by Julia Knight
There was that odd tone to her voice again. He just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. One wrong word and he’d plummet into the dark.
“People like you around here. And not just for sorting out the bandits,” said Carla scrubbing the same spot on the bar over and over. “You know I lost my Jintor five winters back from the damp lung. The house is quiet without him, especially now that the children are all grown up. Fourth grandchild will be along any day, but there’s still a lot that needs doing. Looking after the village, working with the other Elders, easily enough work for two.”
In all the years he’d known her it was the most Vargus had ever heard her say about her needs. The strain was starting to show on her face.
He settled her frantic hand by wrapping it in both of his. Her skin was rough from years of hard labour, but it was also warm and full of life. For the first time since he’d arrived she looked him in the eye. Her sharp blue eyes were uncertain.
“I can’t,” Vargus said gently. “It’s not who I am.”
Carla pulled her hand free and Vargus looked away first, not sure if he was sparing her or himself.
“What about the legend of the Gath?”
He dismissed it with a wave. “It was already fading, and me with it. There aren’t many that believe, fewer still that are afraid. It’s my own fault, I guess. I kept it too small for too long. It would only keep me for a few more years at best. This war is my best way.”
Carla was the only one in the village who knew some of the truth about him. She didn’t claim to understand, but she’d listened and accepted it because of who he was and what he could do. It seemed churlish to hide anything from her at this point.
He waited, but to his surprise she didn’t ask for the rest.
“So you’ll fight?”
“I will,” declared Vargus. “I’ll travel to Charas to fight and bleed and kill. For the King, for the land and for those who can’t defend themselves. I’ll swear an oath, by the iron in my blood, to fight in the war until it’s done. One way or the other.”
Carla was quiet for a time. Eventually she shook her head and he thought he saw a tear in her eye, but maybe it was just his imagination.
“If anyone else said something like that, I’d tell them they were a bloody fool. But they’re not just words with you, are they?”
“No. It’s my vow. Once made it can’t be broken. If I stay here I’ll be dead in a few years. At least this way, I have a chance.”
Reaching under the counter Carla produced a dusty red bottle that was half empty. Taking down two small glasses she poured them each a generous measure of a syrupy blue spirit.
“Then I wish you luck,” said Carla, raising her glass.
“I’ll drink to that, and I hope if I ever come back, I’ll still be welcome.”
“Of course.”
They tapped glasses and downed the spirit in one gulp. It burned all the way down Vargus’s throat before lighting a pleasant fire in his belly. They talked a while longer, but the important words had been said and his course decided.
In the morning, Vargus would leave the village that had been his home for the last forty years, and go to war.
BY JULIA KNIGHT
DUELISTS TRILOGY
Swords and Scoundrels
Legends and Liars
Warlords and Wastrels
AS FRANCIS KNIGHT
ROJAN DIZON TRILOGY
Fade to Black
Before the Fall
Last to Rise
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Extras Meet the Author
A Preview of Battlemage
By Julia Knight
Orbit Newsletter
Copyright
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2015 by Julia Knight
Excerpt from Battlemage copyright © 2015 by Stephen Aryan
Cover design by Wendy Chan
Cover illustration © Gene Mollica
Cover © 2015 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: December 2015
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ISBN 978-0-316-37502-3
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