Lord of Ashes (Steelhaven: Book Three) Read Online Free Page A

though it were he who had kept her waiting and not the other way around.
    ‘Anyway, have to run,’ Waylian said to Aldrich, who acknowledged him with an insincere smile that never reached his bespectacled eyes. As he hurried to the Magistra’s side Waylian could only hope their paths never crossed again.
    The pair walked in silence through the gates of the courtyard and out into the city. There was a muted sense of urgency on the streets, the tension palpable amongst Steelhaven’s city folk. Gelredida ignored them, and Waylian did his best to avoid anyone’s gaze lest they look to him in hope – conveying a silent plea for him to use his magicks and save them from the horde that had come to smash down their walls.
    He followed his mistress on her usual route. It was like a ritual she performed each morning since the Khurtas had arrived. Walk the streets to the wall at Eastgate and there mount the battlements. Then walk north to the Stone Gate, passing the archers posted there, the swordsmen and knights of every stripe, the auxiliaries and militia levies trading their banter, trying their hardest to take their minds from what was to come.
    Again Waylian found himself avoiding the eyes of these men, not that any of them were interested in him. They were far too busy moving from the path of his mistress as she strode amongst them, her stern stare fixed far to the north, where the Khurtas were camped. When they reached the River Gate they would descend the stone steps down from the battlements and make their way back to the Tower of Magisters, but today was different. Today the Magistra stopped, placing her red-gloved hands gently on the merlon in front of her and letting out a long sigh.
    Waylian watched her as she stared northward, starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable with the silence.
    ‘You have been a loyal apprentice, Waylian,’ she said suddenly.
    ‘Magistra?’ he replied, unsure of where this was going, or if he even wanted to know. Was she about to send him on another impossible mission? About to put his life in danger once more?
    ‘I should have spared you all this. I should have let you leave this place days ago. Weeks ago.’
    ‘But, Magistra, I—’
    ‘There’s no need to protest. I know you’ve hated your time here. Hated me. But you must know it was all for a reason.’
    This wasn’t right. She was unburdening herself. Confiding in him. In all the time he had known her she had never once imparted her feelings. He could only think it was a side effect of the virulent canker that infected her hands and body.
    ‘Magistra, I will stay here as long as—’
    She laughed. It lit up her face. Waylian was so taken aback he almost fell off the battlements.
    ‘Yes, you will, Waylian. You’ll stay as long as you’re needed, you brave young fool. That’s exactly the reason I should spare you the horror that’s coming. But it’s fools like you who may well save this city.’
    He could only stare at her, wanting to tell her he wasn’t brave. He was terrified. Had been terrified from the first day he set foot in the Tower of Magisters, but something told him she already knew that.
    ‘I don’t see there’s anything I can do,’ he said.
    She regarded him with a look of sympathy. ‘You might be surprised, Waylian. Courage isn’t something that can be conjured like the magicks. You either have it or you don’t. It’s what makes people like you face impossible odds, when there is little hope.’ She looked at him, gazing deep into his eyes. ‘You’ll fight here till the end. And chances are you’ll die here like all the rest.’
    He had to admit; the prospect didn’t fill him with glee, but he knew she was right.
    ‘Then it’s settled,’ he said. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
    They stared at one another then, her eyes looking into him, assessing him. Whatever she saw deep inside was enough to satisfy her.
    ‘Come then,’ she said, continuing her route along the great curtain wall. ‘There