Rebels and Fools (The Renegade Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

stand here
and scratch our asses until you get back? No way. I want see what it looks like
on the inside.”
    Klye
narrowed his eyes and wrenched his arm away. Plake was precisely the reason why
Klye had wanted to enter the church alone. He did not want to have to worry
about Plake, who had been a simple rancher before throwing in with the band,
blaspheming inside the Cathedral or saying something too revealing to the
priests.
    “You
can see the inside of the Cathedral after I check it out,” Klye told him,
trying to keep his voice civil.
    “Don’t
you think Othello and I are going to look kind of suspicious just standing out
here in front of the Cathedral?” Plake argued.
    “I’ll
only be a minute.” He bit back the other words that threatened to spill out.
    “And
what if something happens to you? You’ll need our help.”
    “It’s
a church for gods’ sakes!”
    Plake
turned to Othello. “Don’t you think we ought to stay together?”
    Othello
didn’t respond.
    “Plake,”
Klye started to say, but the tolling of bells interrupted him.
    The
brassy sound reverberated from the Cathedral’s highest tower, echoing off the
surrounding homes and shops. At the top of the wide stairway that stretched up
from the street to the church’s main entrance, two tall doors closed seemingly
of their volition. It was only then that Klye realized the sun had completely
dipped beneath the western horizon.
    He
swore as ran up the steps, careful not to trip over the hem of his robe. He
reached the doors in but a few strides.
    “Damn!”
he said again, though he caught himself before he said worse. When he turned
back around, he saw that Plake had followed him. He didn’t bother berating the
rancher, however, for it no longer mattered.
    The
doors were locked.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Passage III

 
 
    Arthur
groaned and slumped to the ground, leaning his back up against the side of the
warehouse. He had been working since early that morning, and now the sun was
almost completely set.
    Having
transported all of Stalwart Mariner ’s cargo to the warehouse, he almost
wished that pirates had looted the ship, for it was now a full two hours
past when he and the other dockworkers were supposed to be done for the day.
And the crates had been incredibly heavy, as though filled with rocks.
    He
wiped his brow and peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt. The ever-present sea
breeze made his skin shiver, but it felt better than the heat of exhaustion.
Arthur looked at his hands and sighed. They were raw, cracked, and covered with
blisters. His whole body ached. He wondered how he would find the strength to
get up tomorrow morning to do it all over again.
    They
would all be paid extra for working past their shift’s normal quitting time,
but a few extra copper coins hardly made much of a difference. His wages were
small and his days, long.
    Then
again, it wasn’t so different from the farm back in Hylan. He, his father, and
his brothers were always up before dawn, feeding the animals and tending to the
crops. His entire family worked until sundown. Then they all gathered at the
supper table to enjoy the feast his mother and sisters had prepared.
    Thinking
about the glazed ham, potatoes, and tall glasses of fresh milk made Arthur’s
stomach growl and his heart ache. At least when he was unloading cargo, he was
too busy to be homesick.
    “Hey,
Spook, ya gonna join us at the bay tonight?”
    Arthur
closed his eyes, wishing only to be left alone, but when he opened them again,
a large man loomed over him. He was called Two-Hands Henry, though Arthur had
no idea why. Arthur’s own nickname, Spook, was given to him because of his pale
complexion. He hadn’t even known what a spook was until Two-Hands had explained
that it was like a baby ghost.
    Was
it his fault that his fair skin never tanned? He wondered what the others would
call him when the summer sun turned his skin as red as his hair. Luckily, it
was only autumn.
    “I
don’t