Kin Strife: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Magelands Dominion Book 5) by Christopher Mitchell

Author:Christopher Mitchell [Mitchell, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brigdomin Books Ltd
Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

THIEF UNSEEN

Sat Orma, Inopei – 8th Lexinch 1589

There was an island, and upon it sat a castle with a pair of keeps. On the roof of the larger of the two keeps, the Demon Witch was standing next to a tall, muscular man. It was early evening, and they were both gazing out at the sunset over the still waters of the lake. The mountains beyond were silhouetted in the dying light, and two stars were visible in the cloud-streaked sky.

Lyla frowned. She knew she was dreaming again. She considered stepping out of the dream, in order to send her sight over the sprawling city of Sat Orma, but her curiosity had been piqued. The man standing on the roof next to her seemed familiar, then she realised that he was the same man she had seen in the wedding dream. He had been protecting the Demon Witch with a shield, while Sable had been cutting down gods with her black-bladed sword.

‘You don’t have to go,’ the Demon Witch said.

The man kept his gaze on the horizon. ‘I swore an oath to the Empress. I don’t have the luxury of selecting which operations Her Majesty assigns to me.’

‘The entire operation is a mistake. It will only make things worse.’

‘I don’t agree. Right now, the Empress is virtually defenceless. We have a handful of soldiers defending the island, while our opponents have an entire army they could use against us, at any time of their choosing. Bringing the soldiers here from Dragon Eyre will deter any attack.’

‘Or it will inflame the situation. We haven’t seen a single enemy soldier since the coronation, but they will have to react if we transport tens of thousands of mercenaries to this world.’

‘Those mercenaries are my former colleagues,’ he said. ‘We will not only be helping Dragon Eyre by bringing them here, we will be helping them, too.’

The Demon Witch frowned. ‘I have already stated my willingness to help the soldiers. If the Empress had asked me to transport them to their homes on Implacatus, then I would have done it. But that isn’t what she wants. She wants them here, to form her own personal army. By the end of this operation, there will be two huge bodies of soldiers on this world, and a war between them is inevitable. How many will die?’

‘But if we don’t bring the soldiers here, Her Majesty’s reign will be over before it has even begun. A few enemy battalions could subdue this island.’

‘I wouldn’t allow that to happen – you know that. I will defend the island.’

‘The Empress’s cause would still be doomed,’ he said. ‘Her Majesty would control a tiny fraction of this world; the rest would be beyond her authority. If you can think of another way to secure the Empire, then I would be happy to listen.’

‘But you have only just been released from your contract to serve Salve City,’ she said. ‘I thought... I thought you resigned your commission because you wanted to be with me and the twins.

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