The Sleeper Sword Read Online Free Page A

all leave the Valleur
lose their claim to that world, and there is the matter of the
Throne.”
    “And?” Quilla
prompted.
    Teighlar
shrugged. “I get the feeling he knows something. A reason other
than the Throne causes him to hold on there.”
    Buthos and
Quilla glanced at each other. “Perhaps it’s time to visit the
Enchanter’s grandson,” Buthos said, and Quilla nodded.
    Teighlar
frowned. “You may disturb the man’s peace of mind for no
reason.”
    Quilla rose
and bowed. “My Lord, be that as it may, I ask to be excused.”
    “Now?”
Teighlar blurted. He looked to the Siric, also standing. “Obviously
you two believe these incidences have serious undercurrents. Yes,
yes, go.”
    Siric and
Q’lin’la vanished.
    Teighlar
gasped a laugh and then frowned.
    The animals he
told them of were all Senlu and their genetics originated from
ninety million years back. They reappeared when the Senlu were
awarded their second chance, and were a symbol of the renewal of
this land.
    To lose them
would be an extremely bad omen.
     
     
    Tannil
awakened in the dead of night, sweating profusely and shaking
badly.
    He put his
hands to his face in the dark and drew a shuddering breath. He
could not recall the dream, but knew it was another bad one.
    Sleep fled, as
it often did, sometimes night after night for weeks on end. Careful
not to disturb his wife, he padded into the next room, drawing the
door closed. Vania would attempt to medicate, or whisper words that
had no meaning to him. She did not understand how debilitating his
night-time visitations were.
    He slid the
sliding door wide and stepped onto the darkened balcony. The sound
of the ocean was louder at night and it was also rhythmic and
soothing. He stood a while, cooling the sweat on his body until he
shivered.
    Something
hounded him, and it did so only on Valaris when he slept.
    There was an
awareness of it subconsciously, something he could not acknowledge
in waking hours. It was something as linked to this world as he
was.
    A wry smile.
In the morning Fay would demand why he was red-eyed and he would
spin another tale. He was not about to discuss it with his sister,
for she needed not this burden. His beautiful half-sister, a Valla
who was not a Valla, appeared outwardly calm, but demons roiled
inside; he would not add to her woes.
    His wife did
not care. In the morning Vania would wake early and leave for the
far island where she taught language at primary level and he would
see her again at the evening meal. They hardly said ten words to
each other in a day, and it suited them. They shared the same bed
to keep up appearances, and that was it.
    What a crap
life.
    He wondered
what went on inside her head. He made it clear theirs was a
marriage of convenience in the weeks before their nuptials and she
accepted it, although then he questioned her about how she felt.
She answered it was not exactly what she foresaw for herself, and
hoped time would allow them a closer relationship. It had not
happened, and now he wondered if her hopes were the same.
    The crests of
the waves glowed and the moon shone on the water. Inviting.
    He drew back
and returned indoors. Slipping back into the bedroom, he wandered
through to the dressing room to feel by touch for clothes. Donning
them in the outer chamber he smiled at his choice - blue breeches
and a plum tunic, not his usual combination. He found a pair of
boots on the balcony, closed the sliding door and left their
suite.
    The Palace was
silent. The Throne-room echoed his careful tread, but nobody hailed
him. The guards were familiar with his nocturnal meanderings. One
would be shadowing him, but he never caught them intruding.
    The Palace
overhung the northern cliffs inaccessible from the water, but the
southern side of the island was a gentle slope that resulted in a
long stretch of white sand. Palm trees dotted the beach, rustling
in the night air. To the west lay an inviting area of sweet grass
Teroux’s pony chomped