Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools Read Online Free

formal bow.
     
'And Max,' added Max. 'His partner!'
     

     
Cornelius gave the buffalope a slightly perturbed look. 'You have a fine fire,' he observed. 'Visible at quite a distance. Not the most advisable thing in a remote spot like this, but a man must take his chances.' He reached back a hand and threw the plump body of the javralat to the ground at Sebastian's feet. 'I wonder if you'd allow me to cook my dinner over your fire? I've supped on raw meat these last few nights and I'm longing for something hot.'
     
Sebastian frowned. 'Well . . .'
     
'Of course, I'd be happy to share the food with you.'
     
Sebastian's eyes nearly popped out of his head. 'Then you . . . you would be most welcome!' he replied. 'And I would be more than willing to accept your generous offer.' He sheathed his sword and extended a hand to shake. The stranger took it in a powerful grip that made Sebastian wince and pumped it vigorously up and down.
     
'Watch him,' murmured Max under his breath. 'It's some kind of trick . . .'
     
Sebastian waved a dismissive hand at Max. 'Please, er . . . Captain Drummel. Make yourself comfortable.'
     
'Call me Cornelius. We're not on the parade ground now.'
     
'No, of course not. I – I've a metal spit in the caravan, it won't take but a moment to find it—'
     
'Don't turn your back on him!' hissed Max, then shut up as he noticed the newcomer glaring at him.
     
'He's a talkative one, your buffalope,' observed Cornelius as he unbuckled his breastplate. 'Most of them can barely string a sentence together but this one is quite eloquent.'
     
'Umm . . . yes, he's been in our family for years. My father taught him to speak.' Sebastian shot Max a withering look. 'Unfortunately.' He hurried across to the caravan and rummaged amongst the piles of junk that were heaped in the back. 'I don't pay him much attention. He likes to prattle on, you know, but he's harmless enough.'
     
The manling didn't seem convinced by this and Max looked positively disgusted.
     
'Oh, please, do continue to talk about me as though I'm not here,' he said. He glared at Sebastian. 'And don't say I didn't warn you.' He lowered his huge head onto his front legs and looked away, as though absolving himself of any responsibility.
     
'Aha!' Sebastian had finally found what he was looking for – an iron frame that slotted together to make a sturdy revolving spit that would roast the meat evenly over the flames. He hauled it out of the caravan, brought it across to the fire and, crouching down, started assembling it. 'This should do the job,' he said. He was so excited at the thought of eating hot meat that his hands were shaking.
     
'Excellent,' said Cornelius. He set his breastplate aside and flexed his arms and shoulders with a sigh of relief. 'Ah, that's better. I've been walking since first light. Well, let's get down to business.' He pulled a fearsome-looking knife from his belt and Sebastian froze in terror.
     
'What did I tell you?' hissed Max. 'I said he wasn't to be trusted!'
     
Cornelius gave the buffalope another strange look, then turned to the carcass of the javralat. 'I'll prepare this fellow for cooking, shall I?' he said.
     
Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. As he watched, Cornelius expertly skinned and gutted the javralat with a few flicks of the finely honed blade. He flung the entrails into the bushes, wiped the knife on his trousers, then handed the skinned carcass to Sebastian.
     
'These are the only things worth eating that I've found on these blasted flat lands,' he said. 'They're damned hard to catch, though. You have to sit stock-still by the entrance to one of their burrows, and when they finally stick their heads out . . .' He made a brief chopping gesture with the flat of one hand.
     
Max winced. 'What a world,' he said. 'One minute you're running happily across the plains, the next you're on some?body's dinner plate.'
     
'This is a lawless place,' growled Cornelius. 'It's kill or be killed out here –