Read Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) for Free Online Page A

blood poisoning and die,” she said in a mocking tone. “You’re my ride out of this place. I need you healthy.”
    She situated his arm across the basin and then poured clean water from a pitcher over the bandage. The water wasn’t hot, but it made the cut sting and burn. Vera then cut the bandage and slowly pulled it free from the wound. The cut was straight, and there was no sign of putrefaction. She sniffed it and then washed it with more water. The dried blood was slowly rinsed off and Vera repeated rinsing and dabbing at the wound with a clean cloth until fresh blood oozed. Then she packed the wound with salve she had brought with her in a small crock. Finally, she rewrapped his shoulder.
    The entire time she worked, Lorik sat with his eyes closed, feeling her soft hands as they skillfully helped him. He wanted to love Vera, and in a way he did. He certainly enjoyed making love to her, but their love was a warm, deep friendship. He knew he would do anything for her and he enjoyed being with her, but he did not love her, not the way she deserved. He would have married her, but it wouldn’t have made either of them happy; he knew that. The truth was, as wonderful as it felt to have Vera fuss over him, Lorik doubted that he would ever fall in love with a woman. He was too old, he told himself, too set in his ways.
    “You didn’t have to fight Grayson,” Vera said when she was finishing his bandage.
    “It wasn’t my idea,” Lorik said.
    “I just mean, you don’t always have to look out for me. I do just fine on my own, you know.”
    “I know,” he said truthfully. “I don’t worry about you, but I wasn’t going to let that popinjay think he could do whatever he pleased with you.”
    “Some men get possessive,” Vera said. “It comes with the job. He wasn’t the first, you know. In fact, you tend to get that way yourself.”
    “Well, I don’t mean to. I just want you to be happy.”
    “Who says I’m not happy?”
    “Me,” Lorik said. “I’ve known you too long. There have been very few times when I’ve seen you happy and for the last few years I haven’t.”
    She sat down across from him and looked at the table. He was used to seeing her in the tavern, all made up to entice the men who came to drink, or lying in bed with him, after she had taken care of his needs. Now, she looked older: the weight of hard living was beginning to show. She was still beautiful, but there were a few silver hairs sprinkled into her light brown hair. It was pulled back into a tight braid and tied with a simple, pink ribbon. She looked tired.
    “What can I do to make you happy?”
    “Nothing,” she said, and there was a note of resignation in her voice. “I can’t say why I’m unhappy, Lorik, but my life has grown dull. I don’t want to be an old lady, still wenching when no one wants me. I’m lucky in some ways,” she said. “I never had children.”
    “And that’s lucky?” he asked.
    “Children would have forced me to make decisions I didn’t want to make,” she explained. “And I’m not sure I could bear the thought of something happening to a child.”
    “You would make a great mother. It’s not too late, you know.”
    “If it was meant to be it would have happened by now. I’ve been careful, but I’m not perfect. I’m barren. I know it and I’m okay with it.”
    Lorik’s heart ached for her. She had compromised so many times and lost so much, each time doing whatever it took to make the best of a bad situation. Now, she would not even know the joys of motherhood.
    “So where are you planning to go?” he asked her.
    “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve got some coin saved up. Enough to let me find a place I like. I’ve never been outside of the Marshlands before. I want to see a bit of the world before I settle down.”
    “And what are you going to do? I mean, how will you make a living?”
    “I’ll get by,” she assured him. “I always do.”
    “I thought you were