Soul of Kandrith (The Kandrith Series) Read Online Free

and now.” The middle-aged woman stared
at the legionnaire.
    He lifted one corner of his lip. “Old woman—”
    The cat shandy cuffed him. He fell to one knee, but its claws
were sheathed. He wasn’t hurt.
    “Tempting, but the Kandrrrith grrranted him his life,” the cat
shandy said.
    While the cat shandy nudged her prisoner over to Lance for
healing, the curly-haired man approached her. “Lady Sarathena?”
    Lady Sarathena Remillus was her old name. She stared at
him.
    “Don’t you remember me? It’s Julen.”
    Julen. Sara searched her memories. A man by that name had
worked for her father. This man’s green eyes and curly black hair matched her
memories of Julen, but when he’d worked for House Remillus he’d always been
clean-shaven and worn elegant clothes. This man had a beard and wore shapeless
trousers with brown patches on the knees. Still, she supposed it must be him
since he knew her name.
    “I remember,” Sara said.
    “Save the talk for later,” the middle-aged woman said. She
removed the blanket covering Lance and folded it into quarters. “We need to get
him into the wagon.”
    The cat shandy pushed her prisoner aside. His brow wrinkled, he
stared at his healed hands.
    Julen peered down at Lance’s swollen stomach. “Loma’s Mercy,
what’s he been eating? A horse every morning for breakfast?” He looked at Sara
so she answered.
    “No. He had oatmeal this morning, then vomited it up along with
some blood.”
    The woman clucked her tongue.
    Julen pursed his lips and shook his head. “Well, let’s get him
in the cart.” He grabbed Lance under the arms while Sara and the woman each took
a leg. The three of them could barely get Lance off the ground. “On the count of
three, heave,” Julen said when they reached the cart. “One, two, three!”
    They strained together, but Lance’s buttocks hit the edge of
the cart, and he spilled over the edge, landing on his stomach.
    Lance convulsed and woke screaming. He curled into a ball on
his side and wheezed.
    “Lance?” Julen reached for him, but stopped short.
    Lance’s breathing remained harsh, but after a moment he focused
on their faces. “Valda. Julen. Sara, you found him. Well done.”
    “Delighted to see you, too,” Julen said. “Are you going to die
in my cart?”
    Lance laid his hand on top of his stomach and bared his teeth.
“That depends. Are you done trying to kill me?”
    “We’ll take it slow,” the woman said. “Sara, you sit with
Lance.”
    Sara obeyed. Lance laid his head on her lap.
    Once they were moving, Lance shut his eyes again. Sara steadied
him against the jostling of the cart while Julen led the horse.
    When they arrived at the village, doors opened and six
villagers streamed out. They asked questions, but directed them at the
middle-aged woman so Sara paid no heed.
    “He can’t stay in my house. My daughter and her brood are due
to visit tomorrow,” the woman said.
    “He’s welcome, but not her with those Devil Eyes,” a short man
said.
    “They can both stay with us,” Julen said.
    The men carried Lance into a small house and laid him on a
pallet next to a cradle. While Julen started a fire, the women covered Lance
with a second red-and-white plaid blanket and removed his sandals. Sara took
note. Ought she have done that the other times he’d passed out?
    “Where’s Iorweth?” the woman asked.
    “Helping her cousin. She’ll be back soon.” Julen gestured to
the cradle. “Meghan likes to nap afternoons, then keep us awake at night.”
    The woman huffed out a breath then started to leave.
    Julen put his hand on her shoulder. “Wait. What should I do
about him?”
    “Care for him like you would anyone else who was ill. He’s in
Loma’s hands. He is Her priest.” She left.
    Julen stared at Sara. She stared back.
    He cleared his throat. “I can hardly believe you’re here. May I
say how glad I am that you’re alive?”
    That was a question. She should answer, but it didn’t make
sense.