Dragonsbane (Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

he’d been selfish. And Kael knew he had no more hope against his weakness than any of Roland’s heroes. The path he was on would eventually end. But no matter where it ended, Kael would be standing there alone. He alone would pay the price.
    Of this, he was determined.
     
    *******
     
    A knock on the door woke him.
    He was back in Gravy Bay, asleep in one of the stuffed chairs in the mansion’s library. Someone pounded on the front door — three sharp raps. Kael pulled himself from the chair and trudged out into the hallway.
    His eyes were still heavy with sleep. Though he tried to blink it back, the darkness kept creeping in. The next time he opened his eyes, he was standing at the front door.
    Knock, knock, knock .
    “Hold on,” Kael muttered as he fumbled with the door’s latch. It felt much heavier than usual. The door groaned and almost seemed to fight him as tugged it. When he finally pulled it open, he blinked at the man standing on the other side.
    He was incredibly thin, with a lank mop of hair and eyes like pits. Angry waves of red and orange billowed up behind him. Screams rode the ash-thickened air, drifting in from the village below.
    Gilderick smiled — as if he could feel the terror that gripped Kael’s chest. Hundreds of shadows gathered behind him. They were taller than men with eyes that burned white-hot. Their arms and chests glistened with the wet blood of the villagers.
    “I knew I’d find you here.”
    Gilderick’s lips didn’t move, but Kael could hear his voice in the depths of his ears — as if it’d spoken from within him.
    “Come with me,” Gilderick whispered. “And don’t worry about your friends … they can come, too.”
    His pitiless gaze swept over Kael’s shoulder, and he saw his friends had gathered behind him. Their bodies were shadows; their eyes were white and lifeless. He screamed as their arms wrapped about him, but they didn’t stop.
    Lysander and Thelred pulled down. Aerilyn kicked the legs out from under him. It was Kyleigh who grabbed him by the roots of his hair and jerked his head back — forcing him to lock eyes with Gilderick.
    “This will only hurt a moment.” His gaze widened, coiling around Kael’s soul. “Yes, little Wright — with your strings in my hand, I’ll bring the Kingdom to its knees!”
     
    *******
     
    A loud gasp startled Kael from his sleep. He choked against the lingering panic of the dream. It took several moments of deep, steady breathing to calm the thudding of his heart.
    The room was dark and still. The small fire had burned down to a few feeble coals. As his eyes adjusted, he could see the shadowy forms of the pirates scattered all around him. He watched their burly chests rise and fall with their snores. When he was certain they were all soundly asleep, he stood.
    He’d packed his rucksack a few nights ago. The giants had given them so much food for the journey home that he was certain nobody had noticed his pilfering. He had enough food stashed to travel for a few weeks.
    After that, he’d be on his own.
    A common room littered with the bodies of sleeping pirates blocked his path to the front door. He had to pick his way across them, slipping between bedrolls and rucksacks as he crept towards the door. He was nearly there when he accidentally stepped on a creaky plank.
    It squeaked loudly beneath his boot. He waited, breathless, listening to the grunts and snores. When he was certain nobody had heard, he eased his boot off the floor.
    The plank creaked again.
    Kael’s lips moved in silent swears as he skipped over the last of the pirates and went for the door — which moaned like a northern wind when he opened it. He shut it as quietly as he could, hoping to mercy that the pirates slept on.
    A plat of mud and filth wrapped around the inn like a moat — a large pigsty that gave all of Frome’s Refuge a very distinct stench. Kael crossed the narrow planks of wood that hovered over the reeking mud and jogged for the