words. What is wrong with me? he asked himself.
"I'm sorry," he sighed, reaching across the table to touch her hand. "I guess I'm more upset than I want to
admit. Especially losing Storm like that."
She nodded in sympathy. Horses were still a rare and precious commodity in the Savage Empire, making
the loss of such a fine stallion particularly acute.
She asked gently, "Do you think that it's possible that you might have… Read that that ship was there?"
He shook his head. "If I could sense a strange ship several miles away—which neither Lenardo nor Julia
did until they started following me—then I should be able to pick up someone's thoughts nearby. But
nothing has changed for me. I don't know what drew me into that confrontation, but it wasn't Reading.
I'm still your mind-blind little brother," he said, forcing a chuckle.
Aradia returned his smile, then finally left him alone. As he watched her leave, Wulfston once again
examined feelings he could not define.
For several months now, he had been plagued by dark moods and feelings of emptiness. His duties as a
Lord Adept were no longer satisfying. He had decided he missed the camaraderie of the other ruling
Adepts and Readers in the alliance. So when he had received the news that Aradia and Lenardo were
expecting their first child, he had grasped the excuse to invite them for a celebration.
But the arrival of his friends and relatives had not eased his frustration. Indeed, he had begun to crave
solitude before they had finished their first meal together! Hence the ride along the cliffs.
Was his feeling jealousy? After all, Aradia's Adept powers hadn't prevented her from learning to
Read—the one goal in life he could not seem to achieve. Ironically, Wulfston had been the first of their
group to theorize that Reading and Adept powers were the same, which Lenardo and Aradia later
confirmed by gaining each other's talents. There was no reason in the world why Wulfston couldn't Read,
but try as he would, he couldn't.
Another pressure was that he had neither wife nor heir.
His people were beginning to express concern as their lord approached the prime of life and the peak of
his powers. If he was to produce an heir, now was the time to do it, while his powers were still growing.
Lenardo would soon have two heirs, his adopted daughter Julia and his own child by Aradia. Wulfston
wanted to feel joy at Lenardo's good fortune, but his words of congratulation rang hollow.
In a castle full of family and friends, with servants to respond to his slightest whim, the Lord of the Land
felt totally alone.
The next day, under guard of minor Adepts, the "visitors" from the ship were brought before Wulfston in
his audience chamber.
Wulfston rarely sat on his throne, but his father Nerius had carefully taught both his son and his daughter
the techniques of rule. Pomp and ceremony seemed to come more naturally to Aradia, but Wulfston felt
the appropriateness of his position this day.
For several long moments he said nothing to those who had attacked him, letting them stare at the Lord
of the Land and the people flanking him: Lenardo and Aradia seated in places of honor to his right, Julia
and Rolf, Wulfston's Reader, to his left. Readers and Adepts all, a formidable assembly.
Sukuru was the group's leader, though he lacked the bearing of a Lord Adept. Authority did not sit well
upon his gaunt frame, and his ebony skin seemed to blanch under Wulfston's gaze.
It was apparent that Sukuru was badly shaken by his encounter. At first Wulfston assumed it was
because he had been so easily defeated. It turned out, however, that the newcomers had not expected to
find the Lord of the Land on the cliffs, wrapped in a plain woolen cloak. Rather, when they saw another
black man they feared he had been sent by their enemies to thwart their expedition.
"For it is well known even unto our lands," Sukuru explained, speaking Trader's Common with a heavy
accent, "that the most excellent Lord of the Black Wolf is a great and noble ruler. We thought to find you
as you are now, most gracious lord, crowned in gold and seated upon a throne. Because of our enemies,
we approached by stealth, rather than have our ship enter your harbor. Please forgive us for your injuries,
and the death of your beautiful steed—"
"You are forgiven," Wulfston said impatiently. "Tell me why you've come here."
"Most excellent lord," Sukuru explained, "we have traveled over vast distances to implore your help. The
lands of Africa are held in the grip of a powerful witch queen named Z'Nelia. From her throne in Johara
she spins her webs of power, ensnaring all who live there. Those who dare speak out or rebel against her
harsh rule or insane proclamations are condemned to death—or to slavery.
"We who have come seeking your help represent many tribes and peoples who share a dream of
freedom—freedom from Z Nelia's tyranny. But we lack the power to depose her. Besides her own
formidable powers, she has many followers with powers of their own, as well as a huge and powerful
army."
"But why would you come so far to seek my help?" Wulfston asked.
"Word of your exploits has reached our lands," the emissary replied. "There is a song which tells of your
battle against the armies of the Black Dragon, how you defeated him in single combat."
Wulfston heard Julia smother a snicker, and knew his other friends found this exaggeration equally
amusing. Indeed, he had difficulty restraining his own laughter— and realized that it felt good, the first
spontaneous laughter he had enjoyed in some time.
"That song," he explained when he could reply with dignity to match the man's sincerity, "was created by
a bard seeking favor in my court. East of here, in the city of Zendi, you would hear a much different
version, celebrating the exploits of my sister and her husband." He gestured toward Aradia and Lenardo,
enjoying the puzzled look that crossed Sukuru's face when Wulfston identified the pale blond Aradia as
his sister. "In truth, it took our combined powers and those of many others to defeat Drakonius."
"Nevertheless," Sukuru pressed on, "y°u are tne most powerful ruler in these lands. Is that not so?"
"No," Wulfston replied patiently, "that is not so. Our alliance is so powerful because it is precisely that: an
alliance. Lenardo, Aradia, Lilith, Torio, Melissa—there are many of us."
"Then you are… merely a vassal to some higher lord?" Sukuru asked.
"No," Wulfston said firmly. "We are allies. And if your Z'Nelia is so powerful, the only way to defeat her
is to join your powers with those of others who oppose her. Surely, if she is as evil as you claim, you will
easily find others to support you. Why come to our lands seeking a champion?"
"You do not understand our situation, lord," Sukuru replied. "Let Chulaika explain."
He gestured to the young woman Wulfston had found in the boat. She came forward hesitantly, her little
boy clinging to his mother's skirts. Chulaika was wrapped in veils, only her eyes visible, her lower face
obscured by a soft dark cloth that rippled with her breath.
"Most powerful Lord," she murmured, her voice trembling, "our people are oppressed, our men taken
into slavery, our children threatened. Many of our young people that have shown strong powers have
been killed— murdered by Z'Nelia because they might oppose her rule. Please, Lord Wulfston, come to
our aid. Only a great lord like yourself can help us." <
There was something compelling about Chulaika's eyes. Wulfston was able to break his gaze from hers
only when
Sukuru said, "You are a Son of Africa, Lord. Surely you will not refuse to help your own people?"
"My own people," said Wulfston, "are right here. I was not born in your land, but in the Aventine Empire,
where my parents were proud to have earned citizenship." He did not add that they had been killed by
their fellow citizens when their son exhibited forbidden powers.
"My people," he continued, "are still recovering from the suffering Drakonius caused them, still learning to
trust our alliance, still building a new life upon the ruins of the old. I will consult with my allies to determine
what help we can offer. But you must understand that I cannot leave my lands unattended to go
adventuring in yours." Yet he had to admit, once he had so abruptly dismissed the petitioners, that
perhaps his shortness was caused by temptation.
It was the conflict with Drakonius that had first brought Wulfston out of Aradia's shadow. Furthermore,
in the days of conflict decisions had been easy: they fought Drakonius, they fought the would-be usurpers
who had tried to attack their alliance after his defeat, and they fought the invading Aventines. The right
thing to do had been so clear then.
Nowadays it seemed he dealt only with arguments over boundaries, or charges and countercharges in
business disputes. And the ever-present question o£his heir.
Wulfston decided to talk to Lenardo, who had become as close as a brother in the days when they had
learned to work together against their common enemies. Somehow the Master Reader, who was hardly
five years older than Wulfston, seemed to have the wisdom of the ages.
"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Lenardo asked when they were alone. "You're so
braced for defense that I can't even Read your feelings."
"I couldn't get the truth out of those people," Wulfston replied, going to the other problem on his mind.
"Under all that bowing and scraping—"
"They were appealing to your ego," said Lenardo. "When that didn't work, Sukuru attacked your pride."
"Oh, I got the insult, all right. Sukuru is not the clever diplomat he thinks he is."
"Agreed." Lenardo looked at him expectantly.
Finally Wulfston said, "Did you—? I know your Reader's Code prevented you from probing them
deeply, but surely you got some surface impressions?"
Lenardo frowned, staring at his hands. On his left glittered the ring which symbolized his marriage to
Aradia, their two emblems, wolf and dragon, intertwined.
Wulfston had had the matching rings made by the finest goldsmith in his lands, as his wedding gift to his
sister and her husband. While it symbolized specifically the marriage of these two, it was also emblematic
of their entire alliance: neither beast could be separated from the other without breaking the ring, just as
no member of their alliance dared fail the rest without endangering the existence of the Savage Empire.
Finally Lenardo said, "I think you got the same impression I did, Wulfston: our uninvited guests were
telling the truth. As far as it went."
"Meaning I didn't ask the right question."
"Meaning they didn't answer it. They were very open and forthright about what they wanted you to do,
but highly evasive the moment you asked why." The Reader frowned, rubbing his neatly bearded chin as
if deciding whether to confide what he had learned in a way Readers considered unscrupulous. Then he
fixed dark eyes on Wulfston and said, "I wonder how much they really know? The description of
Z'Nelia, for example, sounds so much like Portia—"
"To you, perhaps," said Wulfston. "Besides, Portia was a Reader."
"Which is why she could not act openly, as this African Adept can. But you are right, Wulfston. What
made me think of Portia was the image of the spider with her webs spun throughout the kingdom. That
was how Portia seemed to me, once I discovered her evil. I'm sure this Z'Nelia is quite different,
probably more like Drakonius."
"So you think we should help Sukuru and Chulaika?"
"Not until we find out what they're hiding. The impression I got was that they are trying to use you. Their
talk of freedom for their people is a sham. What they really want is the throne of Nubia—perhaps all of
Africa—for themselves."
"That ragtag band?" Wulfston snorted. "Who would sit on the throne? Sukuru? He's only a minor Adept.
"
"Yes," agreed Lenardo, "they're all either weak Adepts or low-level, untrained Readers. Their combined
talents were nothing against you, and you're not yet at the height of your powers. If their Z'Nelia is mature
and as powerful as Drakonius was, no wonder they're looking for help."
"Perhaps they came here," Wulfston suggested, "because they knew I wouldn't be interested in claiming a
throne on another continent, and so would leave it to them?"
"Unlikely. They seemed honestly amazed that we have an alliance of equals. It sounds to me as if their
Adepts are still fighting one another, with the strongest subjecting all the others. So with his limited
powers, I cannot see how Sukuru thinks to hold Z'Nelias throne, even if you should gain it for him."
Wulfston nodded. "Well, Read whatever you can at dinner without breaking your Oath. Even if I cant
Read, I know there's something more than our guests have told us so far!"
Hoping to draw Sukuru and Chulaika out, Wulfston provided plenty of wine, and he and Lenardo, Julia,
and Aradia told the story of the defeat of Drakonius—rather than letting the bard sing his distorted
version.
Zanos and Astra, another Adept/Reader married couple, joined the group at the long table. Wulfston
was rather surprised that they had nothing to say, for Z'Nelia sounded much like the sorcerers they had
encountered in Madura, Zanos' native land, from where they had recently returned. Perhaps they were
biding their time, unwilling to reveal what they knew.
There were too many unrevealed secrets about that journey—especially why Torio, the blind Reader,
had not returned from it. When the young man had developed the gift of prophecy, and known thereby
that the woman he loved tnust seek her fortune in the frozen north, he had followed her there… and
apparently lost her to Maldek, a Master Sorcerer. But then, instead of returning with Zanos and Astra,
Torio had gone off on his own—to the east, Zanos had said, following some whim of his own.
And leaving Wulfston without a Reader. He had Rolf, of course, and several Magister Readers as well as
numerous Dark Moon Readers who had come to work in his lands. But Torio had been friend and equal
as none of these could be. Blast Torio's prophecies anyway! What had they done but lose him Melissa
and send him off to seek his fortune away from all his friends? Didn't Torio realize his absence weakened
their alliance?
But there was no use wishing for Torio. For the moment, Wulfston had Lenardo, the finest Reader ever
known, to help him in this delicate situation. And Lenardo was explaining to Wulfston's guests their
entangled relationships.
"So Julia is my adopted daughter, though I don't think either of us often remembers that she's adopted.
Aradia is my wife, and that makes her brother Wulfston my brother, too."
Sukuru asked, "How comes it, Lord Wulfston, that these pale folk claim you kin?"
"Ties of love may be as strong as ties of blood," he replied. "When I was only three years old, I showed
the first evidence of my powers."
A swift glance passed from Sukuru to Chulaika. The woman had worn her veils even to the table,
slipping bits of food up beneath her silken mask; so that when she caught Wulfston looking at her she
dropped her eyes and he could tell nothing more of her expression.
Wulfston continued, "Aradia's father, Nerius, stole me from the Aventine Empire, for the village folk
would have murdered me for showing Adept powers in a land where only Reading was acceptable. They
did kill my parents and my sister. Nerius was unable to rescue them, but he adopted me, and that is how
he became my father and Aradia my sister."
"We grew up together," Aradia put in. "It was no different than if we had had the same parents by blood;
we were playmates, we got into mischief together, and we fought and made up, just the way any other
brother and sister would. Because our Adept powers set us apart from other children, we were actually
closer than most brothers and sisters. I had been a very lonely child before Father brought Wulfston
home."
"And I was very young," Wulfston added. "No, I never forgot my birth parents. Nerius had known them
for a long time, and so now I can't tell you which are my own memories and which are stories Father told
me. He wanted me to remember my heritage, how proud my parents were that they had earned their way
out of slavery and become Aventine citizens." And then I developed the wrong power.
Aradia stepped into the pause. "So you see, our alliance is like a family—we love and trust one another,
even when we are under attack. And now that we are safe and secure, with our friends to protect us
from unforeseen dangers, Lenardo and I are having our own child. She will not be only our daughter; she
will be Julia's sister, and Wulfston's niece. That is the kind of family alliance you must have to fight a
tyrant."
Sukuru nodded. "Yes, we understand, although I must confess I am amazed. Perhaps, then, most
gracious Lord, you will advise us in our quest? Explain to us how power-ful rulers may be made to work
together instead of battling one another?"
"Not all can," replied Wulfston. "Some of our supposed allies proved false. They were with us when they
thought we had a chance of winning, but turned to Drakonius when he seemed to have the advantage.
But if you can find leaders who understand that striving for the good of their people is what keeps them
strong, those are the lords who will aid you in your cause to rid your land of a tyrant."
Sukuru rose, and bowed to Wulfston. "We will heed your advice, most excellent Lord. Now"—he
gestured to one of his retainers, who had stood guard near the door to the great hall all through the
meal—"let us present you with a wine of our country—a toast to our success in gaining from you the
means to save our land!"
The man handed Sukuru an ornate vessel, slim and beautifully shaped, with two handles near the narrow
mouth. This wine bottle could not sit on the table, for the bottom was pointed rather than flat. It appeared
to be of fired clay, but it was painted in brilliant colors that flashed like jewels.
Once the wax seal had been broken all the wine had to be poured out. Everyone at the table received a
generous portion. Sukuru raised his goblet. "To the defeat of Z'Nelia— and anything we must do to free
our land from her evil!"
The wine was sweet, and heavily spiced; they would need no sweet to end their meal.
Suddenly Aradia, who was seated between Wulfston and Lenardo, leaned over and whispered in her
brother's ear, "Come to our room after dinner. Lenardo has Read something."
Wulfston leaned forward to look at his sister's husband, but Lenardo was taking a drink of wine.
Obviously he did not want their guests to know what he had discovered.
Wulfston took another swallow of wine and realized that the sweet spiciness was creating thirst more
than quench-ing it. And he should drink no more wine; he'd had enough during all the toasts.
He deliberately set his cup aside, and signaled to his butler. "Get a dryer wine from the cellars," he
instructed, "and some fruit juice for me."
"And for me," Aradia put in. "I should not drink more wine tonight, either."
Eager to know what Lenardo had found out—and frustrated at the knowledge that the Readers at his
table already knew it—Wulfston wished he could cut the dinner short. But protocol demanded that
sweets and fruits be offered, and then entertainment provided.
His impatience grew as his musicians performed, and he found himself yawning. He was bored with the
music. Well, what was the good of being Lord of the Land if he couldn't stop the entertainment when he
grew tired of it?
At the end of a piece he rose. "Thank you for your fine music, my friends. Jareth, take them off and
reward them suitably. Now, though, I know our guests are tired. My servants are available for anything
you might need."
They dispersed to their own rooms. Wulfston took off his crown and chains of office, as well as the
heavily embroidered tabard he had worn for the state dinner. Wrapped in a light woolen robe against the
castle's chill, he felt much more comfortable. In fact almost too comfortable…
He was cold—cold and clammy. His head ached, and when he moved it hurt even more. Forcing his
eyes open a slit, Wulfston groaned at the stab of pain from sunlight piercing his brain.
He lay still, calling up healing heat, and almost fell asleep again as it did its work. Finally, though, the
poisons in his blood were purged, and he rose to his feet.
Although the sun was high in the sky, the castle was silent.
In the hallway the guard slumped against the wall, so deep in sleep that Wulfston had to touch him to be
sure he wasn't dead. The man woke at his touch, though; he had been put to sleep with Adept powers,
not drugged.
"Go—wake the other guards and secure the castle!" Wulfston instructed, and hurried down the stairs.
We are wide open for attack!
In the great hall the board still sat with the crumb-laden cloth upon it. Most of the dishes had been
cleared away, but the wine goblets stood at their place. Those where Sukuru and his people had sat
were still full.
Whatever Lenardo had Read when Sukuru had handed out the wine had been a ruse—something to
attract the attention of all the Readers, so that no one would think to Read the wine.
In the kitchen, Wulfston found the fire out, and Jareth sprawled on the floor. There was no sign of the
musicians.
He touched his retainer, and the older man moaned softly as he tried to wake up. He probably drank
more of the spiced wine than I did. Wulfston thought, and sent healing fire to cleanse the man's blood.
Jareth slumped back to sleep.
As Wulfston turned away, his cook came running into the kitchen in her nightgown. "Oh, me lord! What's
happened? No one woke this morning—not one of the servants is up!"
"It's not your fault," he assured her. "Sukuru put everyone into Adept sleep. Make a big pot of strong tea,
and start breakfast. Jareth should waken soon. Send him to wake up everyone at the dairy and the
stables."
Wulfston, meanwhile, dashed back up the stairs. As he expected, he found Sukuru's room empty.
Foreboding in his heart, he knocked at the door to Lenardo and Aradia's room. When there was no
response, he opened the door, passed their servants sleeping soundly in the anteroom, and went into the
inner chamber.
Aradia lay alone in the bed, her pale hair spread neatly across the pillow as if she had not moved all night
long.
Wulfston touched her brow, letting healing power flow before he placed a fingertip gently between her
eyes.
His sister blinked up at him. "Wulfston what—? Why have I slept so late?" She sat up, looking around.
"Where's Lenardo?"
"Aradia, we were drugged," Wulfston explained. "The wine Sukuru served us—"
"Drugged?!" Aradia's naturally pale skin grew bone-white, and she clutched her arms across her
abdomen. "The baby! Oh, Wulfston—get Lenardo to Read whether our baby's been harmed!"
摘要：

/*/*]]*/ScannedbyHighroller.Proofedby.MadeprettierbyuseofEBookDesignGroupStylesheet.Wulfston'sOdyessybyJeanLorrahandWinstonA.HowlettAcknowledgmentsTheSavageEmpireseriesisdedicatedtothepersonwhogotmeintoprofessionalsfwritingandthenencouragedmetostartmyownseries:JacquelineLichtenberg.Thisbook,ofcourse...

展开>> 收起<<
Jean Lorrah - Savage Empire 06 - Wulfston's Odyssey.pdf

共120页,预览24页

还剩页未读， 继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

相关推荐

更多
立即下载
分类：外语学习 价格：5.9玖币 属性：120 页 大小：291.16KB 格式：PDF 时间：2024-12-19

开通VIP享超值会员特权

  • 多端同步记录
  • 高速下载文档
  • 免费文档工具
  • 分享文档赚钱
  • 每日登录抽奖
  • 优质衍生服务

作者详情

相关内容

更多

热门标签

人际关系 配电装置 动力学连接体 力的合成 高考理综 全宋诗作者索引 公务员考试
/ 120
评分 收藏
分享
立即下载 VIP免费下载
客服
关注