Chains of Mist Read Online Free PDF

challenge me, he will know when and where. And I’ll be waiting.’”
    As Makree spoke, Drogni kept his gaze fixed on the Vizier, studying the big man’s reaction. The Vizier’s eyes were wide, his jaw set, his breathing heavy. Drogni thought he saw something in the big man’s expression, an emotion that he had never before seen the Vizier exhibit, one he had doubted that the man was even capable of.
    Fear .
    Well, this is interesting. Whoever or whatever this Druid was, he was obviously a figure of incredible power. But is he on our side? Rokan Sellas obviously considered the Druid an enemy, but that didn’t automatically make him Drogni’s ally. At the very least, he’s a wild card, a free agent who might help us but can’t be counted on to do so. At worst, he’s another enemy who could turn out to be more terrible even than Rokan Sellas.
    That last thought was sobering. Drogni had seen what Rokan Sellas was capable of; the thought that there might exist another individual with even greater power sent chills running through him. But hiding from that possibility would not help him; if it turned out to be true—and if, gods forbid, the Druid turned out to be hostile—then Drogni would need to be prepared to face it. But we’ll get to that when its turn comes. Focus on killing one impossibly-powerful enemy before worrying about a second one.
    The Vizier blinked, and his face settled once again into that expressionless mask. He straightened with a sweep of his shimmering robes. “Rokan Sellas was mistaken,” he said, the words crashing down like thunder. “There are no more Druids. That order died out millennia ago.”
    Drogni made a connection to something the Vizier had said the last time they had gathered here. “This has something to do with that religious group, doesn’t it? The—” Drogni reached back into his memory, searching for the name the Vizier had used “— Antiquaari? ”
    “Correct, Commander,” replied the Vizier. “Within the Antiquaari , there were three sects. The Alar Sae’las , whom we might call Sorcerers. The Alar Mox , or Necromancers. And the Alar Duulan , or Druids. Three sects, each with their own unique power.” The Vizier gave a wave of his hand. “However, as I mentioned before, the Antiquaari were destroyed in the Icelord Wars nearly ten thousand years ago. The Alar Duulan are no more, Commander.”
    The deep voice was coldly confident, almost to the point where it sounded as if the Vizier were daring anyone to defy him. But Drogni was not convinced. He found it hard to believe that Rokan Sellas would be wrong about this. No…the Druid is out there, somewhere. The question is: when will he choose to reveal himself? And whose side will he be on?
    “Rokan Sellas called Justin something,” said Forgera suddenly. “Said he was ‘the Heir.’”
    The Vizier pondered that for a moment, then shrugged. “That means nothing to me.”
    Drogni heard the truth in the big man’s words. Forgera, however, did not let the matter drop so easily. “If you’re not the Druid, then how will you be able to find them?”
    “I have my methods, Ambassador,” said the Vizier. “Let that be enough for you.”
    The Vizier’s voice had a dangerous undertone to it, and Drogni sensed that they had reached an area where the big man would say no more, no matter how much he were pressed. Forgera had obviously come to a similar conclusion, for he said nothing. Makree watched the Vizier with that keen gaze, his expression impassive. The King, meanwhile, seemed to be barely paying attention, showing no reaction to anything that was being said.
    Drogni took a moment to evaluate the situation. What he found did not exactly fill him with confidence. Rokan Sellas was still as powerful as he had been on Hilthak—possibly more so—and Drogni still had no idea how to defeat him. His only weapon had already proven to be hopelessly inadequate. Their only source of information was the Vizier, a man