A Time of Blood (Of Blood and Bone #2) - John Gwynne Page 0,4
he had ever known. It still hurt that Olin had kept so much hidden from Drem, but he knew it had been to protect him. Only when he had helped his father forge the Starstone Sword had he seen the depth of Olin’s mystery; he’d carved runes and cast spells of power over the new-forged blade. It had been quite a shock.
“I’ve learned my letters, but I can’t read that,” Drem said. “I don’t understand. What language is it? What does it say?”
“It’s the first tongue,” Keld said, “spoken once by giants and men alike, but now you’d call it Giantish. It says dilis cosantoir. Faithful protector.”
My da tried to protect me his whole life. And even now, from the grave, his protective hand lingers.
Drem felt his eyes mist and, for a moment, almost sensed that his father was sitting beside him at the campfire.
“They are more than words,” Keld said. “That blade will never break, and I’m guessing it’s never needed much sharpening.” He gave the seax back to Drem.
“Now that you mention it, no, it doesn’t,” Drem said. He looked at the seax with a sense of wonder, and as he watched, the runes faded and disappeared. He cast his whetstone along its edge a few times, but that was all it needed, then set to cleaning the scabbard of dried blood. After that he worked on the hand-axe at his belt, the misery that had settled upon him during the day’s journey a little eased by Keld and Cullen’s words, and by the thought of his da.
The three men settled into a companionable silence. Hammer the giant bear sat and then lay down. Within heartbeats she was snoring like an avalanche in the Bonefells.
“How long until we reach Dun Seren?” Drem asked.
Keld rubbed a hand over his newly shaved head, a ruse both the huntsman and Cullen had used to infiltrate the acolytes at the starstone mine.
“Took us two ten-nights to get here,” he muttered, “but it’ll take us longer going back, using the forests and Bonefells to hide us from anyone tracking.”
The thought of Kadoshim and Feral beast-men sent a shiver through Drem. Last night’s fight had a dreamlike quality to it, parts of it blurred and ethereal, other parts too vivid and blood-bright. He shook the thoughts away, fingers reaching to his neck, searching for the drumbeat of his heart, which always gave him a sense of calm.
“Whatever it takes, we must get back to Dun Seren,” Keld said. “Our High Captain Byrne must hear of all that’s happened. Gulla, Revenants, Feral beasts, a Starstone Sword.”
“Aye,” Cullen agreed. “And she must be told about Gunil.”
“Gunil?” Drem said.
“Aye,” Keld grunted. “The giant that fought for Gulla. He belonged to the Order once, was brother to Varan, the giant lord of the Jotun Clan. Varan was killed over sixteen years ago and Gunil was thought to have been slain, too.” Keld was silent a moment, lost in thought. “Gunil and Sig were… close.”
And Sig fought him at the mine. That must have hurt her. Drem felt the spark of a cold anger in his gut, another wrong that needed to be put right. He put Gunil on the list of those he would make answer for their deeds.
“Why does he fight for Gulla?” Drem asked.
Keld shrugged. “He was always… guarded, secretive. But I never suspected him of being a traitor.” He grated his teeth and patted his axe. “It’s something he’ll have to answer to my axe for.”
“We have to reach Dun Seren,” Drem said. “We cannot fail.”
“Aye,” Keld agreed. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Rab, I want you to set wing for Dun Seren. Tell Byrne what has happened, about Sig, and what we’ve seen. And tell her to send a few swords out to meet us. We’ll probably need all the help we can get.”
“And a fine job you’ve been doing,” Cullen said. “But it’s more important that Byrne knows what’s happening.”
“Rab know.” The bird’s head bobbed. “But Rab not want to leave friends.”
“Come back to us when you’ve spoken to Byrne,” Cullen said. “Lead those she sends to help us.”
“Yes, Rab will bring help,” the crow cawed, sounding somewhat appeased.
“Good,” Keld said. “Leave in the morning, as soon as the sun rises.”
Drem woke to the gentle sensation of snow falling upon his face. He sat up, pushing off one of the thick cloaks he’d packed when they had stopped briefly