Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart Read Online Free Page A

warning?
he wondered. When he considered the response from Sir Dornan and even Sir Treffen, he found it easier to dismiss Orland’s words.
    Caw! A
raven called from a tree just two paces away. Startled, Dalton looked up. It was a huge bird, larger than any raven Dalton had seen, and its black eyes stared down emotionlessly from its perch. A bit unnerved, Dalton took a wide berth around the tree. The bird fluttered its wings, and chills went up and down Dalton’s spine at what he saw. The raven was a freakish creature, for it had two sets of wings on each side of its body.
    Dalton stared at it for a moment and then hurried on toward the water bucket. When he got there, a young lad filled a ladle and offered it to him.
    “Thanks, sport,” Dalton said trying to shake the willies from himself. He reached for the ladle. “Where are you from?”
    “Nearby,” the boy said with a crooked grin. His dark hair covered most of his ears and matched his brown eyes. “I’ve been watching you train some. What order of knights are you?”
    “We’re Knights of the Prince,” Dalton replied.
    “The Prince? Who’s that?” the lad asked.
    “He’s the Son of the King.”
    The boy stood on his tiptoes to look at the other trainees who were gathering on the far side of the training grounds. “Which one is He?” the lad asked.
    Dalton laughed. “He’s not here. He lives in the Kingdom Across the Sea.”
    The boy scratched his head. “So why do you serve Him then?”
    “Well, because He came here, and the Noble Knights of Chessington killed Him.” Dalton flushed, realizing that his words sounded quite ridiculous.
    The boy smirked and shook his head. “So you serve a guy in some fairyland who’s dead. Sound’s pretty far-fetched to me.”
    “It’s not like that,” Dalton said, trying to keep from sounding like a complete idiot in front of the boy.
    “How do you know this Prince you serve was really the Son of the King?” The boy looked up at Dalton with eyes of defiance.
    Dalton was at a loss as to how he could possibly explain the Prince to this contrary yet perceptive boy. He opened his mouth to speak but could think of nothing to say.
How do I know?
he asked himself. As simple as the question was, he had never really considered this before.
    “Never mind,” he finally blurted out.
    “Okay.” The lad held up the bucket for Dalton to refill his empty ladle.
    Dalton huffed, then smiled and reached the ladle into the bucket. Just as he drew the water, the lad dropped the bucket, which smashed down onto Dalton’s foot with a thud. The explosion of pain made him drop the ladle and collapse to the ground. Surely something must be broken to hurt this much. He cradled his foot and closed his eyes, trying to bear the pain until some of it dissipated.
    “What’s wrong?” Koen knelt beside Dalton.
    Dalton tried to take a deep breath and squelch the throbbing with his mind.
    “The boy dropped the bucket on my foot,” Dalton said. He began removing his leather shoe.
    “What boy?” Koen asked.
    By now other trainees had gathered about, and Dalton was beginning to feel sheepish about the attention. He decided to leave his shoe on and brush off the pain, but it was nearly impossible. He looked toward where the boy was, but he was gone.
    “You know,” he said, “the boy who was here with the water bucket.”
    Koen looked confused.
    “What happened, Dalton?” one of the trainees said. “Did you stub your toe?” He and four others laughed and walked away.
    Koen reached out his hand, and Dalton took it. Koen lifted him to his feet.
    “Thanks,” Dalton said just as Brynn arrived. She looked at Koen.
    “Sure,” Koen replied and then left.
    “Are you all right?” she asked.
    Dalton forced a smile. “Of course,” he said and took a step toward the training ground, then nearly collapsed again from the pain.
    Brynn steadied him, and he put an arm around her shoulder for support. She helped him walk, but after a few