of a brother. The Sabor came to a stop beside him, crossed his arms over his chest, and kept a wary eye on the Shrine of the Mother in the distance.
“How did it happen?” Aron asked, hearing the catch in his voice.
Zed frowned and gazed off to the west, as if he could see through Triune’s thick stone curtain, all the way to the Ruined Keep where Galvin died. “Might have been rock cats or Rocs on a night hunt. Or mockers. It wasn’t manes. There was too much blood, according to Dari. Manes would have taken the blood for themselves.”
That image disturbed Aron. He tried not to allow his mind to see it, but he couldn’t help imagining Galvin’s bloody remains scattered across the cracked stone floor of the Ruined Keep.
“He died fighting.” Raaf caught Aron’s hand in his much smaller fingers. “That’s something, at least? That’s something, right?”
Aron gazed down at the boy and had an urge to rip off the gray tunic and breeches that marked Raaf as a Stone apprentice. He would have, if it would have made a difference in whether or not Raaf ever subjected himself to such a lethal test of his abilities. His next urge was to stride down to the main gate and keep, find High Master Falconer, and punch the man right in the face for forcing Raaf to choose between Thorn and Stone long before the boy should have been pushed into any such decision. Maybe he would strike Lord Baldric, too, for not being more forceful with Thorn, and for allowing these idiotic trials to begin with.
“What kind of foolish tradition is this?” Aron pulled free of Raaf, then rubbed his own back with both hands. “Why should anyone who makes it through Stone training have to go through something like that?”
“To bind us together.” Zed was still staring in the direction of the Ruined Keep. Above them, the sky grew evermore blue and bright on the cloudless fall morning, perfect in all ways but for the fact they were discussing the death of a Stone apprentice. “That’s what Windblown told me. Surviving the trial is a shared experience, and proof that we’re ready to be part of the guild.”
Even though he knew it was one of the few forbidden questions at Stone, Aron asked, “But what really happens? Does Stone just set a person adrift in that broken-down tower and put out a call to all the monsters in the Barrens, the Outlands, and the Deadfall?”
Zed shrugged, but the gesture was anything but casual or relaxed. Raaf stared at his feet, and Iko remained on guard, gazing at the Shrine of the Mother.
For a moment, Aron did the same.
Once more, he experienced no strange unease, and saw no odd collections of lighting over either Endurance House or the Shrine.
Had he been truly afraid of those places? They seemed so peaceful now, in the face of such a tragedy. Why had he maintained such senseless fears instead of confronting them more directly?
Aron became aware of his own clenched fists, but he couldn’t make himself relax. Galvin was dead now. He was dead like Aron’s family, and so many others, and for what? For some ideal of what makes a guild, or true companions?
Aron wanted to demand answers from Windblown, and Lord Baldric, too. Maybe even Stormbreaker—and because it’s always been that way simply would not be a good enough reason.
“Where is Stormbreaker?” he asked Zed, his wrists and fingers beginning to throb along with the rest of his muscles.
“Last I saw him, he was near the main keep.” Zed pointed south, and a little to the east. “He was walking with Lady Vagrat and her heir.”
Aron nodded to Zed and Raaf. “I would have a word with him, then. Alone. I’ll find the two of you later, in time for riding practice. Raaf, if you would saddle Tek for me, it would be a great help.”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
ARON
As Zed and Raaf peeled away from him, heading toward the Den, Aron set out for the crop barn and fields, walking as fast as his exhausted, weak legs would allow, with Iko following quietly behind. He almost wished he still had buckets of rocks to carry, but he had abandoned that habit once he began to get his man’s bulk. His stomach ached miserably from hunger, but he overrode the pain, just as he had most of the night, as he battled to increase his stamina and maintain his attention.
He intended