Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Three Coins for Confession
Three Coins for Confession
Three Coins for Confession
Ebook534 pages8 hours

Three Coins for Confession

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

A year and a half has passed since the dark road that took Chriani across the Clearwater Way and back, at the side of the princess he once loved. Despite the anger and ambivalence to duty that once held him back, rank and commission have taken him to the frontier of the Greatwood and riding with the rangers, Kathlan at his side to help him focus on the challenges of a soldier’s life.

But when Chriani finds himself targeted by Ilvani hunters tied to an ancient prophecy that might upset the balance of power in the Ilmar, it forces him back to the unresolved pact that binds him to the Prince High Chanist — and down a new road whose secrets might destroy the life Chriani and Kathlan hope to build.

• • •

From behind him came a low hiss. A sharp exhalation, a sound of fury and frustration that carried even over the thud of hoofbeats and the horses’ rasping breath.
“Laóith irnash!”

The hissing turned to words that rang out behind him. One of the Ilvani, his voice twisted by rage as he screamed an oath. We hunt the vile, we hunt the hateful. We hunt the Ilmari. The Valnirata’s hatred of the Ilmari and their homelands ran deep, and gave their epithet laóith a dozen subtle meanings. Chriani didn’t understand the warrior as he shouted again, though.

“Lóech arnala irch niir! Lóech niir!”

He risked a look behind him. The Ilvani warriors always fought in silence. No battle cries, no orders ever heard.

He saw the rider three lengths back, snaking through the thinning screen of trees. His hair was long streaks of grey and gold, tied tight and flowing fast behind him, his eyes flashing molten gold in the half-light. His leather was cut away at the shoulder for ease of shooting, his bow up and a black arrow at the string, set dead on Chriani. On the wrist of the Ilvani’s bow arm, a blood-red light was flaring.

“Chriani irnash! Lóech arnala irch niir!”

It happened slowly, as it always did.

Chriani heard his name hang across the gulf of shadow and the screen of leaves that wrapped them both. His name, shouted by an Ilvani warrior he’d never seen before. He felt his reflexes slow, felt a chill twist through him as the black arrow snapped from the bow...

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 29, 2015
ISBN9781927348383
Three Coins for Confession
Author

Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Scott Fitzgerald Gray (9th-level layabout, vindictive good) is a writer of fantasy and speculative fiction, a fiction editor, a story editor, and an editor and designer of roleplaying games — all of which means he finally has the job he really wanted when he was sixteen. He shares his life in the Western Canadian hinterland with a schoolteacher, two itinerant daughters, and a number of animal companions. More info on him and his work (some of it even occasionally truthful) can be found by reading between the lines at insaneangel.com.

Read more from Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Related to Three Coins for Confession

Related ebooks

Fantasy For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Three Coins for Confession

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Three Coins for Confession - Scott Fitzgerald Gray

    ?cbook_preview_excerpt.html}˲#Gݯ${!pӣ4."U-dqQU6j1f2Ӯ@'%s="5) 3##ǟ_ź==M&8UOl^q8}sNq jWwM\2.wYM ;_6S4};ǏŸEC{j>:wz~z7}?l.j8aqs:U_\ץi讫dX};uv~]_Mڏ^{/l4\}u j>̿._D>zV~k}Swz]VY? sҪ,n%k0."GQoprsa%xNX]!A4TM\<Ǻ[l'lZ0Kjǧ6}8ٗ0Ȉq׽5ֱ:NҬ^Di9β"E""V{ZrgH[; an>eN0j\,JeХS= _IL[NeG}[lJW'p;β2QըcQ)fs]u)>ڽʟQZ[ nhe_bGLYe}DyoOIUш(c|D(+3{q}N.@u[2 C-;gu`]gDB+OKFZY.CNql򍨒v~}EE.-E8 R~ ^ (i+lD!i9\T΂NQvhM{Cx5gr@^L|be).2c݈74E>'y;NS qcKUWQ:Nv~ҏ"m\CX=tn:p2#}EU1y{Q ើ̾|X&ƤTv&fawH=[[r95MP}H̶p>GY ɢMDsN@F|/b%Ks4txBnKirU-bKgieDEjSS;cv; ʴAֻyd0x-oe߽>Suߵsc~hG-F#]˯t۩ 2;~T7P1EԘ[ kՈꈗ٩/CWuH~Xe,iT?סI:6?Ր_NsuӽlVLqpZCkENW radUzԟpL6c'8]w⤄=4xܓhv=4rϟ~zL?5_5Kmo/ûǟW|ok_>Ltz=t-ۢS=c+amfm5&vсᣫS6ƬR _Xj8AA>NCl4$#+q {]3b9zKO:z/W_P.PT<q>j,(PAƯ8u֯\DT)e+TGB%C= jAui{ly.G}O`c=Oj E<%ix0\82FjH#:ɺje muQP\G 6x\">uXƩ顋޳(\]:0Ė94M_,5A$#䮊0+ 5KP4.I3:o~MrBm^՞V 3HcFŀ;3>IOp"ā$QqGDYn(6S;Fi(E*pm&nݭ3U* L\  Ja3WQR5i&#r)>@t"ulSLZd=5`WX3uQqKiZbh ѺAUn=fl= U 5LȦg!ބ:pkYUބ?reeD+H1j%}m! V7(`Iޟ>EǷlS? cj Ϯg0`Ȫ$8@/ul-sTf~E'"[v0È} :K`NζR;z;_9Ab'VUv_oZ;IņZWWnKWƒO ; nUU~?ʵIX@ݴvW\"h49ztnZ%Fo~@ 2jy^ռ7,qIB.n;T9lMz߷F!r`%X"-4C;^--᱌hz aqw.p[۸t<{bXZ଼Jwa '8:jxgHj ja~Z}Pyx#Kn JDm,k+G:ukϧ r3B8(I }A]j"ÍL Je|Q F5q0>+ø p>vK+bjAʀeKC?9%;q2\=J\aUt UnkΨ%UVuK6HK%EWP Pt%r!/daܺ[R Y2m/_QbJ"`ōmhҵz2b25+=(hcS#z,#E\hH,!=TTͷu-[y5yFoT{F͹4$SwTA)øJL>+hFdAp˙k U"l--;Gʍ/9`P&-b u,xv?I? FL[Ku6^ӷ|& %R;(_)ͫS3ţeS󦯜Tg\@+ƽ8T EuF\+Y_gĦIDZ\?G4,>D^ qwy4%t\5M@X3 C*Wq{8;œos}j&jobRI=ɘ9t\vZ7Y<>ޏ 톼nY,QoT+1dzAs;qy=WrK+ӝRO*|q%tJtjM6#X9d?IH0õfC/њMh*hF;$v{Ӟ%(ZڜQ@1$f % BTU0ohbc礭CC EkqYls0M ΢3[9$O؉}'O(d*[fb;%ƩJk:֩*-?('t)/f֧Б+fȄ۵j p4}a v'p?I'F ɽ-  %"qFq+>`7Ku9#v# ݐAn60{-&xKKza6RIΉUN`ꇌrbC[|w!l  EtlلY3E"sk'Dŗ{w#;|K%/ @9lbdD0鱴9)a{ygcz_*l7+wq_UI'aA;+''%(6 &Prt-Ս}۵re*>UW4+<)|' 1G3 ',bc.c|&*Z H'}hPS2 YPs:.ȑ-)m1o'WkzRƬ\hf1{$jf T)XY}ɔ< -6w Τ?H9JpDCMIKRsO㲁uIhb 6f5Sf7#泂N, Zo%S/ۑeDj~80qj*}= $ȓvvz d%շ, {IzM84g4!4 $a& -/ W2*6;BS%dP, 1PIuE|T[ixU'h }`Ԥk60gRI`8gծ;Ҝ'$R)zanAS[Qȩ9+/ u+xI*7}0 Lgϖ-IJ\d88,^at -gBW )`b+1EI!6sOciRmvN[!fAP>p;F̴QyMU]_ ‹,m; DAktw3ߒjJ@++ΰ'ZAd&Otm^]3^: $81#`6p7Ⱦ}Fq'#ߌx?$0ʌbKUosN)<%clV2IwA ig0i_չ5숌eI֥`< -e`_%2se pDiQ9"]%PbPBP7k ^,C)[B֭.JE!ziyc w )XMn|,]dWXHg?>Z"" YN.2fsXċ7q&|:U@ǧ@u Bg}; Jb&H\q Dĕ(~|q @…JݰmFCZk(+> fOU$`*Lk95<@aQF0$b>|a20X9:Bŷc`zfծp }ɓϬ C, L8uj)O'/9NZp%oR9miM?.B$ ^X脉:me"2n@:_0o2H(i3fs<ЪJFP @ԧ[a;}$:˫`QIEz\ \g}*JyY3iZ#7mWP[&JD+"֕=\_y̓f9#"kq95|\d Mi]ij~>4*R~h8hEaXRI,wk`#|S"6F#xlUd2.PAWUX ȬL>q}n!Qc­#W|8 HHm q;yMHr+vD0\zfJ5IꦰҰ|8>fJ1LPƌh jxXWOᚲ2Fښ]S]jE-YzTEzVߦ*?<ַD "i ZI̶|b& @jyΣgx3@J>.VmS\<\:I*XX*хwЭɞ/vFU&$AkBr2׊~>cM(,X3okd5z,(KȯVԉ^DZޑ@i-E NeԖJv#yakBX N<d*b\+d}œ KY*^QGa]z _@ 0Ql=99Dΰ ,`7l& t[,F#jfBdfpgfjsz;RKܓqOW~"fցeh~W@XY?7^:^^E,K8 qN4gcG$Q-0 "7"0OK-Ҷ]Tt_΂;h(0xE|:sVvZZu8ͼR>1F$<>ȩ@d'0(rU Qb;77Yjͺ !86]#ޔ?bz0n~uĭWlthQF ٶկkW ʭ_9'"R3 .e`+D5i"ޕAV6`G;=Ŝm25!,Qbcd~cs4Ԭe2j:޶B4mAsi3*-q Va#msX$L]7Vf-diy-̂e4mt7a챩ޠy[ܩ5+ۻZ 4="e&29ȃMdz~8B`97GޢCV`^J T:+N}VcM/%{UCtij89&uٶeO&W>Ll[劒ho\~Z˪UB\m4It%y:"%rG -N}@cww,"H̾Օn7ŒaAJbIwalrLj<~sdgZiWi8ӝ,d; !%\s,>SbOO԰ k!3KBX1Ѻ-HFrDdTw{N;tV~cDa6'k5i&U6x4:u0:-<9:S*Mz[k 2b]U{FҎؐj9C/vn3^#H X~Oֲ| >(v~r{p77LRjJ _g)ީKZtL΋ k $:dNG]n/mtJ-9V=Ɣ^ j~[d;juE;,ҏ4JUxKe( 8F*]$20k0V_ m LP~2&y ۶ 'MzPVYT' Pcj98e#-,CqWlȳπ:4-AN8`(wq pUbѐk/QKᘵICӯWW%DDrwXGM5u4-鯊Pu&JTrFEsKLW 7 bzP0!E(< <oYv0%R0lJ1?BL(9kСU v$랆>R+}VTa5jMHhJfyD'7jvJ˺ 0FElf싦EpT `b֏R؇T')[A!ptq=O/AE&H_@*zPߣUg, ҊD5`isRQ Š`R!zHFߥkSY dgaۂf.#OɄ8^A)) QMk̾_(E#$\6LȽ,P I1(.0ex\4a6]CNq? hV1`.NA$?>\Yyi1vp6қׅڊ<;\(QT=%-זH>ԋOPRroh&H7FpxmOBo_%0.kd9̘SkuJKc]\Wys@ԯ O,蔼;1SY7Hj9V ɤq#Rjk~iw!rT>ė-P$Gny Dbn%˯h7ڟ-H}۾O=dABVE VNUd|[; %/N>( s,%. rr@CպU0E#RKC?[ď\8&}?l5JG"#[~٩}nf[3'k%c^jTvlpS){ :N̙tP,'Ԅ ND->#sO2|8c/g;(?,p]s[ ѹY*fz?Sg~oF%ca-AIiNTwzjDzC[-Nn*tj 6#YֱX,{kXC&j'yol\l%˪# Nyݲ12}GYv<׃ dޱASZUHE:NkqsMɗQ@zRgAqfRxxjq1 0V6%ט.!nU:.= JKx{g\wwIStb nauϔ\=&W4/0nuxy>w$pd#HEFVڴNraXEZ]$=*`新,fmSb9i]i(wt&:ZnvT*J`.6KWfzӽ(벝k}\B`YTGoy2@)7ejT13I"1XJh9x{,C.k;Dnd X_W .z T΃ʰ5p@MRL!hm& VS\ ϮFw,%F3YZ-ZੋUX%'Eu@XeLq튓 ےmJmcc*>|i5:\7Fء`^],yY3QWz=s QE(T=2R/hp6(ٶ3w^ɤin[;xv4|KyJx ?m >5~K z{۸ rv=|㗚̤"7a:BiE g nN!+NڶEAb1s,Cĝ}ɡUl Y_BRV*|OYԤzwcM;Ѿ NW< 0V\M3?~d-wu?/4UjұE/di]s);.`Chځ╒H JuD𐎩z߲ViNhSkBKO9ou[3^HWW{HX5 va"';RkS&W/eYC<;hgų3 q0[:ѝr5jlsԛsnJê^GzZ0H! FUBwL#Ye(Xq^ڧҹe<@9ͣ^`d`-¸_cU֠Zsw e{87`ƚm'u=׺%>i.f |IY@6f"d: GRO'ӊQfu $qc]:--*Ĺr%YH:]Syَz U9R%t?_ ClȄwI̢ ]Xe m>ϳ1dyjrr^-=LnW衧^mգ,pץoյw!lJ_[ƴKe/>Ӟ<ιS#4ܝgaFG=o|cvnSJE虌 651TkjۏBqRZ#qЍ,C],:8\~Bh.b.& q4$n{>msLV{i w#@r0$[6aVطzw7LaqfxGq4ݠ)gb9=GO7y^V ⠇F25;TS~۷F "N H^JƶPlv( ѢUmf 'cNR@:KpQHO&7΋ԶlR&ǒTO漖EL@sʼ- iK9G=D԰/[$43s9`rۡs`ϡVn3泼yV$<: v)AjmZkX&Ray.|uc$$?LъY_RRfN5A!1JֿX9ڧmT=reai펖7. VT*ӧwi7mz3jg#3d6l.Gg,dY}Ve*֟B .*3'Y 0kQ:f1]N?ً1(-nڍۜ,Emؼ~_U?=~MخQ5yN,l$5c־VER.ɥH}Q 3Jv:-k'LVީ YqkrORUګMq>ƨ<-Pn$(džY8B};DbuԢ{]xJLl!(xflϽ_5C)ӡ
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1