Read A Dream of Mortals (Book #15 in the Sorcerer's Ring) for Free Online Page A

as he did. She
wanted more than anything to sit up, to talk to them, to find out who they
were—but she was too exhausted, her throat too dry, to respond.
    “Incredible,” said another knight, stepping
forward, his spurs jingling, as more and more knights stepped forward and
crowded all around them. Clearly, they were all objects of curiosity.
    “It’s not possible,” said one. “How could they
have survived the Great Waste?”
    “They couldn’t,” said another. “They must be
deserters. They must have somehow breached the Ridge, got lost in the desert,
and decided to come back.”
    Gwendolyn tried to answer, to tell them
everything that happened, but she was too exhausted to get the words out.
    After a short silence, the leader stepped
forward.
    “No,” said, confidently. “Look at the markings
on his armor,” he said, prodding Kendrick with his foot. “This is not our
armor. It’s not Empire armor, either.”
    All the knights crowded around, stunned.
    “Then where are they from?” one asked, clearly
baffled.
    “And how did they know where to find us?” asked
another.
    The leader turned to the nomads.
    “Where did you find them?” he asked.
    The nomads squeaked back in return, and Gwen
saw the leader’s eyes widen.
    “On the other side of the sand wall?” he asked
them. “Are you certain?”
    The nomads squeaked back.
    The commander turned to his people.
    “I don’t think they knew we were here. I think
they got lucky—the nomads found them and wanted their price and brought them
here, mistaking them for one of us.”
    The knights looked at each other, and it was
clear they’d never encountered a situation like this before.
    “We can’t take them in,” said one of the knights.
“You know the rules. You let them in and we leave a trail. No trails. Ever. We
have to send them back, into the Great Waste.”
    A long silence ensued, interrupted by nothing
but the howling of the wind, and Gwen could sense that they were debating what
to do with them. She did not like how long the pause was.
    Gwen tried to sit up in protest, to tell them that
they couldn’t send them back out there, they just couldn’t. Not after all they’d
been through.
    “If we did,” the leader said, “it would mean
their deaths. And our code of honor demands we help the helpless.”
    “And yet if we take them in,” a knight
countered, “then we could all die. The Empire will follow their trail. They
will discover our hiding place. We would be endangering all of our people.
Would you rather a few strangers die, or all of our people?”
    Gwen could see their leader thinking, torn with
anguish, facing a hard decision. She understood what it felt like to face hard
decisions. She was too weak to resign herself to anything but to allow herself to
be at the mercy of other people’s kindness.
    “It may be so,” their leader finally said, resignation
in his voice, “but I shall not turn away innocent people to die. They are
coming in.”
    He turned to his men.
    “Bring them down on the other side,” he
commanded, his voice firm with authority. “We shall bring them to our King, and
he shall decide for himself.”
    The men listened and began to break into
action, preparing the platform on the other side for the descent, and one of
his men stared back at their leader, uncertain.
    “You are violating the King’s laws,” the knight
said. “No outsiders are allowed into the Ridge. Ever.”
    The leader stared back firmly.
    “No outsiders have ever reached our gates,” he
replied.
    “The King may imprison you for this,” the
knight said.
    The leader did not waver.
    “That is a chance I’m prepared to take.”
    “For strangers? Worthless desert nomads?” the knight
said, surprised. “Who knows who these people even are.”
    “Every life is precious,” the leader countered,
“and my honor is worth a thousand lifetimes in prison.”
    The leader nodded to his men, who all stood
there waiting, and Gwen suddenly felt