Free Darkstone - An Evil Reborn (Book 4) by Guy Antibes Page A

Vish asked. Perhaps this was a terrible idea, but he wore a mail shirt at Peleor’s request.
    “What if your father is there? What if the five gods of the city are there? If we are cautious and the meeting is innocent, consider it a tidbit of education. You are going to attend Sulm’s meeting as an observer. No matter what happens, you observe.
    “If you are uncomfortable at any time, leave. Even if your mother finds out, it’s part of your tutoring to learn how common men think, right?”
    Vish pursed his lips. “Sulm made the same point.”
    “There. They should fit.” Peleor threw Vish a worker’s cloak and the hat. Thicker material had made the hat stiffer. It looked like a cone with the tip cut off along with a thin brim that ran all around the bottom. All of the gardeners in the compound wore them summer or winter, rain or sun.
    The cloak seemed to be a bit long, but the hat fit just fine. Vish positioned his dagger inside of this pants the way Peleor had instructed. “I’m ready to go.”
    Peleor laughed. “You can’t just walk out of the house wearing that.”
    “I can’t—” Vish suddenly understood. “Very well. You carry both of our outfits in this.” Vish retrieved a plain canvas bag. “I used this to remove some of my old schoolbooks.”
    “Excellent. We will take different routes to the packers’ guildhall. The moment you enter the square, I’ll be at your back.”
    “We’ve gone through this enough.”
    “One more time never hurts. Use no power unless your life is in danger and if you use your knife, hide it as soon as possible after you use it. It is too recognizable.”
    Vish nodded. He felt more like preparing for a battle with his father’s enemy than observing commoners complain about his father’s reign.
    Both of them left the Imperial Compound together as the sun turned the city a dusky orange. Peleor guided them to a narrow alley where they put on their cloaks. Vish continued on through the alley to the other side and Peleor walked back the way they entered.
    As Vish walked through the city streets, he restrained his hands from touching the handle of his dagger. He adjusted the hat a little lower on his head and walked the fifteen minutes or so that it would take to the packers’ guildhouse.
    Guildhouses in the Imperial City and throughout Dakkor were gathering places, not just for members of the guild, but any member could rent the hall. Weddings, Manhood and Womanhood ceremonies were often held in guildhalls. The packers’ guildhall looked more modest than most, Vish thought as he exited onto the irregular shaped open area between the buildings that made up Packer’s Square. He saw men, variously dressed, enter the guildhall, but most wore the same kind of cloak that he did.
    The waning light didn’t permit Vish to notice Peleor and he wouldn’t wait to recognize the sorcerer as he made his way into the large meeting room of the hall. Sulm waited at the entrance.
    “Vish, come this way.” He grabbed Vish’s elbow and led him midway towards the raised platform at the far end of the hall. “Peleor outdid himself. I nearly didn’t recognize you and wouldn’t at all if you were a bit taller.”
    “I’ll soon be as tall as you,” Vish said, a little angry at the slight. Sulm put his arm around Vish and squeezed his shoulder.
    “Please, that’s the injured one.”
    Sulm looked genuinely ashamed. “I’m sorry about that. Just take it all in. When you have heard enough, you can just leave. I have another meeting with a few of the attendees after this is over. Your way home is well lit and patrolled, so I wouldn’t think there will be any trouble.”
    Vish nodded, moving his head this way and that way so he could see what happened in front of him. He’d be glad himself when he began to grow taller. The crowd wouldn’t be as effective in blocking his view.
    “We will get started now,” a man announced standing on a stage at the far end of the hall. The buzz in