Free The Way of Things: Upper Kingdom Boxed Set: Books 1, 2 and 3 in the Tails of the Upper Kingdom by H. Leighton Dickson Page A

to the bones and creating treacherous ice slicks on the narrow
mountain paths. They had been forced to slow to an agonizing crawl to give the
horses their heads. Now, as torches burned before them and below them and
finally all above them, he felt a terrible weight settle onto his shoulders.
    The Cliff of a Thousand Eyes, it
had once been called, and he could see why.
    Hewn out of the sheer mountain
escarpment, were holes – windows that stretched up the cliff face as high
as seven levels, open to the night sky like many mouths, pouring forth light
and warmth from within. Inside those mouths, figures could be seen moving,
robed figures with bowed heads and outstretched hands, swaying in silent
rhythm. And from somewhere deep within, a gong sounded seven times seven, the
number of perfection.
    Kirin shook his head.
    They were too late.
    And with a deep breath, he moved
his horse forward, beginning the descent into the steep ravine that was the monastery
of the Seers.

 
    ***

 
    “Captain!”
    Ursa Laenskaya spurred her horse up
the stony ground as she pulled up by his side. She looked as haggard as he
felt. Her long hair had escaped from the knot she had worn all day and her arm
was dark with blood. Things had obviously not gone well on their end. But he
was short on patience and he snarled at her.
    “Major, why aren’t you inside?!”
    “We were attacked, sir. We killed
three, lost one.”
    “I see.”
    Instinctively, he looked for Quiz,
picked him out rambling towards them in the darkness. And of course, thankfully
his brother, bundled in the pony’s blanket, looking ready to exchange saddle
for shale at any moment.
    They had failed.
    They had made it but they had
failed.
    He could hear the rest of his
party, the Scholar and the Alchemist and the Leopard Guard, their horses
heaving and blowing in near exhaustion. With a sigh, he slid from his horse and
trudged up to one of the seven ground level openings. Like teeth to an open
mouth, it was barred by a black iron grill and torches burned on either side,
casting shadows across the stone. He reached up to take one.
    “You’re late.”
    On the opposite side stood a figure
hidden by darkness. Kirin lifted the torch from its perch and angled it toward
the gate. It was a tall man in dark robes. Many men actually, obscured by
robes, hoods pulled to cover their faces. They stood perfectly still, watching
him, weighing him with unseen, all-seeing eyes.
    “Yes,” he said. “We are late.”
    “Where is the falcon?”
    Kirin looked at Ursa, still
mounted, noticed the dread coldness in her face.
    “Which?” she asked sharply. “Living
or dead?”
    “Dead.”
    She reached under her cloak to
produce the small, feathered body. Its head lolled, and there was no flicker of
wing or tail. She handed it to the Captain, who passed it between the iron into
gloved hands. One of the figures disappeared with it into the depths of the
monastery.
    “And the living?”
    Chirrups pierced the quiet as Ursa
loosened the ties securing the lid of the basket. Speckled wings burst forth,
then the head, hooded since the Palace and the bird sprang to the Major’s arm
as if home.
    “Remove the hood,” came the voice,
soft now, almost purring. “I told you she’s hungry.”
    For once, Ursa did as she was told
without question. The falcon lit from her arm, talon bells jingling. She tried
to follow it with her eyes, but the bird was only a shrinking silhouette as it
soared upwards, a black speck against the overpowering blackness of the cliffs.
    The tall figure regarded them.
    “You. Stableboy. See to your
horses. Rodreigo will show you the way. “
    “We have no stableboy,” the Captain
started, but his brother cut him off.
    “Actually, Kirin, that’s me. Just
me, accompanying the Empress.”
    He slid from the mountain pony and
began to gather up the reins of the Imperial horses when a young pair of hands
touched his. Bright eyes smiled at him in the darkness.
    “I
will help,