Free Lord of the White Hell book Two lotwh-2 by Ginn Hale Page A

him.
    "It-it's from a friend of my mother's and she hopes that I will share the candied fruit with all my new friends here at the academy." Kiram crumpled the note quickly.
    "Really? That's damn sweet of the lady." Nestor eyed the brilliant red cherries and translucent orange curls of candied tangerine peel in a lascivious manner.
    From behind Nestor, Javier gave the garland an irritated glower. "Sweets from the sweet, no doubt."
    Kiram forced a laugh. What must Javier have thought, reading that note? The low ring of afternoon bells broke Kiram's thoughts.
    Nestor straightened reflexively at the sound. "Time for class already." He glanced to Kiram. "Have you got your paper done for history?"
    Kiram nodded, then asked, "You?"
    "Not so much," Nestor admitted. "There are a few holes between page one and three. Most of page two really isn't worked out."
    "Well, give me what you have and I'll work on it during art"
    "Thanks so much, Kiram. You're my academic salvation." Nestor bounded to his feet and, with a look of relief, started digging through of his sheaf of drawings. Kiram rose more gingerly. Still, a sharp pang flared through his calf when he placed his weight on it and he flinched. Javier came to him immediately, wrapping his arm around Kiram's waist to hold him steady.
    "Are you sure you shouldn't just take the afternoon off and rest?" Javier asked.
    For a moment Kiram allowed himself to enjoy the strength of Javier's embrace.
    Then Nestor turned back, three crumpled pages of disordered script in hand. "You do look flushed, Kiram. Are you getting a fever?"
    "I'm fine. I just stood up too quickly." Kiram pulled away and Javier released him with a mechanical pat on the back. Kiram limped down the stairs to fine art class.

Chapter Five
    S cholar Casade, their art instructor, was a pragmatic elderly gentleman whose wispy white hair reminded Kiram a little of his own father. According to Nestor, he'd once been the royal portrait painter before a scandal had driven him from the court at Cieloalta.
    Not one to waste his energy on lost causes, the scholar had long since abandoned any attempt at improving Kiram's minimal artistic abilities. He doted on Nestor, however. Kiram suspected that, though the scholar knew Kiram spent most of the class period completing Nestor's history and mathematics assignments, he tolerated it for Nestor's sake.
    Not that Kiram didn't pay attention during class. In fact, Scholar Casade's lecture on line weight and form had aided Kiram greatly in forging Nestor's square script. He could sign Nestor's name nearly as well as his own now.
    An hour later, Holy Father Habalan accepted the paper from Nestor without comment. When Kiram turned his own essay in the holy father studied it, frowning, then said, "In light of your harrowing night I had expected that you wouldn't have a paper to hand in, Underclassman Kiram. I suppose your bear wasn't so terrible as all that, then."
    Kiram bowed his head. Just looking into the holy father's face made him almost too angry to think. How dare the bastard taunt him about last night? Was he so sadistic that he needed to see Kiram's fear even now?
    Then another thought came to Kiram. The groom Victaro had been murdered for knowing Habalan controlled the curse. Now, Kiram realized, the holy father might be watching for a response to determine Kiram's knowledge. He had to meet Habalan's gaze and seem genuine in his belief that a beast had attacked him. He couldn't allow the holy father to see either his fear or his anger.
    "I'm only able to turn the paper in because I completed it the day before, sir." Kiram forced himself to lift his head and meet those cow brown eyes imbedded in that plump, plain face. "I saw very little of the creature, but from the damage it did, it must have been very large. I wouldn't want to meet with another."
    "Yes, well, let's hope not." The holy father gazed intently at Kiram for a long moment, which seemed to stretch endlessly while Kiram