John Gregory Betancourt New Amber Trilogy 03 To Rule In Amber

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"Lord?" Doc Hand raised bushy eyebrows. "It's not often the noble-born call
on me."
"Get out," Dad said brusquely, motioning toward the door. "I need you like I
need a hole in the head. Less, in fact."
Doc Hand chuckled and set his bag on the bed. "Now, now, your Lordship, let
me be the judge of that. Seizures, is it?"
"Oberon " Dad began in a warning tone.
"He seems to be doing a lot better," I said almost apologetically to the
doctor.
"Iam fine," Dad growled.
"Nonsense." Doc Hand leaned forward and peered at Dad's eyes. "You are
certainlynot fine," he said. "You have a concussion, sir. I see it clearly in
your eyes. You were beaten severely& twice, I would say, from the looks of
that bruising. Once yesterday, once this morning. You got the concussion
yesterday. Now, are you going to let me treat you, or do I get these strapping
lads to sit on your arms while I do my work?"
Dad glared at all of us. I tried to look firm but menacing. A concussion
explained a lot.
"Oh, very well," Dad finally snapped. He perched on the edge of the bed. "Get
on with it!"
I looked at the doctor with new admiration. This was the first time I had
ever seen anyone intimidate Dad. Aber seemed equally impressed.
"Hmm," said the doctor. He skinned back each of Dad's eyelids in turn,
peering deep inside. Then he felt Dad's skull for bumps. Finally he stepped
back.
"Seizures?" said the doctor. "I see no sign of them. You are quite the
brawler, though. I see scars from dozens of swordfights over the years. But
who gave you that concussion, eh? There was no fight. Something hit you from
behind& a sap, maybe?"
"I& do not remember," Dad said.
"I'm not surprised." Doc Hand looked at Aber and me. "Lads? Any idea?"
"We weren't there," I said.
Before I could stop him, he reached out, grabbed my right hand, and turned it
over. I still had two freshsword-cuts from my fight with Dad, one on the back
of my hand, one on my forearm.
The doctor tsk-tsked. "You've been fighting, laddie. Beating up your Da, or
defending him that's the question, ayeh?"
"You have a good eye," I said, pulling my hand back. I didn't enjoy being
under the old man's exacting gaze. "But my father is the one who needs you,
not me."
"Oh, I treat all who need healing." He chuckled. "You're next, laddie."
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I sighed. What did I expect, when I had deliberately sought a Shadow with a
doctor capable of treating Dad?
"Ayeh," said Doc Hand, grinning. He rummaged around in his black bag, pulling
out needle and thread. "You need a few stitches, laddie. Your Da needs a week
of bed rest. And maybe a good hot meal and a stiff drink. Not much more I can
do today."
"I told you so," Dad grumbled.
Doc Hand carefully threaded his needle, then looked at me expectantly.
Gritting my teeth, I stuck out my arm and let him stitch my cuts back
together.
Once the doctor left, Aber laughed and couldn't seem to stop. I glared.
Finally he managed to regain control of himself.
"You should have seen your face," he told me.
"It's not funny," I said. "I hate catgut stitches. The damn things always
pull at me."
"Sorry," he said. "But& I've never seen you look so annoyed! You got it worse
than Dad!"
"Feh," I said.
"Don't pick on poor Oberon," said Blaise. I hadn't noticed her arrival. She
leaned against the doorway, looking radiant. A few drinks had done wonders to
restore her self-confidence. "He meant well."
"Enough," said our father, climbing out of bed and looking around. "Where is
my sword?"
"You heard Doc Hand," I said. "You're due for a week of bed rest.
"I cannot rest," he said, "until we have Freda back. I remember now. Thellops
has her and you and I are going to get her back!"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
�^�
"Your sword is downstairs," I said. I didn't know much about Thellops, but
already I hated him. What could he be doing with my sister?
I turned to my brother. "Aber? Would you mind getting his sword?" Considering
how fast time ran in the Courts of Chaos, we needed to move quickly. Hours
here might mean days or weeks of torture for Freda. "I had Jamas put it behind
the bar for safekeeping."
He rolled his eyes, but dutifully trotted out of the room and down the
stairs. Much as he liked to complain, I knew I could count on him, especially
when Freda's safety was at stake.
Turning back to Dad, I said, "Do you have a plan?"
"Yes. Go in fast. Take Freda. Run away before anyone can stop us."
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I snorted. Well& it had a certain elegance to its simplicity. Unfortunately,
I didn't think we would be able to simply walk in.
I said as much.
"Nonsense, my boy," he said, grinning. "You are a fair swordsman. Together,
Thellops cannot stop us."
"He stopped you already," I pointed out.
He shrugged. "He caught me by surprise. I made the mistake of trying to talk
to him as a friend and an equal. We are neither."
"Don't forget it."
He grinned suddenly. "I still have one trick left, too. Something he has long
forgotten& "
"Got it!" Aber cried, dashing in with Dad's sword. He passed it over, and Dad
swiftly buckled the belt around his waist, loosening the sword in the scabbard
and adjusting it to a comfortable position.
"Do you want to come?" I asked Aber. He might want to help rescue Freda.
"No!" Dad said firmly.
Aber swallowed. "Uh& not this time. I'm no fighter; I'd only be in the way.
Besides, if I stay here, I can be your escape route. Call me when you need to
leave and I'll bring you all back."
"Good." I knew I could count on him. "Then you'll definitely be staying here
until you hear from us?"
He pulled a sour face. "If I have to. Any other Shadowwould be a improvement
over this dump, though. It doesn't even have a decent bath& "
I chuckled. "I don't care if you stay or not. Just make sure we can reach you
at a moment's notice wherever you are, okay?"
He brightened. "Sure!"
Blaise appeared in the doorway. She had taken the time to wash her face, fix
her hair, and change clothes. Now she wore a wine-colored blouse, leather
britches, and riding boots and she carried a bare blade: a nasty-looking
shortsword with a serrated blade and a wickedly barbed point.
I raised my eyebrows. "Why the sword?" It definitely wasn't the weapon you
expected to find in the hands of a beautiful woman.
"Someone has to watch your back," she said in a no-nonsense voice. "If you
and Dad are going after Freda, you'll need help. There don't seem to be any
othermen around" she shot Aber a pointed look "so I have to pitch in."
Aber said, "I'll leave the manliness up to you. You have a bigger pricker
than I do, anyway." He seemed to find that amusing and snickered a bit.
"Do you know how to use that thing?" I asked Blaise.
"Try me and see."
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I chuckled. "Aber's right, you know."
Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"You aren't our sister. The real Blaise belongs in the
afraid-of-breaking-fingernails camp."
"There's no reason a woman can't look goodand defend herself."
I just shook my head. We definitely had interesting characters in our family. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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