The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

craggy, softened at once. He clucked his tongue for his horse, and together they started walking down the street again. “No,” he said. “No, of course not. I will not abandon you, Sun, not if you do not wish me to—and mayhap not even if you do, depending on the circumstance. And if it is any consolation, after this tale is done, I may have others, and you may wish to hear them. But because you have asked me so many times for the end of the story, I wanted you to find out—the way Mag needed to find out—that the end is not something we should rush. We should let it come in its own time. If we rush it, we may regret it.”

He fell silent then, and they walked together for a short while without speaking. But even as Sun was pondering his words, a hand clapped down on her shoulder from behind.

“Mistress,” came a rumbling, familiar voice. “The Lord and Lady Valgun command you to attend them at once.”

Sun felt as though the whole world had fallen in on her in an instant, as if all the buildings along the street had collapsed on her head. She looked up into the face of Niall, one of her mother’s bodyguards. He stood a good head taller than she was, and his dark eyes squinted heavily down at her from his nut-brown face.

Dimly, her mind took in other details. There was Ursa, Niall’s right hand, and Frida, diminutive and quiet, but lightning fast in a fight. The women stood on the other side of Albern, one of them with a hand on his horse’s reins. Albern himself stood stock-still, his gaze darting everywhere. Sun’s mind raced in circles until she felt ready to faint.

“Mistress,” repeated Niall.

Ursa had fixed a steely glare on Sun, while Frida’s look was almost pleading. She was one of the kinder warriors in her parents’ employ, but Sun knew she would not hesitate to bring Sun back home by force if that was what was required.

“I am fairly certain she does not wish to come with you,” said Albern.

“You are not involved in this, old man,” snapped Niall.

“I am feeling rather involved,” said Albern.

And then he drove one heavy boot straight into Niall’s groin.

Niall collapsed as though struck with a sledgehammer. Even as Frida reached for her weapon, Albern brought his hand into a vicious chop at her throat. She fell back, gasping and hacking, while Albern slammed the top of his head straight into Ursa’s nose. Sun heard a crunch, and then Albern seized her, and she was following him down the nearest alley, both of them dragging their horses along.

“Sky above!” cried Sun. “Sky above, what have we done?”

“Strictly speaking, you have done nothing,” said Albern. He was breathing heavily—his burst of motion seemed to have taken a toll. “Those three are used to getting their way. None of them expected resistance. But they will not be stunned long. Well, not the women, anyway.” His hand fumbled in a pouch at his belt.

Risking a glance back, Sun could see he was right. Ursa and Frida had nearly struggled back to standing. Niall, on the other hand, still lay whimpering on the cobblestones, clutching between his legs. But then Sun and Albern darted around a corner, and the guards were out of view.

“We are leaving the horses,” said Albern. “They should lure your family’s guards away. I will send word to a friend to have them rounded up.”

“But what are we—”

“Now, Sun.”

She slapped Vika’s flank. The horse whinnied loudly and ran down the alley to the street. Cries erupted from the crowd there. But Albern had stopped at a door leading into the back of a building. His left hand came out of the pouch at his belt, fingers gripping an iron key. In a flash, he unlocked the door and threw it open. He pulled Sun in after him and shut the door again.

They both waited in the darkness for a tense moment of silence.

The heavy pounding of boots came to the door. Sun’s blood froze.

The boots continued down the alley, where the horses had fled. Soon all had faded to silence.

“Dark below,” wheezed Albern. “That was a good run. Lucky we were already close to this place when they found us.”

“Lucky indeed,” said Sun. Her body seemed to be responding properly to her impulses again, but all she wanted to do was collapse. Instead, she looked around at the space they were in. It was a small room, with shelves running along the walls. Only a little bit of light leaked in under the door through which they had entered. Another door to their right led deeper into the building. “But what is this place?”

“The back room of an inn that has been unoccupied for some time,” said Albern. “Come, let me show you the common room.”

Sun frowned in confusion, but she followed him nevertheless. The door to the right opened into a space behind the tavern’s bar. The bar was a large, impressive construction, all of black walnut with a fine grind and polish, but rough edges from the tree’s natural growth. High rafters converged in the center of the room above them. A large brass chandelier hung from where the beams met, currently empty, but ready to hold dozens of candles. High windows let shafts of sunlight pierce the room and kept it well ventilated. It seemed a grand place for parties, but Albern had spoken the truth—no one looked to have been here in weeks, mayhap months.

“How did you know this place was here?” said Sun. “And how did you have the key?”

“Well, you will already have gathered that I have many friends in Bertram,” said Albern. “This place belongs to one of them. They are planning to reopen it soon, and one of my errands in the city is to help them do so. Why, look at that—there is even a cask of ale here. Would you like