The Scourge of Muirwood Read Online Free Page A

sealed. I could not pass. So I was sent here. My mission is to join Martin in Dahomey. I was told you would come with me willingly.” He cocked his head. “Or should I fetch a rope?”
    “Martin?” Lia gasped. She stopped circling the enigmatic man and rushed him, gripping his sleeve. He reacted defensively, but let her seize him.
    Another smirk. “He felled the Fear Liath, girl. We were trying to join you. To aid you in your mission. We lost two to that beast, but Martin finished the kill and rid the mountain of that demon. He booked passage on a ship from Bridgestow and left before you even made it back to this forsaken country. You have the Prince’s orb. You will lead me to Martin. We leave at dawn.”
    Lia stared at him in surprise and chafed at his presumption. “I serve the Aldermaston of Muirwood, not Tintern. I must seek…”
    “Permission? You are such a child. I have been an Evnissyen since my birth. How old are you? Seventeen? I have twice as many years behind me. I have been to Dahomey many times. I know the road to the island Abbey. I know the woods full of stones and flooded with boulders. I know the port of call, Vezins. But Martin insisted that I bring you with me. So I must insist that you come along whether the old man wills it or no. I am not normally this polite.”
    This is polite? she thought darkly. “Why do you come now?” Lia said, challenging him.
    His eyes were dark, brooding. “Because we cannot wait any longer. Whitsunday is past. The apples are harvesting and will be mashed into cider. The cider will be drunk at the winter celebration. The winter celebration is when the Blight will come. It will strike at Twelfth Night, the beginning of winter. We must be on the ships before the winter storms arrive and prevent us from sailing. The plague stirs from Dochte Abbey on Twelfth Night.”
    As he spoke, an image bloomed in Lia’s mind. A Leering stone carved into a circle made of entwining serpents. As she looked at it, it began to glow with fire.
    Lia blinked and the vision was gone. She stared at Kieran Ven coldly. “Before I go anywhere, I must speak with the Aldermaston.”
    “For your sake, I hope he says yes.”
     
    * * *
     
    “Let me help you comb the tangles out of your hair,” Sowe offered. The kitchen smelled lovely as an egg crackled on a skillet and pottage boiled on the cauldron. Lia’s rucksack was full of food, a change of garments. A full quiver of arrows rested by it and the bowsleeve which stood straight against the fringe of the doorway.
    “Thank you,” Lia said and sat patiently while Sowe began working on the wild tangles in her always unmanageable mass of hair.
    Pasqua ladled syrupy treacle into the dish and then pressed it into her hands with a spoon. “You are scarcely fit to walk, Lia. Another day or two would do you some good. Why not delay?” She reached out and touched Lia’s cheek tenderly.
    “Traveling to Dahomey will take time. The Aldermaston would like me to leave before dawn when others will not see me go.”
    “I am almost finished,” Sowe said, hurrying with the task. She pinched a clump of golden twisty hair and then ran her hand over Lia’s head. “I will miss you again. I have never left Muirwood once. You have been so far.”
    Lia was not sure if she detected jealousy in Sowe’s voice or not. She looked up at her friend. “Do you wish you were going?”
    Sowe smiled and shook her head. “Edmon is going to take the maston test. I should like…to be here when he does.” She blushed and looked down.
    Lia took her hand and squeezed it. They had different temperaments. Sowe was shy and reserved, the greatest beauty in the Abbey since Reome had left after Whitsunday. She did not act conceited or haughty. She almost seemed unaware of the affect she had on the boys. Especially one Edmon, earl of Norris-York, who doted on her shamefully when he was allowed inside the kitchen.
    “I will miss you,” Lia said, squeezing her hand