Hogan, Mitchell - Sorcery Ascendant Sequence 03 - A Shattered Empire by Hogan Mitchell

Author:Hogan, Mitchell [Hogan, Mitchell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-07-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 37

Several times Caldan glanced at Felice as they walked back toward Gazija’s ships. The emperor had questioned them all, and let them go. Devenish was nowhere to be seen; presumably he’d scurried back to the warlocks as soon as he could. Same with Quiss. By Felice’s side strode Izak, who seemed to stand straighter than he remembered. If Caldan had to guess, he’d been through harsh trials—worse than an encounter with the emperor—and come out the stronger for it.

“Come,” Felice said, “I’ll find us somewhere to stay. If you—”

“No,” Caldan said. “I need to talk to Quiss. And so do you. There are things you need to know. We can’t face this separately, or lacking information. It’s for the best if I take you to see him.”

Felice raised her eyebrows and gave him a calculating look. “Very well,” she said after a pause. “I have questions for him anyway.”

Caldan directed them down a busy street that led in the direction of the wharves. “And I’m sure he’ll want to hear your story as well. How you came to appear right when Kelhak disappeared, for example.”

“As long as there’s something to drink,” Izak said. “I’ve . . . we’ve been through a lot. I don’t know about Felice, but I need something to settle my nerves. I never thought I’d get to meet the emperor.”

Me neither.

And if Caldan never met the emperor again, he’d be happy. But he felt the chance of that was unlikely. There was too much at stake, and the emperor had to be central to any plan to defeat Kelhak.

Whether he’s too afraid of the God-Emperor or not.

Felice remained silent as they wove their way through the crowded streets, and Caldan was content to think his own thoughts. It was only when they passed through a portcullised opening and onto the wharves outside the city that she spoke.

“The emperor has tasked me with gathering as much information as I can, so we can sift through it and assist with his plan to fight Kelhak.”

Her words were slow and deliberate.

Caldan considered what she’d said for a moment. Despite her intelligence, Felice was just as blind to the emperor’s true nature as others were. “From Quiss, and I assume the warlocks and Quivers. Along with the Touched. I don’t envy you your task, Felice. There are too many secrets they’ll never divulge.”

“Well,” Felice said, “it’s my job to ferret out secrets and information. And I’m pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.”

Ahead of them stood Quiss at the bottom of a gangplank. Felice stopped talking while Izak moved closer, as if he wanted to protect her.

“I felt you coming,” said Quiss as they approached.

“You have some explaining to do,” Felice said without preamble.

Quiss nodded. “As do you. We’ve lost our leader today, and I’ve also lost a friend. He kept his plans from me, for some reason. Perhaps he wasn’t sure if I was a traitor or not. Whatever the reason, you know what happened in Anasoma.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.