Army of the Goddess: A Bona Dea Novel (Stormflies Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

eyeballed the crowd to ascertain if enough assistance had been offered. Three gentlemen proceeded to open the rear-most storage compartment to retrieve the spare tire and appropriate tools. Considering himself relieved of any obligation, Holton paced southward, hands in the pockets of his black trousers, in order to stretch his legs and back.
    The day's weather began with rain when they left Range End. He could still see the cumulonimbus clouds to the south. Cloud lightning danced along the iron gray shadow of rain. Holton fell asleep before the bus escaped the showers. No evidence of precipitation colored the terrain in this area. The tailing edge of the clouds, to the west, boasted a brilliant, lacey border, as the two suns evaporated the condensation a fraction at a time, leaving irregular gaps in the cloud cover. Perched at a forty-five degree angle in the eastern sky, the suns offered a modicum of warmth to the bus patrons by cast beams of light through the windows in the clouds.
    Turning back north to continue pacing, Holton noticed a dark shape moving among the rocks about a half-kilom to the west of the road. At first, he couldn't place the shape precisely. It could have been a prairie cat skulking or a crown goat balancing. At this distance, the blur concealed its true nature. As it moved in this direction, the shape coalesced into that of a human being dressed in a dark robe that fluttered like a flag in the wind. A second shape followed.
    At first, he assumed they were coming to the rescue, locals who might come bearing food and water for the weary. He realized when they made a final approach that he should have been more alarmed by the unlikeliness that anyone capable or willing to assist them would be residing in this no man's land between Undun City and Range End.
    By the time it registered in his brain that the two men approaching were of Prophet origin, known to him only by the large symbol stitched in gold upon the robes, the men were overtaking the other passengers. Bodies collapsed unconscious upon the ground. Holton didn't see either of the Prophets touch a single person, yet every one of the travelers succumbed to some sort of attack. The woman screamed in terror, turning her body away to protect her baby. Her cry was replaced by the shriek of the infant as the mother slipped silently to the earth.
    “Hey!” Holton protested loudly, for he was a good twenty meters down the road. The attackers hadn't noticed him until then.
    And for his attempt at heroism, he was rewarded with sharp blackness.
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    13 Unimont, 308 (Hundsday)
    “Head-of-Council, we have an alarming situation,” Ty Narone announced upon entry into the senior councilor's office.
    Antonette Lelle looked up at the Commander of the Guard with a serious expression reflecting in her gray eyes. She expected him, of course, for she could not pretend she didn't sense his anxiety five minutes before he appeared in her doorway. When something concerned the commander, he focused upon it completely.
    “What is it?” she questioned, placing her pen carefully upon the desk beside her working notes and folding her fingers together.
    Acquiring a formal stance of feet shoulder length apart and hands clasped behind his back, Ty reported, “A bus due in from Range End at ten this morning is missing. The bus never arrived in Undun City and scouts report no sign of the vehicle, the two drivers, or the twenty-five passengers. They are now seven hours overdue.”
    Brow furrowed, Lelle restated the words silently in her head to confirm her understanding. “An entire bus-load of travelers is gone? That doesn't seem possible. That's never happened before.”
    “That is correct, on both accounts. Our first and most logical conclusion is that the Stormflies are involved.”
    “I will not contradict your assumption. Have we formed a search party in their last known location?” she questioned, suspecting the answer would be yes. She preferred to ask questions