Page 45 (2/2)

"Evera at the weapon with new respect He tried to draw the string back as the Par’chin had, but strong as he was, it was beyond him

"Crank it" The Par’chin pointed to thefrustration on his face At last it clicked into place and he looked up "I could have thrown three spears in that time, Par’chin"

The Par’chin nodded "And then you would be out of spears Don’t worry over the draw With night strength you won’t need the crank"

Shanjat nodded, but he selected three light throwing spears in addition to the bow and quarrels

"Sleep while you can," Jardir bade "We’ll be in Anoch Sun before daith only two days to prepare" Immediately, Shanjat and Shanvah found a space by the wall to curl up Jardir closed his eyes

CHAPTER 9

ANOCH SUN

333 AR AUTUMN

As the sun rose, Arlen looked out over the lost city of Anoch Sun with a heavy heart The Krasians had been reckless in their looting When Arlen was living in the ruins seeking the secrets of deing carefully, leaving everything intact The only relics he reht study their wards He had returned most of the iteiven no such consideration to preserving their antiquity The city now looked like a crop field after a swarm of locusts and an army of voles Massive piles of dirt and sand everywhere, shattered stone that had stood strong for thousands of years The land was dotted with holes where roofs had been broken into for easier access to underground cha them to the elereat burial cha else of value, but even they balked atthe rest of their sacred ancestors

"And you were ready to killone spear," he muttered

"It wasn’t yours to take, Par’chin," Jardir replied "It is a place of reenlanders"

Arlen spat over the side of his horse "Wern’t so worried about cultural rights when you sacked Fort Rizon"

"That was conquest, not grave looting," Jardir said

"So robbing living folk you have to beat and kill is more honorable than ones been dead thousands of years?" Arlen asked

"The dead cannot defend themselves, Par’chin," Jardir said

"And yet you destroyed the resting place of your ancestors," Arlen said "Night, your logic just whirls around like a dust devil, doesn’t it?"

"I had a hundred thousand people to feed, and nothing here to sustain the his outward calhten "We had to work fast There was no time to peel the layers of the city back with brushes and hand tools"

He looked curiously at Arlen "How did youto eat here, and without baggage, you cannot have carried much from the Oasis of Dawn"

Arlen was thankful his aura was hidden in thesun The question cut close to one of the few secrets he was not yet willing to share with Jardir Likely he never would He had eaten demon meat to sustain hi he knew the Krasians would never understand, despite the power it brought

"Went out and brought back supplies," Arlen said It wasn’t a lie, precisely

He shook his head to clear it There was nothing to be gained, continuing to bicker They needed to work together, now lanced at Shanjat and Shanvah to find their predatory eyes locked on hi Jardir’s command to kill them while the sun kept their full powers at bay