Ashwalk Pilgrim Read Online Free Page A

days. When you cry, think of me to dry your tears. When you smile, know I will smile with you. When you dream, know I will dream of you. I love you, I love you, I love you .
    Mara lifted her chin. A strange calmness washed over her body. Her tears disappeared. Her aches and pains and bruises faded. “I promise, Madame Olessa, that you may take my child once it’s born. I will not fight you because I know I cannot give it the life it needs.”
    Olessa clapped her hands and smiled. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Now get out. Oh, be a dear and send a strong boy in to clean that broken wine glass.”
    Mara nodded. She tottered from Olessa’s room, her aches and pains slowly creeping back into her bones.

CHAPTER THREE
Flight of the Lanterns

    The first paper lanterns of Harvest Festival drifted from the docks as the sun slowly sank beneath the horizon. The rectangular lanterns would drift on the glassy waters of the city’s bay until they reached the Floatwaif where the heat of their flames and the ocean breeze combined to pluck them from the waves and pull them toward their starry brethren.
    Mara never lit a lantern of her own. Olessa never allowed it, even though her madame always lit one herself. One day, Mara wanted to light a lantern. Maybe she would for her child once it was born. Once Olessa took it from her to a life that would never intersect with hers.
    “Each one is a prayer for the Burning Mother,” Gia said, tucking her legs to her chest.
    “May she bring another plentiful harvest this coming year,” Mara murmured.
    “And a year of healthy…” Gia’s voice faded. She looked to her knees, her cheeks flushing red. It was an innocent mistake, the phrase she nearly muttered. All muttered it on Harvest Festival. All prayed for it on that night.
    “…Babies,” Mara finished. “It’s okay, Gia. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”
    Ever since her talk with Madame Olessa, Mara had meticulously avoided the subject of her child. Gia eventually gave up her friendly prodding and hid her worries behind a warm smile. Mara wasn’t sure if she would ever tell her friend the truth until the deed was done and her child gone. By then, every moon maiden and strong boy would know the truth and it wouldn’t matter anyway.
    The first paper lanterns reached the bobbing mess of the Floatwaif barges. The lanterns lifted from the calm waters, floating in an ever-rising wave toward the titan skeleton proudly facing the horizon.
    Cheers erupted from the shore and quickly spread to Floatwaif. Drums beat a merry rhythm. Sea and shore came alive with leaping, dancing peoples of all shapes and sizes. Ferry boats unmoored from Sollan’s docks and disturbed the glassy waters, their pointed prows aimed like arrows for the heart of the House of Sin and Silk.  
    Gia stood and smoothed her shimmering sheer dress. “And Harvest Festival begins. Is my collar polished?”
    Mara stood with a little help from her friend. So long had she worn her own brass-plated collar, she often forgot it hung around her neck.
    She licked her thumb and rubbed a speck of grease from Gia’s collar. “There. It looks like it’s never been worn before.”
    “You know I envy you, Mara.”
    Mara furrowed her brow and paused her polishing. “Envy me? Did you take a dose of glimmer?”
    “No,” Gia said with a laugh. “But you’ll be cooking in the kitchen while I’ll be serving the whims of drunk fools. Sometimes, I just wish I…I just wish I had my body back.”
    “I can’t remember a time when it was mine.” Mara looked to her belly. “I’ve been Olessa’s slave since my youngest days. As soon as I was old enough, she had me taking patrons so she could turn a profit. Now, I share my body with my child and wonder if tomorrow Olessa will grow tired of the expense and throw me to the sharks.”
    Gia laughed and leaned back. She tossed a dark braid behind her shoulder and glanced toward the horizon. “I think you would like freedom if you