Brotherband 4: Slaves of Socorro (52 page)
Several hours later, the cook fires were dying down and the villagers were heading for their beds. Celebration or not, there were crops to tend, wheat to grind into flour and animals to be milked, fed and watered first thing in the morning. Gilan found himself sitting with Hal and Thorn as the party wound down.
‘We’ve got an early start in the morning too,’ he said.
Hal looked at him, curious. ‘What for?’
‘The King, remember?’ Gilan told him. ‘We were summoned to see him some weeks ago. I’m sure he’ll understand that bringing the slaves home took precedence over his summons. But now they’re safe, it might be wise if we complied with his request.’
‘Request?’ Hal said, grinning.
Gilan smiled in return. ‘Command is possibly more accurate,’ he admitted. ‘He might get a little testy if we waste any more time. Kings tend to do that.’
‘Why do you think he wants to see us?’ Hal asked.
Gilan began to shrug, but Thorn interrupted. ‘Maybe he wants to knight me,’ he said. ‘I fancy being Sir Thorn.’
‘I doubt that,’ Hal said, smiling.
But Thorn shook his head ponderously. ‘It’s a good chance. Look at it this way.’ He held out his left hand. ‘On the one hand, he wants to knight me. On the other hand . . .’
He held out the polished wood hook that had taken the place of his right hand and looked at it, feigning surprise.
‘Well, what do you know? There is no other hand. So I guess it’s a knighting for me.’ He smiled at them, pleased with his little performance. They all ignored him. Such a dreadful joke deserved to be ignored.
‘What do we call him?’ Hal asked Gilan. ‘I’ve never met a king.’
Gilan considered the question for a few seconds. ‘Well, you can address him the way we do. We call him your majesty, or my lord. Either of those will do.’
‘No,’ said Thorn flatly, and they both looked at him in surprise.
‘No?’ Gilan asked. He sensed he knew what was coming. Skandians were a notoriously independent people, with decidedly egalitarian views. They elected their leader and they didn’t believe in the birthright of kings or queens.
‘Your king is the equivalent of our Oberjarl,’ Thorn said. He looked at Hal. ‘And how do we address the Oberjarl?’
Hal shrugged. ‘If it’s an official occasion, we call him “Oberjarl”.’
‘Exactly. So we don’t show this King any more respect than our own leader. Or any less. We’ll call him “King”.
Hullo, King,
we’ll say.
Delighted to meet you. How are things, King?
’ He glared a challenge at Gilan, who held up his hands in a peacemaking gesture.
‘I’m sure that’ll do just fine,’ he said, remembering an earlier occasion when King Duncan had encountered Skandian protocol. ‘He’ll be used to that. After all, he met your Oberjarl some years ago.’
‘Then he’ll be ready for me,’ Thorn stated.
But now Gilan shook his head and his smile widened.
‘Oh, I doubt that, Thorn. I seriously doubt that.’
John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice and Brotherband adventure series have sold more than eight million copies worldwide. His books are available in more than one hundred countries, are regularly on the
New York Times
bestseller list, and have had multiple award shortlistings and wins in Australia and overseas. John, a former television and advertising writer, lives with his wife in a Sydney beachside suburb.
BOOKS BY JOHN FLANAGAN
The
Ranger’s Apprentice
Series
Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan
Book Two: The Burning Bridge
Book Three: The Icebound Land
Book Four: Oakleaf Bearers
Book Five: The Sorcerer in the North
Book Six: The Siege of Macindaw
Book Seven: Erak’s Ransom
Book Eight: The Kings of Clonmel
Book Nine: Halt’s Peril
Book Ten: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
Book Eleven: The Lost Stories
Book Twelve: The Royal Ranger
The
Brotherband
Series
Book One: The Outcasts
Book Two: The Invaders
Book Three: The Hunters
Book Four: Slaves of Socorro
What task will King Duncan ask of the Herons?
Find out in the next thrilling Brotherband adventure.
Available November 2014
They move silent as a shadow. They climb impossible heights. Their archery skills are unsurpassed. They are Rangers – and Will is about to join their ranks. Battles against formidable foes, swordplay, nailbiting escapes and heroic journeys are only the beginning in the bestselling series that introduced the Rangers of Araluen – and the sea wolves of Skandia – to millions of readers worldwide.
Find out more at
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Copyright Act 1968
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Version 1.0
BROTHERBAND 4: SLAVES OF SOCORRO
ePub ISBN 9781742759357
Copyright © John Flanagan 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A Random House book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
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First published by Random House Australia in 2014
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Flanagan, John, 1944–
Title: Slaves of Socorro / John Flanagan
ISBN: 9781742759357 (ebook)
Series: Flanagan, John, 1944– Brotherband; 4
Target audience: For secondary school age
Dewey number: A823.4
Cover illustration by Jeremy Reston
Cover design and typography
www.blacksheep-uk.com
Heron
illustration by David Elliot
Map by Mathematics and Anna Warren
Typesetting and eBook production by
Midland Typesetters
, Australia
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