Can't Look Back (War for Dominance Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

eyes lit on Solim sitting behind a desk to his right, and he stomped over. Human, the innkeeper was almost three feet taller than Solim, and he thought that the height difference would intimidate Solim.
    It didn’t.
    “I am here for my reward,” he said without indulging in any of the normal niceties of conversation.
    “You are?” asked Solim, raising an eyebrow. “And what reward would that be?”
    “The reward that you promised two years ago for letting you know if someone appeared at the inn,” replied the innkeeper. “You haven’t forgotten it, have you?”
    “No, I haven’t forgotten. Where is this person now?”
    “How should I know?” asked the innkeeper. “He scared one of my guests and then ran off into the woods. I think he was crazy. He was running around half-dressed, and, as he went out the door he yelled something in a weird language I’ve never heard before. I’ve been an innkeeper for over 20 years now, and I’ve heard every language on the continent of Tasidar; this wasn’t like any of them.”
    “I told you that you would get the reward if you found out where he went before you came here,” said Solim. “You failed me. Can you at least tell me what he looked like?”
    The tone of Solim’s voice was beginning to scare the innkeeper, who was having second thoughts about coming to see the halfling by himself. Based on some of his past dealings, the innkeeper knew that Solim made a large amount of money in the black market...probably enough to afford a swordsman or two. He must have at least one of them somewhere out of sight, the innkeeper decided, which would explain why he wasn’t able to intimidate the beastmaster. He decided that a little more discretion was probably in order if he wanted to leave with his reward...and possibly his life. “He was short and thin,” said the innkeeper, in a more helpful tone of voice. “He was on the scrawny side; he didn’t look like he had ever done any hard work or manual labor in his life. He might have been some sort of scribe. Certainly, he didn’t get outdoors much; his skin was very pale.”
    “Is that all you remember about him?” asked Solim, his voice taking on a more distracted tone.
    “One last thing,” said the innkeeper, thinking back to when the young man had run into him. “He had some sort of things that sat on his nose. They made his eyes look big.” He shrugged, not caring. He realized that Solim was distracted and decided on a bolder path. “I’ve told you all I know,” he added. “Now, are you going to give me my reward, or am I going to have to take it from you?”
    “Oh, you’re going to get your reward,” agreed Solim.
    As the innkeeper watched, Solim’s eyes went blank. Annoyed at the delay in getting paid, he didn’t hear the bear rise from where it had been lying behind him. Despite its bulk, it made very little noise as it crossed the room.
    “When am I going to get it?” asked the innkeeper.
    “Right now,” said the bear. The innkeeper turned around just in time to see the bear’s paw that slapped him to the ground.
    Later, when the bear had finished feeding and had gone back to lie down again, Solim’s eyes refocused. He looked down at what was left. “They’re called glasses,” he said.
     
     

Chapter 7
     
     
    “I’m unarmed!” John cried. “I surrender!” John had hoped his troubles would be over when he reached a town, but he was coming to realize just how badly he had misjudged his situation. Some of the people he scared on the road had obviously run ahead to the small town he was approaching; he was met by five men with spears as he reached the town’s outskirts. The men appeared to be dressed in some sort of uniform, as all were wearing leather armor colored in red and yellow. As the men surrounded him, John saw that their spear points were sharp and glistened in the mid-morning sun. He could tell their spears were weapons of war.
    “Umtp glumgeth!” shouted a new voice.
    John