Brazen (The Gilded Series Book 3) by Christina Farley

Author:Christina Farley [Farley, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyscape
Published: 2015-09-28T23:00:00+00:00

I stand perfectly still, holding my bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. The orb has fallen out of my shirt and emanates a faint glow. No one moves. They eye me, poised in a crouch as if waiting for someone to order them to strike.

The circular room I’ve just entered is cavernous, with an arched bronze ceiling coming to a point at a red stained-glass window in its center. The walls are painted with Chinese scenes illuminated by floor lights that run around the edge of the room. It’s hard to tell in the dim light, but I guess there must be at least a hundred men and women sitting on silk cushions around the low horseshoe table that spans the room.

At the front of the horseshoe rises a stage, where a man stands. He’s wearing a traditional Chinese robe, and his long white beard falls down his chest to a point at the bottom. He’s got bushy eyebrows, and as I study him, his eyebrows rise.

I’ve found the Grand Council.

Still no one speaks. They just stare at me, and I get the prickling sensation that I’m not wanted. I expect one of the ninjas to stop me when I stride toward the stage, but they don’t. Instead they scamper after me as if they’ve suddenly become my escorts. I keep my eyes focused and chin up, refusing to let them hear my heart pounding against my rib cage.

“How dare you enter our sacred sanctuary?” the robed man asks.

“I’ve come to seek help,” I say as I place my foot on the first step.

A man at the end of the horseshoe grabs my arm. “Don’t take another step,” he says in a low growl. From his fair complexion and thick lilting accent, I’m guessing he’s from a Nordic country. He frowns down at me as if he’d like to rip me in half.

The others slowly begin to rise. I take in all their faces, their lined lips, their guarded eyes. There are no friends here. Then my eyes fall on Marc, flanked by Jung. They’re both wearing their modern hanboks, Korean tunics and linen pants. Their swords hang by their sides, and a black band with Shinshi written in Korean is wrapped around their foreheads.

Marc nods, imperceptibly. It’s enough. I shrug the Nordic man’s hand away and start to step onto the stage. He withdraws a knife from his side and moves to stab me. I spin to fully face him and lift my palm as if to block him.

“Stop!” I command. Light shoots out of the orb, radiating on the hand holding the knife. He cries out, screaming out words in his own language, and his knife clatters to the ground.

I whirl around, trying to figure a way to control the situation. I just need a few moments for them to hear me out so they can understand that we need to work together.

Ninjas leap out of the shadows, screaming as they attack me. I’ve never fought Guardians from Japan, nor do I wish to.

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