The Starfall Knight Read Online Free

Tarius’ followers built their shelters around their leader – although the lines between the territories were ever-shifting, the core areas remained the same.  Ever since Alessa could remember, Tarius had been the defacto ruler of Sirinis, the Imperator.  His gang was the strongest, the best equipped and thanks to Tarius’ cunning, always taking the upper hand in dealings with the Serpens and Ceres – the other two main factions on Sirinis.
    Although Alessa’s father was a main-stay in Tarius’ inner circle, her relation to Vantanis had never guaranteed her safety or food supply.  And if Vantanis had defected to a rival group, Alessa knew that they would have found themselves over the edge, eventually.
    As Alessa neared Tarius’ smithy, the press of loyal followers grew thick and his strong-arms waded through the crowd, wielding rough clubs and keeping everyone from barging into the shacks along the side of the thoroughfare.  Pungent body odours filled the air as the Tarians jostled one another for position.
    A young man, perhaps no older than Alessa, scurried against the flow with half a loaf of bread and a raw pheasant in his arms.  Alessa’s mouth watered and she continued pushing through the crowd.
    “Watch your step, lass!”  A pudgy, bald man half-scowled at Alessa but as he raised a fist, his face paled.  “Oh, miss, many apologies.  Many apologies.”  He bowed his head and backed away, stepping on a girl’s foot.
    At the bald man’s obsequiousness, others in the crowd turned their attention to Alessa and a murmur grew.  One of the strong-arms shoved his way to Alessa’s side and said, “Come with me, Alessa.”
    He led the way through the crowd and Alessa ignored the smattering of the words referring to her.  She was used to them by now.  Leonus’ whore.  Bitch.
    The area in front of the smithy lay strewn with crates of food and casks of drink – wine, judging by the stains on the side.  The bounty dwarfed the smithy, a small enterprise that belied its own importance.  A larger cabin had been built next to the workspace but the smithy itself had never been reconstructed, remaining as nothing more than an array of tools against one wall, an anvil against another and a furnace in the open air.
    Grunos, the nominal leader of the thrashers, watched Alessa approach with her escort.  “Where’s Leonus?”
    “Asleep,” Alessa replied.  “Where is Imperator Tarius?”
    The towering thug rubbed his shaved head, muscles bristling through his leather jerkin.  “He’s busy.”  He gestured to one of the men distributing bread to the gang members.  “Pelio.”
    “Aye.”  Pelio was an unassuming man except for the fact that he was one of Leonus’ friends.
    “Take this crate to Leonus’ cabin,” Grunos said.  “Take my brother and make sure it gets there in one piece.  I know exactly what’s in it.  Anything missing and it’s your head.”
    Pelio nodded and called out.  “Brunos!  Let’s go!”
    A thin man split from crowd-control duty and nodded at Pelio.  Brunos looked nothing like his older brother Grunos, apart from the same wide jaw.  He and Pelio hefted the crate of food and shouldered past Alessa.  She held her tongue even as she caught her balance against a stack of casks.
    “What of my share?” Alessa asked Grunos.
    He snorted.  “You get what you earn, girl.”  Grunos turned away to direct his other men.
    “Where is the Imperator?” Alessa asked.  “Where is my father?”
    Grunos waved vaguely at the smithy, or was it at the attached cabin?  Alessa scowled to herself and marched past the supplies of food, doing her best to ignore the bounty.  With the forge cold, she headed to Tarius’ cabin and the thrashers ignored her, continuing to dole out the food.
    The front door to the cabin stood ajar and Alessa halted at the sound of voices – her father and Tarius.  Alessa leaned against the outside wall and concentrated on the conversation amidst