A Time of Dread (Of Blood and Bone #1) - John Gwynne Page 0,141

a few coin. It’ll be a right good day. Just what we all need.’

‘There’s not enough hounds in all of the north to bring that white bear down,’ Drem said.

‘Might have to bleed it a bit first, or give it some more valerian to slow it down,’ Hildith said. ‘Either way, it’ll be a show and a crowd-pleaser. You should stay. It killed your da.’

‘It didn’t kill my da,’ Drem said, his hand instinctively going to the bear claw around his neck. He was surprised to find it was gone, his cloak and shirt torn, the claw and leather cord gone.

When Sten tried to grab me.

‘It did kill your da, lad,’ Ulf said soothingly. ‘You’re just a bit mixed up in the head. You should stay with us a day or two.’

‘You’re a kind man, Ulf. My da always liked you,’ Drem said. ‘I hope the Kadoshim don’t kill you.’ He walked out of the hold with Ulf and the rest of the Assembly staring at him openmouthed.

As he rode out of the gates of Kergard he reined in and stopped. He looked to the south, thought of the message he had sent with Asger. Then he looked north, to his hold, then past it, east, to Starstone Lake and the mine.

I don’t know what to do. I should run. They will come for me eventually. No matter how well I hid my tracks, they will find them in the end. I could go to Dun Seren, tell them what I have found. They need to know.

He sucked in a deep breath and looked to the south, a white landscape undulating into the distance. Exhaustion swept over him again, and he knew that he could not outrun any pursuit over fifty leagues of the Desolation.

And what of my oath. Vengeance for my da, and the fulfilment of his last wish. To take Asroth’s head? How will I accomplish that if I run? The sword must be at the mine, in the hands of the Kadoshim.

He heard a deep roar, making his stomach lurch, then realized it was not coming from the north, but west, from the meadow in front of him.

The white bear.

Without really knowing why, he clicked his tongue and guided his horse down the slope towards the meadow. He passed holds, more like one big hold, a score of homes merging into a village on Kergard’s doorstep, children laughing amidst the snow, throwing snowballs, a big hound barking, jumping and snapping snowballs from the air.

He rode out onto open meadow, carpeted in white, and saw the cage. It was huge, a gaol of iron bars. Inside it the white bear was motionless, blending with the snow. Only as Drem approached did it move, lifting its big head and regarding him, or maybe his horse. One guard was sitting upon a stool a distance from the cage, a fire burning, pot bubbling over it. Drem knew him – Aed, one of Calder’s sons.

‘Not too close,’ Aed said to him as Drem rode up. His horse whinnied, ears back at the scent and sight of the bear, danced on the spot, not happy about going on. Drem dismounted, not even looking at Aed, and walked to the cage.

The iron bars were as thick as Drem’s arm, and he could see where the bear had vented its fury upon them, scratches and gouges in the metal, though not even the white bear’s strength or bulk could break these bonds.

A rumbling growl, deep in the bear’s belly. Drem saw the scars and scabs that crisscrossed the beast’s body, the claw missing from its right paw. He felt a wave of sympathy for it.

You are caged, going to be torn piece from piece on the morrow, a crowd watching and cheering and laughing as it happens. All for acts that you have not committed.

‘Going to be a good show on the morrow,’ Aed said behind him.

The bear lurched upright, shockingly fast, and then its head was a handspan from the bars, on a level with Drem, staring at him. Aed stumbled back a few paces.

‘Careful, Drem,’ Aed said.

The bear leaned forwards, muzzle pressing against the iron bars, and it took in a great breath, sniffing in Drem’s scent, a snorting breath out, misting in the cold.

Drem stared into the bear’s eyes, seeing defiance, an animal’s strength and spirit. Unbowed. Indomitable. It would never give in.

Like my da.

And confusion, at a world suddenly turned upside down, inside out. He remembered lying flat on his