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"Why there, and why because of the arm? I don't...

11:32 PM, Tuesday, May 4, 2010  ..  Link
"Why there, and why because of the arm? I don't understand," Ducas said"You should know that we are not much welcome in the villageNot on an Ember NightYou will understand when we get thereI want my good friend Erlein di Senzio to see somethingAnd I suppose Sertino had better join us too "I wouldn't miss this for all the blue wine in Astibar," said the pudgy Certandan wizardIt was interesting, at another time it might even have been amusing, to note what a healthy distance he continued to keep between himself and the PrinceThe words he spoke were facetious, but his tone was deadly serious "Come on then," said Alessan brusquelyHe turned his horse past Erlein's, almost brushing against the other man, and started west out of the passThe ones he had named began to followDucas spoke a few terse commands to Arkin, too low for Devin to hearArkin hesitated for a moment, clearly torn, wanting to come with his rolex watch leaderBut then, without speaking, he turned his horse the other wayWhen Devin glanced back a moment later, he saw that the outlaws were rifling the Barbadians' bodies for weapons He turned to look over his shoulder again a few moments later but they were in open country by then, with the hills in shadow to the south and east and a grassy plain rolling north of themThe entrance to the pass could no longer even be seenArkin and the others would be gone from within it soon, Devin knew, leaving only the deadOnly the dead for the scavengers; one of them killed by his own sword, and another one a child The old man lay on his bed in the darkness of an Ember Night and the always darkness of his own afflictionFar from sleep, he listened to the wind outside and to the woman in the other room clicking her prayer beads and intoning the same litany over and over "Eanna love us, Adaon preserve us, Morian guard our soulsEanna love fake cartier watches us, Adaon preserve us, Morian guard our souls His hearing was very goodIt was a compensation most of the time, but sometimes, as tonight, with the woman praying like a demented thing, it was a curse of a particularly insidious kindShe was using her old beads; he could tell the thin, quick sound even through the wall separating their chambersHe had made her a new ring of beads of rare, polished tanchwood three years ago for her naming dayMost of the time she used that ring, but not on the Ember DaysThen she went back to her old beads and she prayed aloud for most of three days and nights In the earliest years here he had slept those three nights in the barn with the two boys who had brought him here, so much did her unceasing litany disturb himBut he was old now, his bones creaked and ached on windy nights such as this, so he kept to his own bed under piled blankets and endured her voice as best he could "Eanna chanel large black and white tote bag love us always, Adaon preserve us from all perils, Morian guard our souls and shelter us The Ember Days were a time of contrition and atonement, but they were also a time when one was to count and give thanks for one's giftsHe was a cynical man, for sufficient and varied reasons, but he would not have called himself unreligious, and he would not, in fact, have said he'd lived a life unblessed, despite the blindness of almost two decadesHe had lived much of his life in wealth and near to powerThe length of his days was a blessing, and so too was the lifelong grace of his hands with woodOnly a form of play at first, a diversion, it had become something more than that in the years since they had come here There was also his other gift of skill, though few people knew of thatHad it been otherwise he would never have been able to shape a quiet life in this highland village, and a quiet life was essential because vintage fake rolex watches he was hiding The very fact of his survival on the long, sightless journey all those years ago was a blessing of a special kindHe was under no illusions: he would never have survived without the loyalty of his two young servantsThe only ones they had allowed to stay with himThe only ones who had wanted to stay They weren't young nor were they servants any longerThey were farmers on land they owned with himNo longer sleeping on the front-room floor in their first small farmhouse nor out in the barn as they had in the earliest years, but in their own homes with wives beside them and children near byLying in darkness he offered thanks for that, as gratefully as for anything he had ever been given himself Either of them would have let him sleep in their home these three nights, to escape the unending drone of the woman in the other room, but he would not presume to ask so muchNot on the Ember Nights, not on any gucci ladies watch night


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