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.Use me like a rope and climb over me.’Jommy used all the strength in his left arm to heave himself up.He reached with his right hand, grabbing the belt on Servan’s trousers.Feeling, around with his right toe he got a scant purchase in a crevice and hauled himself up.Then he let go with his left hand and reached high to get a strong grip on the fleshy part of Servan’s right thigh, pulled once more and felt Godfrey’s hands on his shoulders, helping him to the ledge.As soon as he was safe, Jommy turned and helped Zane pull Servan back up to the ledge.The six boys sat panting with exertion, terror and pain, freezing in the driving rain on the ledge.Jommy looked at Servan.‘You’re mad, mate, you know that?’Servan said, ‘I don’t like you, but that doesn’t mean I want to see you dead.’‘I don’t like you either,’ said Jommy.Servan’s face was cut, his cheek swollen and from the way he rubbed at his right shoulder, he might have dislocated it.With the rain pelting down Jommy couldn’t tell, but he thought Servan’s eyes swollen from tears, probably from the pain.‘But I owe you my life.’Servan managed a faint smile.‘A bit of an awkward situation, isn’t it?’Jommy said, ‘Doesn’t have to be.I don’t know why you felt the need to lord it over us when we first arrived, and right now I don’t care.You saved my life: I was sliding down this mountain and there was no way I was going to stop till I hit the bottom.So, if anyone asks, I’ll be the first to say you’re no coward.A madman, maybe, but no coward.’Suddenly Servan smiled.‘Well, I couldn’t let you fall after you almost killed yourself getting my cousin.’‘Cousin?’ asked Tad.He looked at Grandy.‘He’s your cousin?’Grandy, teeth chattering with cold, said, ‘Yes.Didn’t I mention that?’‘That makes you another of the King’s nephews?’ asked Tad.‘No,’ said Servan.‘That makes him the King’s son.Grandy’s older brother is Crown Prince Constantine of Roldem.Which means that some day he’s going to be the younger brother to the King.’‘Damn me!’ said Jommy.‘The people you meet.’Suddenly, Servan started to laugh.The sound was so genuine - a release of tension and fear - that the other boys could not help themselves, and joined in.Brother Thaddeus, the monk who was attempting to reach them, found a safe ledge a dozen yards below them and shouted, ‘Wait there! Brother Malcolm is hurrying back to the university.He will bring Brother Micah back.Stay there and hang on!’The boys huddled closer in the rain.Micah was not properly a monk of the Order, but a Lesser Path magician who resided on the grounds of the university.His many talents included control over the weather.By the time Micah arrived, the boys were thoroughly miserable, shivering uncontrollably and hardly able to move.Micah chanted a spell to lessen the severity of the storm, creating a large pocket of more clement weather around the boys.The sphere of the spell was nearly a hundred yards in all directions, so that within it the rain fell like a gentle spring fall, rather than this unexpected squall.With the torrent abated for a few minutes, Brother Thaddeus clambered up the rock face so he could help the boys get down to the wider ledge below.From there it was a relatively easy trail down to the foot of the mountain, a mere three hours’ walk under normal conditions.As they made their way down the slippery trail, Jommy turned to Grandy and said, ‘Why did you never mention you’re the King’s younger son?’Grandy, shivering and looking the worse for his ordeal, said, ‘If you’ve noticed, no one at the university talks much about family.It’s considered rude.We’re all students.’Jommy nodded, though he didn’t understand.In the time he had been at the La-Timsan university a few idle remarks had been made about this student or that student being the son of a noble or rich merchant, but as he thought about it, he realized no one had come out and said whose father was whose.Grandy had been the exception when he mentioned that Servan was a cousin to the King’s family.Jommy felt confused.Exhausted, battered, and totally confused.From the look on the faces of his foster-brothers, he could tell that Tad and Zane were feeling equally out of their depth.He saw horses waiting at the bottom of the trail.At least they wouldn’t have to walk back to the city.And when they were there, there would be dry clothing and hot food.As they reached better footing down the trail, they picked up speed, and when they were near enough to smell the damp scent of horse hair and the pungent smell of the wet woods, Jommy looked again at Servan.He was in no frame of mind to puzzle out exactly what kind of fellow the young royal really was, but he was determined that things would not return to how they had been before.He saw Godfrey limping, and without saying a word, he slowed a little, moved in next to him, and slipped the boy’s arm over his shoulder, helping him take the weight off his injured ankle.* * *Valko stood silently with the other nine surviving young warriors as Hirea and another older warrior motioned for the youngsters to line up.When everyone was in place, Hirea said, ‘There is more to bringing honours and glory to your empire, your society and your father’s name than being a mindless killer.‘Good killing is an art and nothing brings more pleasure than watching an artful killer dispose of a weakling.Nothing, that is, save the art of mating.’A couple of the young men laughed.Hirea said, ‘I do not speak of lying with a female, you stupid tavaks!’ The field animal he called them was well known for being both sexually active and incredibly stupid.Now several of the warriors looked confused.A few had taken females while in the Hiding.It was one of the signs that a young male was nearing the time of testing.When the competition among the boys in the Hiding became too violent, their mothers attempted to get them back to their fathers’ domains.Hirea laughed.‘Are there any among you whose mothers have returned with you to your father’s keep, castle or estate?’Two young warriors held up their hands.He pointed at those two.‘They are fortunate.They have clever mothers, as well as strong fathers.Their mothers were unforgettable.Their fathers wanted them to return, perhaps to sire another son.‘Some of you had to remind your fathers just who your mother was.’ He shook his head as he looked down.‘It is the nature of the Dasati that ideal pairings are rare, but they are desirable, not only for the chance for superior offspring, but because an ideal pairing makes a man’s life more bearable, more pleasurable.’He motioned to the man at his side.‘This is Unkarlin, a rider of the Bloodguard.’ He turned to him and asked, ‘How many surviving sons and daughters are in your household?’‘I am the third son, and fifth of seven children.’‘From the same mother?’Unkarlin inclined his head in assent, and several of the young warriors made noises of astonishment.Two, even three offspring from the same parents was not unheard of, but seven! It was heroic!‘Thus are dynasties born!’ shouted Hirea [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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