Blood of the Watcher (The Dark Ability Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

marks, but those of others, though he couldn’t be sure how many others without getting much closer. Small scrub plants cropped up near the edge of the trees, but otherwise, nothing but the sjihn trees grew here.
    He moved slowly along the branch, looking for any sign of whoever had thrown the knife, staring at the ground. Probably Haern, but a nagging worry made him wonder if he was wrong. Nothing moved that would explain what might be here.
    Rsiran reached the trunk of the tree and leaned back against it. Somehow, he was missing something. He shouldn’t remain here, not by himself, but what if it was only Haern? How would he explain that he’d Slid away at the first sign of an attack, especially after what Haern had been trying to demonstrate to him?
    No, he needed to find him.
    He looked deeper into the forest, and away from the clearing, toward another large tree with a similarly large branch. Focusing on it, he pulled himself in the Slide, again choosing this technique rather than stepping into the Slide. When he emerged this time, the darkness of the canopy hung overhead, filtering out more of the light and making it harder to see anything.
    Rsiran studied the ground. Movement should be easier to find. He scanned from tree to tree, but saw nothing that indicated anything—or anyone—moving.
    Maybe he’d been mistaken.
    Had Haern climbed into the branches to hide? He wouldn’t put it past him, but if Haern had climbed into the trees, Rsiran would be better equipped to chase after him. He didn’t have to crawl along the rough sjihn bark, or try to scale the massive trunks.
    With his attention turned to the trees, he almost missed the sudden flare of lorcith again.
    Rsiran frowned. The sense was back near the hut.
    He fixed his attention on the tree that he’d just come from, and pulled himself back to the branch.
    When he emerged, he saw movement below him. The door to the hut hung open—likely forced open, from the way that it hung half-splintered on the frame. A solitary figure stalked around the edge of the hut.
    At first, Rsiran thought that it was Haern and nearly Slid down to surprise him, but he hesitated. There was something different about the posture and the way the person flickered as he moved that made him hesitate.
    Flicker.
    Not Haern.
    Rsiran’s heart started pounding so loud that he feared someone who might be a Listener could hear. He slammed heartstone-infused barriers into place in his mind, suddenly concerned. And he understood why he hadn’t detected lorcith before now: Whoever was down in the clearing below could Slide.

Chapter 4
    R siran should return to the safety of the smithy, or at least to the outskirts of the forest and find Haern, but first, he wanted to find out who had come to the hut, and why.
    Whoever it was must have detected him Sliding and known he was here. The attack as soon as he Slid outside the hut had told him that. But why kick down the door if whoever this was could Slide as well?
    Another figure emerged from the hut. A tall woman with dark eyes and deep black hair slipped out from the door. She held a short sword in hand and walked in a casual way that reminded him of the Neelish sellsword who had nearly killed Brusus. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she surveyed the clearing, pausing to turn to the remains of the door where the lorcith knife had pierced the wood.
    She traced her fingers along the wood for a moment before craning her neck so that she could see behind her. Rsiran clung to the tree, ready to Slide if needed, as she surveyed the forest.
    “What is it?” The other figure appeared from the side of the hut and pushed a hood back revealing a youthful face with short brown hair and a thin beard to match.
    “Your knife,” the woman said.
    Their voices carried to him, but barely. Rsiran strained to hear, wanting to know if these were Forgotten or Venass or some new enemy. He wasn’t sure that he was prepared to have one more group that might