Read The Broken Isles (Legends of the Red Sun 4) for Free Online Page B

offer.
    ‘See, commander?’ Rika whispered. ‘A stern word and a little force is sometimes required. They need fear in them.’
    ‘Of course,’ Brynd replied. ‘Well put, Lady Rika.’

 
T HREE
    A river of refugees, forty thousand long, stretched across the bleak landscape of Jokull, while in the distance in the direction of the ruins of Villjamur, a sky-city hovered,
a black smear against the sleet-filled sky. There was a strange ambience to the scene, one of a people resigned to their fate, yet possessing an urgency to move nonetheless. It was as if they had
accepted they would die, but didn’t want to – not just yet.
    Fulcrom, one-time investigator of the Villjamur Inquisition, now resigned but somehow with more authority than he’d ever wanted, turned his horse around to face the other horizon –
in the direction of their travel. There were a few hills with patches of forest to navigate through, but other than that there was merely the endless tundra stretching into the distance. In front
of him, a flock of geese arced a slow circle then – for a brief, dreadful moment he thought they were something else coming down to the ground.
    In the periphery of his vision, a black-clad girl with a dark fringe bounded towards him.
    ‘You miss me?’ Lan asked.
    Fulcrom broke into a reluctant smile. ‘Did it all go OK?’
    ‘Sure, not as much trouble this morning as last night. There are no serious threats at all.’ Her slender face was caked in mud, her hair dishevelled. Lan’s black outfit, once
the hallmark of a Knight of Villjamur, was now a meaningless costume, though her deeds were still the same: pulling people out of harm’s way. There was still plenty of work for her.
    ‘Hmm,’ Fulcrom muttered.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I don’t like it when there are no threats. That usually means something’s about to happen.’
    ‘Ever the optimist, aren’t you?’
    ‘I’m merely being rational. It’s not right when there are no signs of life up there,’ Fulcrom said, indicating the sky-city. ‘Whenever there’s been a calm
before, a blistering attack follows. Why should now be any different?’
    ‘Well, in quiet periods we can get people moving quicker than before,’ Lan suggested. ‘We can get further along. That’s something, surely?’
    ‘I know,’ Fulcrom sighed. ‘I just wish we had more of these vehicles. We just seem to be bringing more communities on board every hour. I didn’t even realize Jokull was
this populated until now. Anyway, where’s Tane?’
    ‘I’ve no idea,’ she said. ‘He was with me when I ran from the confrontation last night, but I’m much quicker than him over any distance. I just assumed he’d
make it back OK.’
    Fulcrom nodded and regarded the scene. As if becoming sucked into a moving tide, people were being dragged into the ongoing mass of humans and rumels. A few thousand had become tens of thousands
– twenty, then nearer thirty, as the villages and hamlets emptied themselves of people desperate to avoid the devastation heading their way.
    At first Fulcrom was in shocked awe of the tide of new refugees. Then he realized that their presence here was, ultimately, a good thing. It meant that their civilization might survive a little
longer.
    ‘What’s next?’ Lan asked, jumping effortlessly up onto Fulcrom’s horse behind him. She moved one arm around his chest and squeezed him closer. It made him feel normal
again – albeit for a brief moment – though Lan hadn’t quite been normal since they’d left the remains of Villjamur. She’d been thriving out here; her confidence had
reached new heights, the people had seemingly forgotten or ignored the recent revelations about her past.
    ‘Just keep going, I guess,’ he replied.
    ‘We’re nearly at the coast though. Then what? Will the sky-city follow us? Do we go across the water?’
    Fulcrom held up his hands. ‘I’m hoping Frater Mercury will sort something out.’
    ‘That’s a bit like praying