Abuse of Power (Rise of the Mages 1) Read Online Free PDF

out of here!” Her words came as a hoarse whisper.
    Her rain-soaked dress clung to her in all the right places. He broke his gaze away when he realized he was staring. “What?”
    She grasped the bars with a death grip. “Leave me be. Go!”
    Huh? The instinct for self-preservation alone should have made her clamor for him to rescue her. Maybe her every inclination was to do the exact opposite of what she should. That certainly explained why him being the niskmo had been a turnoff to her.
    “My lady, these men will kill you.”
    “This is none of your concern.” Her voice cracked.
    “All this is my concern! Now, stand back while I get you out of here.”
    Moisture welled at the corners of her eyes and let loose to merge with rivulets streaming down her face. “You’re just like every other noble I’ve met—doing whatever you want regardless of the law. Get away from me!”
    Auggie stepped back. Did she mean that? But how could she? And if she did, should he listen?
    No. He couldn’t just leave her to die, regardless of what she wanted.
    Enough talking and thinking and wavering. He drew his sword.
    A padlock held the door closed. He stuck his blade through the rusty shackle and bore down on the hilt. A screech cut through the pouring rain, and the hasp shattered.
    Loud. Too loud. Even the kind of louts employed as guardsmen wouldn’t sleep through that.
    Auggie clanged the door open. “Let’s go!”
    She backed all the way against the opposite bars.
    “We don’t have time for this.” He let out a frustrated roar before ducking inside the cell and grabbing her. She offered only token resistance as he tucked her under his arm.
    A groggy man emerged from the nearest tent. Benj rapped him on the head with the hilt of his sword. More tent flaps opened.
    “Go!” Auggie yelled.
    Benj fled down the road toward the horses. Auggie followed carrying Alaina like a sack of potatoes.
    He glanced back. A couple of the guardsmen staggered about, clearly confused. Three others ran toward the horses. Two more raced after Auggie.
    Benj darted into the woods and mounted. Auggie vaulted onto his horse and pulled Alaina up behind him. They made directly for the road.
    Lightning flashed, and Auggie looked toward the camp. The two pursuers on foot were too far away to be any concern. The rest, though … “Five riders a hundred yards back.”
    “The fort?”
    Auggie nodded as they galloped.
    Water gave the wind a harsh bite, and Alaina plastered herself to his back. A raging storm, death tracking him, and a pretty girl’s embrace—how could life get any better?
    She trembled, the quivering of her body evident even through the thickness of his cloak. Poor thing must be terrified.
    An icy blast hit him, and he shivered.
    Idiot! If he was cold, she must be freezing wearing just that thin dress—that delightfully thin dress.
    Auggie shook off the mental image and nudged her away from him long enough to doff his cloak and hand it to her. But maybe he shouldn’t have. Given her inclination to do the exact opposite of the thing she should, he half expected her to throw the garment onto the muddy road in disgust.
    Instead, a flurry of movement greeted the gift as she secured the heavy material to herself before latching once more to his back. She must have really been cold.
    Auggie glanced back again. Lightning flashed and revealed the men chasing them. They drew closer.
    The weight of the extra rider combined with Auggie’s bulk slowed his mount, but at least the horse’s footing seemed stable despite the stream of water flowing beneath its feet. Thank the Holy One for his father’s diligence at devoting taxes to maintaining the roads!
    Unfortunately, Emar and the guardsmen experienced the same benefit. And they rode faster horses. Making it to the fort was going to be tight.
    Over the next several miles, the pursuit closed at a steady rate. A dirt path branched off ahead of Auggie to the left. Should they veer onto the muddy