Free The Forever Knight: A Novel of the Bronze Knight (Books of the Bronze Knight) by John Marco Page A

him anything about you.”
    “That’s right, she didn’t,” nodded Marilius. “See? You don’t have to kill either of us.” He waved Cricket closer. “Sit yourself down, little girl.”
    Cricket came over but sat down on my other side, away from Marilius. She wore the rass skin cape, using part of it to cover my chilled body. I lifted my hand, brushing the back of it against her leg, a way of showing her I could move better now.
    “Untie the sword now, Cricket,” I told her, sure I could hold it by myself. When she was done I managed to prop myself up onto an elbow. Cricket and Marilius both grinned like it was some great feat. “I’ve got questions for you,” I told Marilius. “How long have you been gone from Norvor?”
    “Less than a year,” said Marilius.
    “Who you working for? Diriel?”
    “Diriel?” Marilius laughed then spit on the ground. “Never. Diriel’s turned Akyre into a pit. Not that it was anything to brag about before, mind you.”
    Cricket bristled, “Akyre’s my home.”
    “Oh?” Marilius shrugged. “Sorry to hear that. You already know what’s happened to it, then.”
    “We don’t,” I confessed. “We came here to find out.” The more I talked the more my head cleared. My instincts were getting sharper, too, telling me Marilius was hiding something. “You didn’t answer my question—who’d make a kid like you a captain?”
    Just as if I’d squeezed a trigger, Marilius started getting nervous again. The dagger flipped quickly between his fingers. “His name’s Anton Fallon. Heard of him?”
    Now it was my turn to smile. “That explains a lot. Anton Fallon’s got just about all the money in this part of the world. Probably has nothing better to spend it on than a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears mercs. So why’d you come to Arad? Why are you alone?”
    “Well, that’s my business now, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to have to rescue you two. Now I’m heading back there. I want you to come with me.”
    “Why?” asked Cricket.
    “Cause it’s safe there,” said Marilius. “Akyre’s no place for you, girl. If you come with me south to Fallon’s palace, your champion here can mend a bit.”
    “Uh-huh. That’s a real nice offer,” I said. “And Anton Fallon just happens to have a desperate need for more mercenaries, I bet.”
    “You’ve got special talents,” said Marilius. “He’ll pay you well, better than any other swording job you’ll find around here.”
    “I’m not a mercenary,” I said. “Not anymore.”
    “He’s a knight-errant,” declared Cricket.
    “Ah, so you’re a principled man,” said Marilius. “What if I told you that Fallon really needs you. People are dying and you can help stop it. Would that interest you?”
    “Not unless you tell me the whole story.”
    “Can’t,” said Marilius. His lips tightened behind his beard. “That’s for Fallon to say. Anyway, where else you gonna go? There’s nothing worth your time in Akyre, and if you head up there, Wrestler will just snap your neck again. At least if you come with me you’ll get a chance to do some good.”
    I thought about it, then shook my head. “No reason for us to go all the way to some palace to rest. Seems pretty quiet here. By tomorrow I’ll be able to ride. So thanks for the offer, but no.”
    Marilius stood up. “I thought knight-errants were supposed to have honor.” He sniffed and put his dagger into his belt. “Guess you don’t think much of paying your debts. Seems to me you’d still be laid out in Arad if I hadn’t come along. And Cricket? Who knows. Wrestler might have come back for her.”
    I wished he hadn’t said that. I still wish it. Before I was a mercenary I was a real knight. A Royal Charger. The word ‘honor’ didn’t seem to mean much in the Bitter Kingdoms, but it did to me.
    “Lukien, I don’t want to go with him. We got our own mission, you and me.”
    “We do,” I sighed, but I hadn’t told Cricket of the monster I’d seen.