Chapters (76)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART I
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- PART II
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- PART III
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- INTERLUDE
- PART IV
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- INTERLUDE
- PART V
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART VI
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- INTERLUDE
- PART VII
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- PART VIII
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
“Good and bad, yes?” She squeezed again. “Either they’re good dreams that are bad when they end, or they’re bad dreams that are good when they end, yes?”
“I guess.”
“Everyone has dreams,” she whispered. “They’re always good and bad.”
“Gilbert doesn’t dream.”
That gave Elena pause. “You talk to Gilbert about your dreams?”
He nodded. Gilbert wasn’t exactly known for his sensitivity. “I’ll cut your cock in half, the long way,” he’d threatened the lost gord. Most people preferred to keep a heavy distance from the White Hand, which was how he preferred it. He was the only one of their group Will and Elena had known from their old life—not a Red Lion himself, Gilbert had been more of an associate. Too old to be in the street gangs, but known to work with all of them. He traded things, things that couldn’t be procured within the city. A curious and closed man, but trustworthy—he took even the simplest task with solemn responsibility.
He’d be damned useful as they moved forward, but not exactly the best role model for Much.
“He taught me to count,” the boy continued.
“To count?”
“When I can’t think straight,” he added. “He taught me to count. I can count to thirty sometimes, without even blinking. He says the trick is to think about something else. If you think about blinking then you blink, but if you think about something else then it doesn’t hurt at all. He says you can make your mind blank.”
Elena didn’t know what to say. “And that’s why he doesn’t dream?”
He bobbed his head. “He says it’s like snuffing out a candle.”
Somewhere off in the woods, a tree limb snapped and fell to the ground.
“You know, if you ever can’t sleep, you can come and find me,” Elena said. “Doesn’t matter if I’m out on watch, doesn’t matter if I’m with Will, doesn’t matter if I’m asleep. You can find me, alright?”
Much nodded yes.
“Aahhh,” she added in a panic, “lessin’ you hear Will and I … wrestling. If you hear anything like that, maybe call my name first, right?”
The knowing look he gave was far too mature.
“Alright then. Let’s get back to the group. It’s sword practice next, and I think you were promised a turn today.”
ELENA PAIRED UP WITH David of Doncaster, to challenge herself against his longer reach. They divided into pairs, spread out in a long line beneath the Great Oak. Each of them held a long stick, tree limbs with the twigs broken off, bark smoothed down at the ends. Fake swords. There were plenty of stolen real swords about to use, but Locksley insisted they needed to work on the basics. It was more than a little insulting.