John Flanagan

“So I'm an ace?' Will grinned. 'I'm flattered Halt, flattered. I had no idea you regarded me so highly.'Halt gave him a long-suffering look. 'I might have been more accurate to say a joker.'Whatever you say.”

“I thought I'd stumbled on Sleeping Beauty and her ugly sister,' said another voice, 'waiting for the kiss of true love to wake them from their slumbers. Forgive me if I didn't oblige.”

“You're apprentice Rangers,' he said. 'And the important word there is "Rangers".' He tapped the silver oaklead amulet around his neck. 'As a wearer of the Silver Oakleaf, I might expect obedience and some level of difference from you. But I do not expect you to call me sir. My name is Will and that's what you call me. You'd call my friend Gilan and my former master Halt, if he were here. That's the Ranger's way.”

“I'll be getting you for this,' Halt had told him as he dabbed the diguisting mixture on the worst of the cuts. 'That soot is filthy. I'll probably come down with half a dozen infections.'Probably,' Horace had replied, distracted by his task. 'But we'll only need you for today.'Which was not a very comforting thought for Halt.”

“He looked up as the party emerged and nickered a soft hello to his master, who was dressed in an unfamiliar green cloak and had dirt plastered on his face. Halt glanced at him, brow furrowed, and silently mouthed the words 'shut up'. Abelardshook his mane, which was as close as a horse could come to shruging, and turned away.'My horse recognized me,' Halt said accusingly out of the side of his mouth to Horace.Horace glanced at the small shagging horse, standing beside his own massive battlehorse.'Mine didn't,' he replied. 'So that's a fifty-fifty result.''I think I'd like odds better than that,' Halt replied.Horace suppressed a grin. 'Don't worry. He can probably smell you.''I can smell myself,' Halt replied acerbically. 'I smell of tea and soot.'Horace thought it was wiser not to reply to that.”

“My freind is the man who gives me a book I aint read."Abraham Linclion”

“It's the Kalkara. they're hunting. ”

“Halt shook his head. "You warriors don't do much geography in Battleschool, do you?"Horace shrugged. "We're not big on that sort of thing. We wait for our leader to point to an enemy and say, 'Go whack him.' We leave geography and such to Rangers. We like you to feel superior.""Go whack him, indeed," Halt said. "It must be comforting to lead such an uncomplicated life.”

“Several of them were discussing this in low tones as they waited for Halt to arrive - until they realized that he was already among them. They weren't used to this. Kings were supposed to sweep into a room majestically - not suddenly appear without anyone seeing their arrival.”

“Does it matter?" Halt asked. Horace shrugged. "Not really, I suppose. I just wondered why you'd gone to the kitchen and why you took the trouble to remain unseen. Were you hiding from Master Chubb yourself? And Will just turned up by coincidence?" "And why would I be hiding from Master Chubb in his own kitchen?" Halt challenged. Again. Horace shrugged innocently. "Well,there was a tray of freshly made pies airing on the windowsill, wasn't there? And you're quite fond of pies, aren't you, Halt?" Halt drew himself up very straight in the saddle. "Are you accusing me of sneaking into that kitchen to steal the pies for myself? Is that it?" His voice and body language simply reeked of injured dignity. "Of course not, Halt!" Horace hurried to assure him, and Halt's stiff-shouldered form relaxed a little. "I just thought I'd give you the opportunity to confess," Horace added. This time, Malcolm couldn't conceal his sudden explosion of laughter. Halt gave them both a withering glance. "You know, Horace," he said at length, "you used to be a most agreeable young man. Whatever happened to you?" Horace turned a wide grin on him. "I've spent too much time around you, I suppose," he said. And Halt had to admit that was probably true.”

“Horace, when you get older, try to avoid being saddled with an apprentice. Not only are they a damned nuisance, but apparently they constantly feel the need to get the better of their masters. They’re bad enough when they’re learning. But when they graduate, they become unbearable. [The Kings of Clonmel Pg.268]”

“Is that all?” he blurted out.Crowley and Halt exchanged slightly puzzled glances. Then Crowley pursed his lips thoughtfully.“Um…it seems to be…Listed your trainging, mentioned a few achievements, made sure you know which end of an arrow is the sharp part…decided your new name…I think that’s…” Then it seemed that understanding dawned on him and his eyes opened wide.“Of course! You have to have you Silver…whatsis, don ‘t you?” He took hold of the chain that held his own Silver Oakleaf around his throat and shook it lightly. It was a badge of a Graduate Ranger. Then he began to search through his pockets, frowning.“Had it here! Had it here! Where the devil is it…wait. I heard something fall on the boards as I came in! Must have dropped it. Just check outside the front door, will you, Will?”Too stunned to talk, Will rose and went to the door. As he set his hand on the latch, he looked back at the two Rangers, still seated at the table. Crowley made a small shooing motion with the back of his hand, urging him to go outside. Will was still looking back at them when he opened the door and stepped through on the verandah.“Congratulations!”The massive cry went up from at least forty throats. He swung around in shock to find all his friends gathered in the clearing outside around the table laid for a feast, their faces beaming with smiles. Baron Arald, Sir Rodney, Lady Pauline and Master Chubb were all there. So were Jenny and George, his former wardmates. There were a dozen others in the Ranger uniform – men he had met worked with over the past five years. And wonder of wonders, there were Erak and Svengal , bellowing his name and waving their huge axes overhead in his praise. Close by them stood Horace and Gilan, both brandishing their swords overhead as well. It looked like a dangerous section of the crowd to be in, Will thought.After the first concerted shout, people began cheering and calling his name, laughing and waving to him.Halt and Crowley joined him on the verandah. The Commandant was doubled over with laughter.“Oh, if you could have seen yourself!” he wheezed. “Your face! Your face! It was priceless! ‘Is that all?’” He mimicked Will’s plaintive tones and doubled over again.Will tuned to Halt accusingly. His teacher grinned at him.“Your face was a study,” he said.“Do you so that to all apprentices?” Will asked.Halt nodded vigorously. “Every one. Stops them getting a swelled head at the last minute. You have to swear never to let an apprentice in on the secret.”

“Horace’s pulse was racing and adrenaline was surging into his system. But he showed no sign of it. He had somehow realized what was coming as the huge man had leaped and spun before him. The coordination of the back stroke with the turn had alerted Horace, and he had determined that he would not move a muscle when the stroke arrived. It took enormous strength of will but he had managed it. Now he smiled.Prance and leap all you like, my friend, he thought, I’ll show you what a knight of Araluen is made of.Mussaun paused. He frowned and stared at the smiling young man before him. In times past, that movement had invariably resulted in the victim’s dropping to ground, hands above head, screaming for mercy. This youth was smiling at him!“That was really good,” Horace said. “I wonder, could I have a go?” He held out his bound hands.”

“Strange, he thought, how seldom people tend to look up”

“I'll think of something," he temporized, and Horace nodded wisely, satisfied that Halt would indeed think of something. In Horace's world, that was what Rangers did best, and the best thing a warrior apprentice could do was let the Ranger get on with thinking while a warrior took care of walloping anyone who needed to be walloped along the way. He settled back in the saddle, contented with his lot in life.”

“Sit down, Will. There’s a good fellow,” he said.“Yes, sir,” replied Will, and Halt’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.“He’s never called me sir,” he said.“Probably trying to get on my good side,” Crowley replied.Halt nodded savagely. “Probably.”

“You should have left him to wander,” Svengal said coldly. Erak looked at him, eyebrows raised.“Would you?” he asked, and Svengal hesitated. At the end, Toshak had fought well and that counted for a lot of Skandians.“No,” he admitted.”

“Never take your eyes off them,” Horace said to Gilan, in an admonishing tone. “Didn’t MacNeil ever tell you that?”

“But if we’re going to kill them all, we might as well make an occasion of it.”Toshak shrugged. “Do as you wish,” he said. “Occasion or not, as long as they’re all dead, I’m happy.”

“Best way then is to be waiting for them to bring Halt and the others out of that prison,” he said, almost to himself.“There’s only one reason I can think of that they might do that,” Umar said. “That’s if they are going to execute them.”Will lookd at him for several seconds before speaking. “Well, that’s a big comfort.”

“Young men!” he snorted to Erak. “They think a pretty face can cure every ill.”“Some of us can remember back that far. Halt,” Erak told him with a grin. “I suppose that’s all far behind an old hack like you. Svengal told me you were settling down. Some plump, motherly widow seizing her last chance with a broken-down old gray bear, is she?”Erak, of course, had been told by Svengal that Halt had recently married a great beauty. But he enjoyed getting a reaction from the smaller man. Halt’s one-eyed stare locked onto the Oberjarl.“When we get back, I’d advise you not to refer to Pauline as a ‘plump, motherly widow’ in her hearing. She’s very good with that dagger she carries and you need your ears to keep that ridiculous helmet of yours in place.”

“Horace, fit, and athletic and light on his feet, gave their guards the fewest opportunities to beat him, although on one occasion an angry Tualaghi, furious that Horace misunderstood an order to kneel, slashed his dagger across the young man’s face, opening a thin, shallow cut on his right cheek. The wound was superficial but as Evanlyn treated it that evening, Horace shamelessly pretended that it was more painful than it really was. He enjoyed the touch of her ministering hands. Halt and Gilan, bruised and weary, watched as she cleaned the wound and gently pated it dry. Horace did a wonderful job of pretending to bear great pain with stoic bravery. Halt shook his head in disgust.“What faker,” he said to Gilan. The younger Ranger nodded.“Yes. He’s really making a meal of it isn’t he?” He paused, then added more ruefully, “Wish I’d thought of it first.”

“What are you looking at, foreigner?” the guard demanded roughly. The smile was a little unsettling. A prisoner shouldn’t smile at his captors like that.“I’m just making sure I can remember you,” Gilan told him. “Never know when that might be useful.”

“People will think what they want to," he said quietly. Never take too much notice of it.”

“We must wait," she said. "They are involved in important buisness."Her tone was serious, almost reverntial. The two of them stopped, some five meters from the group of me. They were all leaning forward, staring intently at an upright rock placed in the middle of the circle. Will thought they must be praying, although no words were being said.Then, as one, they all slumped back with a roar of disappointment."It flew away!" said one figure, and Will recognized the voice. It was the man who had rescued him. "Almost to the top and it flew away!"e lookd questioningly to Cieliema and she rolled her eyes at him. "Grown men gambling on two flies crawling up a stone.""Gambling?" he said. "I thought they were praying.She raised an eyebrow. "To them, it's much the same thing.”

“You're not built for riding, either," Horace added. "I'd say more saddle sore than homesick."Svenal sighed ruefully, shifting his buttocks for the twentieth time to find a more comfortable spot."It's true," he said. "I've been discovering parts of my backside I never knew existed.”

“But...what if I mistime it?"Gilan smiled widely. "Well, in that case, I'll probably lop your head off your shoulders."Horace and Gilan”

“Then the two friends leaned back and watched the sun rise clear of the trees.“Best time of day,” said Will.Yes,” Horace agreed. “What’s for breakfast?”

“She didn't like the fact that she had reduced a man – no matter how evil he might be—to a drooling idiot.”

“It’s a big raised platform at the end of the square, with steps running up to it.”Like a stage?” Evanlyn suggested. “Maybe they’re planning to put on a play?”Or an execution,” Horace said.”

“There's nothing honerable in a man who hides behind a blue woman's hanky.”

“Always expect something to go wrong," he told him. "Believe me, if you're wrong, you're not dissapointed. If you're right, you're ready for it.”

“Got to keep losing horses," he said drowsily. "Bad habit.”

“That's a big nose," he croaked and instantly realized he shouldn't have said something so impolite. I must be light headed, e thought. But the face smiled. The teeth seemed inordinatley white against the dark beard and skin.The only one I have," he said.”

“He could bear the dying, but not the disappointment.”

“He'd just have to lie there and die, watched over by strange stars who didn't know him, didn't care for him.It was very sad, really.”

“Have you seen them?" he asked. Arrow looked at him disinterestedly. Will frowned.Not talking, eh?" he said. "Maybe you're a little hoarse."He cackled breifly at his own wit.”

“As he poured carefully, Arrow's head turned toward the sound. The horse made a low grumbling noise in his throat."Hold your horses," he said. The he laughed. It seemed absurd to say tat to a horse.”

“Always expect trouble in the desert. Then you usually won't meet it.”

“You know, one of these days, I'm actually going to take offense if people keep throwing out these slurs. And then things are going to get rather ugly. When we Skandians do take offense, we do it with a battleax.”

“He rose, offering his hand to Evanlyn to assist her. Even though she was lithe and athletic as a cat, she took it, enjoying the contact. She saw Horace's slight frown as she did so and smiled to herself. A girl can never have too many admirers, she thought. Will seemed unperturbed by the fact that she retained hold of Selethen's hand a little longer than politeness dictated. But then, Ranger's were trained to look imperturbable. He was probably seething with jealousy, she thought.”

“She knew more about these situations than she realized, he thought. She'd spent years at Duncan's side. "When in doubt," he added, "be pompous.”

“He waited while Gilan and Will moved the cloaks experimentally, eyeing each other and studying the unusual colors, seeing how they would blend into the landscape of rock and desert that surrounded Al Shabah.All right, ladies," he said, "if you're finished with the fashion show, let's go meet the Wakir.”

“If they invent a four legged chicken," Will said, "Horace will think he's gone to Heaven.”

“And with his arm around the younger man's shoulders still, he led him away from the bow and back to the small group by the tiller. Halt glanced up as they approached, caught a look from Gilan and had a pretty good idea what they had been talking about."Where have you two been?" he asked, his tone light.admiring the view," Gilan told him. "Thought you might need a hand from the two wisest heads on board.”

“Remember no one expects you to be Halt. He's a legend, after all. Haven't you heard? He's eight feet tall and kills bears with his bare hands...”

“You know the old saying: 'one riot, one Ranger.'"The saying stemmed from a legendary event in the past. A minor fief had risen up against their cruel and avaricious lord, with hundreds of people surrounding his mano house, threatening to burn it to the ground. The panicked nobleman's message for help was answered by the arrival of a single Ranger. Aghast, the nobleman confronted the solitary figure.They sent one Ranger?" he said incredulously. "One man?"How many riots do you have?" the Ranger replied.On this occasion, however, Duncan was not inclined to be swayed by a legend. "I have a new saying," he replied. "One daughter, two Rangers."Two and a half," Will corrected him. The King couldn't help smiling at the eager young face before him.Don't sell yourself short," he said. "Two and three-quarters.”

“Sometimes people can be too intellegent for their own good. Too much thinking could confuse things.”

“Failure is just a few seconds away from success.”

“Well I'm not dancing," Will said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how."Oh yes you are," Alyss told him. "Let's hope you're a fast learner."He glanced at her and saw no prospect of escape. "Well,at least I won't be the only one," he said. "Halt will be terrible too."But nobody in the assembly knew tat for the past ten days, Halt had been taking dance lessons from Lady Sandra.”