A Strange and Ancient Name Read Online Free Page A

warm and heavy fell over the being. Alliar quickly uncurled, staring, unhindered by darkness, at the dirty, disheveled form of . . . a man? No, not quite a man; he felt too much of flesh-and-blood youth. A boy, then. One of the Faerie kind, like the sorcerer? He seemed small for that, too dark of hair and eyes and filthy, mud-stained face, though the proper feel of Power hung about him.
    The boy scrambled to his feet, straightening clothing and the knife at his belt, staring right back. “Who are you?” he asked in a fierce whisper. ‘His enemy?”
    The jerk of the boy’s head indicated the upper chambers and the sorcerer. The being gave the ghost of a laugh. “His slave.”
    To Alliar’s surprise, the boy frowned and crouched down again, a small hand gentle on the being’s naked shoulder. “No . . . Not just a slave.” The earnest dark eyes stared anew, full of true Faerie sight. Suddenly the boy sat back on his heels in surprise. “A spirit, a wind spirit! And he d-dares do this to you?”
    “The body, you mean? Or this?” Alliar’s sweep of arm took in the cellar. “He dared. I . . . bit him.”
    The boy fought down a frantic giggle. “You did what?”
    Alliar was astonished to feel a grin forming in response. “I was scared. And angry. There wasn’t anything else I could do; the spell on me keeps me from truly harming him. It was almost worth . . . this to see the look on his face.”
    The boy hastily buried his face in his hands to muffle laughter. “I—I suppose it was!” He took a deep, steadying breath. “Look you, there’s only the one shackle holding you. There’s a hole in the cellar floor, back there in the corner, where the mortar wore out and some stones fell away; that’s how I got in. I think I can get you loose. If I do, can you dissolve and escape through—”
    “No. I cannot lose this solid shape.” Alliar gave it a savage slap. “Nor can I leave this castle while my . . . master lives.”
    “Oh. Well. That sh-should work out all right. Because I’ve come here to kill him.”
    “But—you can’t—He’ll—” Alliar took a deep breath, amazed at this sudden urge to protect a flesh-and-bloodling. But . . . what the boy had shown was called kindness, the being knew that from the pleading of the sorcerer’s poor victims. Kindness. “Boy, whoever, whatever you are, you’re safe enough down here for the moment. There’s no one else in the castle, only you and I and . . . him—”
    “I know. He doesn’t trust anybody.”
    “—so get out of here now, before he comes down to investigate.”
    “No.” The boy straightened proudly, suddenly looking far older than his slight years. “I am Hauberin, son of the ruler of this land and your—your master, Ysilar, is his foe. Ysilar is a cruel, callous man, and I . . . don’t guess he’s really sane anymore, He’s guilty of murder and—worse things, several times over.” The young prince stopped, flustered. “But you would already know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
    Alliar winced. “Yes.”
    “My father has placed him under sentence of death for his crimes but, so far, he hasn’t been able to carry out the sentence.”
    “Why not?”
    Hauberin sighed. “Though Ysilar doesn’t dare leave his castle, it’s so well-Shielded that up till now no one has been able to get past the Wards. And any magics strong enough to break the Shielding from afar would destroy the land around as well. But I . . .” The boy hesitated, then continued defiantly, “I am half-human. Do you know what ‘human’ means?”
    “Yes.” Ysilar had used one or two of the poor, lost, magickless creatures in his studies. “Ahh, of course. The Wards were set strictly against Faerie blood. They wouldn’t have sensed someone partly human.”
    The prince nodded. “I got past them without any trouble.” He added in a bitter undertone, “First time I’ve ever been glad of human blood.”
    “You are unhappy with your shaping, too?” the