The Shadow Mark by Mason Thomas

Author:Mason Thomas [Thomas, Mason]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63533-310-7
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-02-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

AURAQ KNEW he didn’t have much time to act. Kanar’s agents were already en route to the workshop—certainly some were already nearby, either awaiting orders or watching for him so they could trail him to Kane’s location. But Auraq wasn’t about to be so accommodating.

The strange blue orb certainly answered a few questions. It explained how Kanar was able to mobilize and coordinate his assassins so quickly. Surely, he had a number of those devices about and he was already getting out the word that Auraq had seen through the ploy.

He tried to breathe calm back into his body. The threat had never been real. He couldn’t imagine he’d ever betray Kane—the idea of abandoning a sworn oath was anathema to him, and his father was never in danger.

His father was safe.

Every muscle of his body seemed drenched with relief, which oddly made his headache pulse even worse. Little dots floated about at the edge of his vision. He wanted to sit down, take a minute to gather himself, but he didn’t have a moment to spare. He moved around the pieces of his father’s message to make sure—however unlikely—someone else didn’t decode it. Perhaps there was some type of magecraft for that too.

He had the advantage of knowing the streets better than most, having spent the days of his youth haunting them, either seeking out mischief or hiding from authorities when he found it. He intended to use that advantage. He pulled his father’s ladder from pegs in the wall and carried it into the back storeroom; the same room that held his father’s cot, the one Kane had likely spent the night on. He was careful not to let the ends of the ladder drag on the floor or leave any other telltale signs. He positioned the ladder underneath the hatch his father had installed in the ceiling. It was small and nondescript, practically invisible to anyone who didn’t know it was there.

Atop the ladder, he used the heel of his hand to punch up at the four corners of the hatch to knock it loose. It popped open, and he slid it aside.

One more task before he escaped.

He climbed back down and headed to the back of the shop. With a grunt, he lifted out the heavy horizontal beam that barred the rear doors and dropped it to the floor. He then gently pushed on one of the doors until it was slightly ajar—hinting that this was his route of escape and the agents watching the shop had somehow missed it.

He made one last quick scan of the shop. Satisfied, he zipped up the ladder again and pulled himself up through the hole. Then he hauled the ladder up too, returned the hatch over the hole, and placed the heavy ladder over the top of it. Even if they found the hatch, they’d have a hard time getting up through it.

The attic was thick with hot, musty air that made it hard to breathe. The roof over him was higher at one end and had a single slant from one sidewall to the other.

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.