The King's Bastard - By Rowena Cory Daniells Page 0,1

will be seeing the mystics master this midwinter. Can you mention my name to him? I've written five times asking to be transferred back to the abbey but my messages must be going astray.'

Byren was careful not to catch Orrade's eye. If the monks back at Halcyon Abbey found Hedgerow as annoying as they did, it was not surprising his requests had been ignored.

'I can mention your name, but that's not why I'm here, you know.' No, he'd been diverted from his true purpose by the report of the lincis sighting. Originally, he had been sent to escort the Royal Ingeniator to see if it was possible to link the village to the canal network so they could transport their tin. After three hundred years of rule, his family had linked the great lakes of Rolencia with a clever network of canals that made trade so much easier. Despite its longer pedigree and its claim to a higher culture, Merofynia had nothing to compare with Rolencia's canals.

'Just remember me to Master Catillum, that's all I ask, kingson. Please?' The monk fixed slightly protuberant eyes on Byren until he nodded.

Satisfied, Hedgerow set off down the slope only to stumble over his snow shoes, sliding down into the base of the hollow amid a rush of loose snow.

'Freezing Sylion!' The monk screeched.

'That should scare off the lincis,' Orrade muttered.

'Well, we wanted to either scare it or kill it. Come on.' Byren ploughed down after the monk, who was dusting snow off his goatskin cloak. Orrade followed, muttering under his breath.

'What's wrong?' young Chandler yelled from the rim of the hollow as the others joined him.

'Keep your voice down,' Byren warned. 'You don't want to scare off the little beastie.'

They laughed, all bravado. Byren smiled grimly. Five years ago he'd been just like them, an untried warrior of fifteen, desperate to prove his worth. Today he led a hunting party of half a dozen armed men, more than enough to tackle a lincis. The last thing he wanted was to return to the castle bearing someone's dead brother or son. But five of his warriors were the inexperienced younger sons of rich merchants and Rolencian lords, eager to distinguish themselves. Even though Byren's task was only to escort the Royal Ingeniator, they'd volunteered hoping for a run-in with warlord raiders or Affinity beasts. When the Affinity warder revealed the reported sighting of a lincis, Byren had thought it the perfect chance to give the youths some experience without too much risk. But, with the racket Monk Hedgerow was making, they'd be disappointed.

Byren and Orrade reached the monk in the hollow.

'So which way is it?' Byren asked Hedgerow.

The monk lifted his hands to his face, sniffed, and drew back, his lips twisting with revulsion. He flicked the snow away convulsively and began tapping on his eyelids, ears, mouth and chest while muttering under his breath.

'What now?' Orrade asked, scooping up a handful of the white, powdery snow. He sniffed, frowned, then thrust the snow towards the monk. 'I don't smell anything. What's wrong with it?'

Hedgerow stumbled back a step, tripped and fell into a drift so deep that only his legs protruded, thrashing about.

Byren was tempted to leave him there.

Orrade read his expression and grinned, then flung the snow away, dusted off his palms reached into the drift to grab one of the monk's arms. 'Come on.'

Together they hauled Hedgerow to his feet.

'It's a new seep. Affinity seep!' the monk whimpered.

Byren's amusement died. A seep would attract all manner of Affinity beasts. God-touched, they ranged from the bizarre to the deadly. 'Where -'

'Everywhere. The hollow's full of it!' Hedgerow gestured widely, then winced and ducked as if assaulted by screeching birds. His began to shiver. 'Probably triggered by digging the tin mine. You can't t-take from the land without paying Halcyon her due. I warned them but they wouldn't listen. Blame Sylion's nun. It's all her fault, now it's t-too late...' His teeth chattered and he slumped.

Byren shook him, waited for the monk to focus on his face, and said, 'you're an Affinity warder. You've been trained to contain -'

'This is seeping up from Halcyon herself. I need help. It's too powerful!' Hedgerow glanced around frantically. 'Besides, I don't have any sorbt stones. We'll have to go back and send -'

'We can't leave it uncontained. It'll contaminate the land,' Byren decided. He feared Affinity as much as the next man, but he knew his duty. After nothing for twenty years, this was the third