Book of Kinsey: Dark Fate (The Dark Fate Chronicles 2) Read Online Free Page A

wanted to make sure he didn’t miss his evening pipe.
    Once the others finished their meals and began pulling out their pipes, Sargon put his away and cleared his throat. “I got somethin’ ta say ta all of ya.” He rested his arms on his knees and looked around at the faces of his friends. Each face glowed with a yellowish-orange tint from the fire’s light, and each of their eyes met his expectantly.
    “I’m sure ya been talkin’ amongst yerselves about what we been doin’ out here”—he gestured to Kinsey’s sleeping form—“and ya got speculations about the lad over there.”
    Many heads around the fire nodded. Gideon remained still and stared at the flames, slowly scratching his beard in thought. Jocelyn’s eyes tried to look at everyone at once, evaluating.
    “Let me say that I been honored ta have all of ya join me without question. Yer the most trustworthy group I know. It’s time fer ya to understand why we made this trek and what it be meanin’ ta us as a people. I’ve asked a lot from ya, and I’m about ta ask fer more.”
    Gideon’s gaze lifted from the fire to Sargon.
    The old priest straightened and pointed at Kinsey. “That boy be the king’s grandson, as sure as ma beard be gray and long. He’s gonna need our help, as will the king.”
    Horus’s craggy face twisted in a wry way, and he chuckled before saying, “So, it’s true then. King Thorn’s got hisself an heir?”
    Sargon reflected on the vision that had stood above Kinsey in the jail cell. “I be havin’ no doubts about the lad’s origin.” The surety of his statement drew the eyes of everyone around the fire.
    Gideon blinked and tilted his golden-haired head. “Ya saw somethin’ else down in that dungeon, didn’t ya.” The general leaned forward into the light of the campfire, and his scars seemed to deepen in the orange light. “I hadn’t thought about it before, but ya knew how ta stop the boy from changin’.” The stocky dwarf got to his feet. “Damnation, we all did!”
    All eyes shifted to Gideon.
    The young general lifted his hands into the air and laughed. “I never heard that prayer before in ma life, but I sung the words as if I knew ‘em from birth!” All the heads around the campfire nodded their agreement. Sargon had not had to ask or guide them in song; they just joined him, tugged by an instinct beyond their ability to understand.
    Jocelyn’s was the only face that did not turn to its neighbor or nod along in retrospective wonder. She sat calmly, looking at Sargon with hope in her eyes.
    He smiled at her as if she were his own grandchild. In truth, she was the closest thing he had to one. The decision to tell the others about what he had seen down in that dungeon was one he had not made until now. He patted the lovely girl lightly on the hand and stood.
    The others fell into silence as he did so.
    “I seen his true nature standin’ over ’im with ma own eyes.” Sargon said. His skin tingled at the sound of his own words. “I seen the natures of all of ya, as well.” He swept his pipe stem at the faces in emphasis. “The song be a gift from Dagda himself. He saved us all and showed me what must be done.”
    He paused to make sure all eyes were on him, even Neal’s, before he continued. “Some o’ ya know what could happen when we return ta Mozil. And fer those that don’t, I’m tellin’ ya right now. We could start a war. A civil war. Dwarf against dwarf like what happened at Stone Mountain.”
    The silence held as his companions looked on with grim expressions. Even Neal seemed to grasp the full implications and sat with his steaming bowl of freshly poured stew untouched.
    “I’ve trusted all of ya with ma life. What I need ta know now is, can I trust ya with this secret?” Sargon finished.
    Gideon looked on, grim thunder playing below his scarred features. The others sat stunned by the revelation and implication. Jocelyn alone looked thoughtful. She had slipped a smooth, black