Child of Fate Read Online Free Page B

am.
Or I was. I’m here to meet some people.”
    “Ooh, secrets,” she teased him. “I’m Aleena;
this is the Foaming Mug.”
    Alto glanced up at the sign and laughed. He
didn’t need to read when he could guess the name outright!
    “Something funny about that?”
    “Oh! No, nothing. I’m sorry. Just a fitting
sign, is all. I’m Alto, sorry.”
    “You should come back after you meet your
friends, Alto,” Aleena said. “We open at high sun and the ale’s
always cold.”
    Alto slapped his mouth shut and nodded. “I’ll
do that,” he managed to stammer. “If I can, I mean. Otherwise,
another time? Do you, um, do you live here, too?”
    “My father owns the inn,” she said. “And
he’ll probably threaten to tan my hide if I don’t sweep these
boards proper.”
    “Oh! Right, of course. I wouldn’t want that.”
Alto backed away and offered a wave to the laughing girl. His
cheeks flaming redder than ever, Alto turned and let himself be
swallowed up by the moving crowd again.
    He wandered, his height helping him see over
the heads of most of the other morning travelers. It had taken him
days to reach Portland, thanks in no small part to him needing to
ask directions at every turn. He’d been so turned about at one
point he doubted he could even find his way home. Crossing one road
to the next, he began to wonder if he would become just as lost
here.
    He followed a bend in the road and saw a wall
that rose nearly twice as high as the outer gates. A portcullis was
raised in the road ahead of him, but on this side of it he saw
another bridge. Alto stopped in the middle of the road until
someone bumped into him from behind. He hurried forward, excited to
think that he’d found his destination at last.
    The ornate design he saw upon the massive
building was not what he expected. Rather than a sword and axe, he
saw only the sculpted metal of a blazing sun high above the
entrance to the church. He frowned and started to turn away. He had
to keep searching; no doubt there were other roads that crossed the
Yelb.
    A figure emerging from the temple caught his
eye. He turned his head back and believed that his luck might not
be all bad after all. “Karthor!” Alto cried out.
    Seeing Alto, the man smiled and waved. “Well
met,” Karthor said when he walked closer. “What brings you to
Portland? You seem out of place.”
    Alto nodded emphatically. “Aye, this city
is…large. And close!”
    Karthor chuckled. “It can be overwhelming,
but it is small, as cities go.”
    Alto couldn’t imagine a larger city. He shook
his head in awe. “Where is Tristam? I want to take him up on his
offer.”
    Karthor smiled and turned to point back down
the road they were on. “Take the next road to the right for two
blocks. You will see the Yelb. The Blades stay there between jobs.
Come, I will show you.”
    Karthor led the way, inquiring as they walked
about Alto’s father and family. Alto found him easy to talk to and
shared more than he expected. Their conversation was cut short when
Karthor led him to a plain building next to an equally
plain-looking tavern.
    “Head on in. I need to tend to some things
but I’ll be back shortly,” the priest explained.
    Alto nodded and opened the door. Inside, the
air smelled fresher than the outside, which surprised him. He found
himself in a common area and saw William sitting on a bench and
oiling his sword.
    “Ho there, lad,” William said. He recognized
him a moment later. “Ah, you’d be the one from Monterose! The
goblin-slayer,” he said, chuckling. “Are there more of them about
that we missed?”
    “No, I…is Tristam here?” Alto asked
nervously.
    William nodded and stood up, wiping his sword
clean and sheathing it. He carried it and gestured for Alto to
follow him.
    He led him through an open doorway and down a
passage into a galley-style kitchen. On the far side of it, they
walked down another hallway until William stopped at a door and
knocked. A voice bid them to