Mark Lawrence - Prince of Thorns

Prince of Thorns — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Prince of Thorns" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...58

Table of Contents

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand

(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright 2011 by Bobalinga, Ltd.

Map by Andre Ashton.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

ACE and the A design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lawrence, Mark, 1966

p. cm.(The broken empire; bk. 1)

ISBN : 978-1-101-54329-0

1. PrincesFiction. 2. RevengeFiction. I. Title.

PS3612.A9484P75 2011

813.6dc22

2010053561

http://us.penguingroup.com

To Celyn, the best parts were never broken

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Helen Mazarakis and Sharon Mack for their help and support.

Ravens! Always the ravens. They settled on the gables of the church even before the injured became the dead. Even before Rike had finished taking fingers from hands, and rings from fingers. I leaned back against the gallowspost and nodded to the birds, a dozen of them in a black line, wise-eyed and watching.

The town-square ran red. Blood in the gutters, blood on the flagstones, blood in the fountain. The corpses posed as corpses do. Some comical, reaching for the sky with missing fingers, some peaceful, coiled about their wounds. Flies rose above the wounded as they struggled. This way and that, some blind, some sly, all betrayed by their buzzing entourage.

Water! Water! Its always water with the dying. Strange, its killing that gives me a thirst.

And that was Mabberton. Two hundred dead farmers lying with their scythes and axes. You know, I warned them that we do this for a living. I said it to their leader, Bovid Tor. I gave them that chance, I always do. But no. They wanted blood and slaughter. And they got it.

War, my friends, is a thing of beauty. Those as says otherwise are losing. If Id bothered to go over to old Bovid, propped up against the fountain with his guts in his lap, hed probably take a contrary view. But look where disagreeing got him.

Shit-poor farm maggots. Rike discarded a handful of fingers over Bovids open belly. He came to me, holding out his takings, as if it was my fault. Look! One gold ring. One! A whole village and one fecking gold ring. Id like to set the bastards up and knock em down again. Fecking bog-farmers.

He would too: he was an evil bastard, and greedy with it. I held his eye. Settle down, Brother Rike. Theres more than one kind of gold in Mabberton.

I gave him my warning look. His cursing stole the magic from the scene; besides, I had to be stern with him. Rike was always on the edge after a battle, wanting more. I gave him a look that told him I had more. More than he could handle. He grumbled, stowed his bloody ring, and thrust his knife back in his belt.

Makin came up then and flung an arm about each of us, clapping gauntlet to shoulder-plate. If Makin had a skill, then smoothing things over was it.

Brother Jorg is right, Little Rikey. Theres treasure aplenty to be found. He was wont to call Rike Little Rikey, on account of him being a head taller than any of us and twice as wide. Makin always told jokes. Hed tell them to those as he killed, if they gave him time. Liked to see them go out with a smile.

What treasure? Rike wanted to know, still surly.

When you get farmers, what else do you always get, Little Rikey? Makin raised his eyebrows all suggestive.

Rike lifted his visor, treating us to his ugly face. Well, brutal more than ugly. I think the scars improved him. Cows?

Makin pursed his lips. I never liked his lips, too thick and fleshy, but I forgave him that, for his joking and his deathly work with that flail of his. Well, you can have the cows, Little Rikey. Me, Im going to find a farmers daughter or three, before the others use them all up.

They went off then, Rike doing that laugh of his, hur, hur, hur, as if he was trying to cough a fishbone out.

I watched them force the door to Bovids place opposite the church, a fine house, high roofed with wooden slates and a little flower garden in front. Bovid followed them with his eyes, but he couldnt turn his head.

I looked at the ravens, I watched Gemt and his half-wit brother, Maical, taking heads, Maical with the cart and Gemt with the axe. A thing of beauty, I tell you. At least to look at. Ill agree war smells bad. But wed torch the place soon enough and the stink would all turn to wood-smoke. Gold rings? I needed no more payment.

Boy! Bovid called out, his voice all hollow like, and weak.

I went to stand before him, leaning on my sword, tired in my arms and legs all of a sudden. Best speak your piece quickly, farmer. Brother Gemts a-coming with his axe. Chop-chop.

He didnt seem too worried. Its hard to worry a man so close to the worm-feast. Still, it irked me that he held me so lightly and called me boy. Do you have daughters, farmer? Hiding in the cellar maybe? Old Rike will sniff them out.

Bovid looked up sharp at that, pained and sharp. H-how old are you, boy?

Again the boy. Old enough to slit you open like a fat purse, I said, getting angry now. I dont like to get angry. It makes me angry. I dont think he caught even that. I dont think he even knew it was me that opened him up not half an hour before.

Fifteen summers, no more. Couldnt be more... His words came slow, from blue lips in a white face.

Out by two, I would have told him, but hed gone past hearing. The cart creaked up behind me, and Gemt came along with his axe dripping.

Next page

1234567...58

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Prince of Thorns»

Look at similar books to Prince of Thorns. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Chris Offutt

The Good Brother

Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Mark Lawrence

Emperor of Thorns

Mark Lawrence

King of Thorns

Karen Rose

Count to Ten

David Pietras

A Nightmare on Elm Drive The Menendez Killings

Frost Kay

Kingdom of Rebels and Thorns

Lawrence

The Complete Broken Empire Trilogy Omnibus

Lawrence

Prince of Thorns

Black

Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione

Prince of Wales Charles

Charles : the heart of a king

Faith Hunter

Seraphs (Thorn St. Croix, Book 2)

Discussion, reviews of the book Prince of Thorns and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.