Read Broken World Book Four - The Staff of Law for Free Online

discuss it.”
    “ If you hand us over, they’ll kill us.”
    “ The King wishes to know why they’re pursuing you, and what
this stone is.”
    Talsy thought
quickly before replying, “The stone is sacred to my people. Queen
Larina stole it, and we took it back. They have no right to it, or
to us.”
    Orland glanced
at her and nodded. “My father said they were probably Larina’s
bunch. We’re not friends of Queen Larina, and fear not, you will
not be given to them. But the King is quite taken with the idea of
giving them Tyrander.”
    “ No!” Talsy sat up in horror, forgetting the bedclothes. “You
cannot! Kieran is not what they really want. They want the stone
more than him, but they’ll kill him.” Orland glanced at Merina, and
Talsy realised that it was the Princess’ decision. She grabbed
Merina’s hands. “Don’t! At least give him the chance to prove that
he’s not Tyrander.”
    Merina looked
undecided, then shook her head at Orland, who grimaced.
    Talsy slumped
with relief as he left. “What will happen now?”
    Merina
shrugged. “They’ll probably go back to Larina.”
    “ What if they don’t? What if they lay siege?”
    “ To Malatar?” Merina laughed. “They’d lose.”
    “ They’re undying.”
    “ They’d still lose. My father has one of the mightiest armies
in all the kingdoms. Black armies may be hard to beat, but burning
oil works well on them, I’ve heard, as do great rocks thrown down
on their heads. On the field they’re invincible, but under a city
wall, they can be crushed.”
    “ Oil?” Talsy raised her brows in surprise. “Your streets are
not paved with tar, but if you have oil, how have you survived the
war with the land?”
    “ Not the black oil. We’ve never used that. My father will not
allow it in the city. We use oil extracted from certain trees,
without harming them. My father claims that to injure the land is
wrong, and the black oil carries a curse to all who use it. We
heard tales of other towns that were destroyed because they used
it. In fact, Queen Larina was forced to tar her streets after she
imported the black oil.
    “ When the land started swallowing people around her city,
smaller towns nearby bought tar to pave their streets too. Our
people were frightened that it would happen here, and begged my
father to buy tar for the roads. He refused, saying that as long as
we didn’t use it, we’d be safe, and we were. No one was attacked in
or near Malatar.”
    “ Your father’s a wise man. But...” Talsy frowned. “How do you
know how to fight Larina’s black army? Have you fought them
before?”
    Merina smiled.
“No, our walls are too high and strong for them, but she has
attacked other cities, some of which survived by using burning oil
and rocks thrown down from their walls.”
    “ I see. What if they cut us off and starve us?”
    “ That would take many moons. They’d starve before we
did.”
    Talsy nodded,
remembering what Chanter had said about the Riders needing the
sustenance of blood and souls to survive. “Thank you for not giving
Kieran to them.”
    “ I haven’t decided his fate yet.” Merina rose. “Rest now, I’ll
come and see you again later.”
    Talsy closed
her eyes as the door shut, another wave of sickness making her
empty stomach twist.
     
     
    Merina went to
her father’s cosy, book-lined study, where she found him seated
behind his polished oak desk, bent over a pile of scrolls. The
heavy green velvet curtains were closed to keep out the chill, but
a fire crackled in the hearth, imparting its warmth and light to
the atmosphere, and Ronos’ favourite wolfhound snored on the
sheepskin rug in front of it. He smiled and invited her to sit in
the padded leather chair in front of his desk.
    “ How’s Talsy?”
    “ Not too well. She has bad morning sickness, it seems to last
all day.”
    “ Poor lass; and soon her child will be fatherless, like
yours.”
    “ It worries me, Father. She obviously loves Tyrander. The