Read Conan: Road of Kings for Free Online

made haste to refill it. The chicken was tough and poorly cooked, but Conan was too hungry to care. Luxuriating in the warm water, he gnawed with gusto at the stringy carcass, spitting the larger bones onto the floor. There were deep gouges along his wrists and ankles where the shackles had been struck away. Conan scowled at the marks and made a mental note to keep the sores covered until well healed—they were the telltale brand of a fugitive.
    Mordermi’s question indicated he had followed the Cimmerian’s eyes and train of thought: “What will you do now, Conan?”
    “Get out of Kordava,” Conan answered. Beyond that much, he hadn’t really given the matter thought. “Take passage on some ship, or maybe slip past the walls and into the hinterland, make for Aquilonia or Argos.”
    Mordermi shook his head. “No good. That’s what they’ll figure. They’ll be watching the waterfront. Double guards along the city wall, and word will be speeding to the frontier. After that exercise on the Dancing Floor, Rimanendo will order Korst to recapture you two at any cost. Korst is no fool, and you’re about as inconspicuous as a Vendhyan elephant in a dove’s cage.”
    “All the more reason to get clear of Zingara,” Conan agreed. “The Pictish Wilderness lies close beyond the Black River here, and chances are that Korst won’t be watching that frontier too closely.”
    “With good reason,” Mordermi agreed. “No white man has ever crossed the Pictish Wilderness.”
    “Do you want to tell a Cimmerian about Picts?” Conan wondered caustically.
    Mordermi grinned at the gibe. “Why not stay here? You’re as safe in the Pit as anywhere. Mitra, half of my men would be dancers if they strolled past the magistrates’ hall. Korst knows their faces and knows where to find them—but he dares not seek them in the Pit.”
    “After today?” Santiddio suggested. “We’ve ruined Rimanendo’s digestion, be certain. I’ve often wondered whether he might move in force against the Pit if there were sufficient provocation.”
    “Well then, let him move against us. They can seal off a thousand exits; we can leave by a thousand more. Let them search through a thousand cellars; we’ll laugh at them from a thousand undreamed of coverts. If I know Korst, he’ll hire assassins to seek you out, and consider his responsibility in the matter to be delegated. Assassins we can deal with. Are you worried about assassins, Conan?”
    Conan bit the head off of the chicken carcass, laughed over a mouthful of crunching bones.
    Mordermi grunted. “Well, this is it then. Stay here while Rimanendo’s fools wait for you to escape. I know men. I saw what you can do there on the scaffold. And any man who could kill Rinnova in a fair duel has more to him than just guts and muscle. I can use you, Conan. My men and I live pretty well, as you can see, and I see to it that every man gets a fair share. You’ll make a damn sight better pay with me than as a mercenary, and the risks are about the same. Give things a little time to cool off—then if you want to show your heels to Kordava, you can do it loaded down with gold.”
    “Softly, Mordermi!” Santiddio protested. He was vigorously towelling his lean frame. “You forget that Conan is not just another of your common thugs. He’s a man of natural principles and a political prisoner, as was I.”
    “A barbarian mercenary…?” Mordermi started to protest.
    “And a man of native honor may entertain understandable scruples at the invitation to join a gang of thieves,” Santiddio shouted him down. “Conan, you should know that our motives are the highest. We are not bandits; we are altruists.”
    “Santiddio, I don’t think Conan…”
    “Enough, Mordermi! Your rescue this morning—an undertaking which, I will point out, entailed enormous risk and not one copper of profit for you—clearly proves that you are one of us. Conan, you have, of course, heard of the White Rose.”
    Conan,