Free Call Of The Flame (Book 1) by James R. Sanford Page A

and tore off a corner of the front page.  Sedlik’s
eyes went wide.
    “This is it,” he said, his voice shaking.  “The proof.  This
is what Lekon’s troops are searching for everywhere.  Look, it’s a book of
maps.  Maps to the Spice Islands .  And you brought it here .”  He
turned to Aiyan, spitting the words out angrily.  “ What were you thinking ?”
    Aiyan spoke evenly.  “I was thinking that I needed the best
help I could get.  Because this is even bigger than it seems.  The ship captain
was a Knight of the Dragon’s Blood, and Lekon’s business partner, Mr. Morae, is
one as well.”
    Sedlik shook his head violently.  “I told you I never wanted
to hear of them.  I can’t hear of them.”  But he opened the door to the
vault and placed the book in a cubby hole inside along with some old scrolls
and a few golden statuettes.
    After he locked the door and turned back to them he suddenly
looked too tired to be angry.  “I’m doing this, Aiyan.  But after this we are
even; I owe you nothing.”
    Aiyan looked hurt.  He placed his hand on Sedlik’s shoulder
and said, “You have never owed me anything.”
    As they shuffled up the steps Sedlik said, “If they come to
the house I will give it to them.  I won’t even wait for them to question me —
I’ll simply open the vault and let them take it.  I swear that I will.”
    “Of course,” said Aiyan.  “That is exactly what you should
do, what I would want you to do.  I wouldn’t dare leave it here if I thought
you might try to play the hero.  But it won’t come to that.  We’ll be very
careful.”
    While Sedlik changed clothes Aiyan asked Kyric to fetch his
bow and quiver.  After stringing it, Aiyan took a few pulls on it, hampered by
his injured ribs.
    “The archery tournament is day after tomorrow, right?  Hmm. 
It’s tightly strung.  With my two wounds, I don’t know if I can pull this all
day.  Are you good with it?”
    “I don’t know,” Kyric said.  I’ve never shot against
anyone.”
    “Let us go out to the alley and set something up.”
    Aiyan had him shoot at the spokes of a broken wagon wheel,
backing him farther away with each shot.  The tightness of the bowstring
against his fingers was a comfort to him, the brush of the feather against his
cheek a caress.  After the chaos of the last few days it felt good to simply
shoot, to be so lost in the precision that nothing else existed.  When he no
longer knew who he was, he could relax and find the quiet place inside himself.
    “How did you learn to shoot like that living in a rune
convent?”
    Kyric smiled.  “I’m having one of my better days.”  He went
to collect his arrows.  “There was this old fellow, a stout yeoman type, who
lived in a shack on convent lands and kept the grounds for them.  I helped him
when I didn’t have other chores.  He told me that he had served in the Prince’s
Own Royal Archers before they were disbanded.  He couldn’t pull his bow
anymore, so he gave it to me.  He spent a lot of time teaching me how to use
it.”
    Aiyan nodded.  “So you had a kind of grandfather in your
life.  That’s good.
    “Yes.  I miss him.”
    They went inside and Aiyan called Sedlik down to the kitchen. 
“We’re going to need suits, nice ones, fit for a royal reception.  And they
must be ready in three days.”
    “Good luck,” said Sedlik.  “I suppose we can have one of
mine altered to fit you, but getting one cut for Kyric will be impossible right
now.”
    “But we need clothing for him most of all.”
    Sedlik scratched at his bristle.  “I know a woman who
handles estate sales, maybe from her.”
    “Find out tonight,” Aiyan said.
    “Why do you need fine dress for the kid?”
    “He’s going to win the gold arrow in the archery
tournament.”
    Kyric sat dumbfounded.  Sedlik looked from one to the other.
    “The winners of each event,” Aiyan explained, “are invited
to a royal reception hosted by Princess