Chronicles of the Invaders 1: Conquest Read Online Free PDF Page A

day.
    “Hurry up,” Paul said to Steven. “We’re going to be late.”
    Steven obediently sped up. Although there were sometimes tensions between them, as there were between any brothers, Steven adored Paul. Paul was a fighter.
    Paul had killed.
    As the restaurant came in sight, Paul halted.
    “Remember,” he told Steven. “Stay quiet. Don’t say anything unless someone asks you a question first. If I tell you to leave, do it, okay? No objections.”
    “You won’t even know I’m there, honest,” said Steven.
    Paul had been told to bring Steven along. He would not have done so otherwise. He knew what was going to happen. It was time: the Resistance had decided that his little brother was ready for major operations.
    •••
    Danny’s Diner was a typical greasy spoon. It offered breakfast all day, battered and fried anything from sausages to Mars bars, and served French fries with everything. It was even possible to order a plate of double fries, which was basically fries with a side of fries. Danny’s Diner was the unhealthiest restaurant in Scotland, and it was sometimes whispered that it had killed more Scots than the Illyri. Nobody looked at the boys as they entered. Everyone in there was a friend of the Resistance, but they still knew that it was best to mind their own business. Only Danny, who was working behind the counter, gave them the smallest of nods.
    Two young women, both of them only a few years older than Paul, sat in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Their names were Jean and Nessa Trask, and their father was one of the most important Resistance leaders in Scotland. They had cups of grayish tea before them, and the remains of some toast, with the mandatory fries now shriveled and cold.
    “I thought your dad might be here,” said Paul as he slid onto the plastic bench. “He’s busy,” said Nessa, the older of the girls, “but we’ll pay for your tea anyway.” She signaled to the waitress, who scurried off looking nervous, and with good reason. Nessa was bigger and broader than her sister. Some of the boys called her Nessy, after the Loch Ness monster, but only behind her back; she’d broken the nose of the last person she’d heard calling her by that nickname. Her sister, Jean, was prettier, and not as smart, but she was much more dangerous. She had a way with knives.
    “Lot of activity last night,” said Paul, referring discreetly to Birdoswald.
    “We were as surprised as you were,” said Nessa.
    “It wasn’t us?”
    Nessa shook her head. “The fireworks in the city were ours, but not the business at the fort. Dad’s looking into it. That’s why he’s not here.”
    Their tea arrived, and the older teenagers watched in cool amusement as Steven took a tentative sip. It was horrible, as always. The boy immediately poured several packets of sugar into his cup and stirred it vigorously before trying again. The sweetness helped, but not much.
    “So,” said Nessa, still looking at Steven, who tried not to appear uncomfortable under her scrutiny, “this is the new little soldier.”
    Jean snickered. She picked up her butter knife and began playing with it, balancing it on the tip of her finger. It was a neat trick.
    “He’s been on jobs before,” said Paul, springing instinctively to his brother’s defense.
    “He’s stood on street corners watching for patrols,” said Nessa. “My dog could do that.”
    “Then why isn’t your dog here?” said Steven, which surprised Nessa, even as Paul raised his eyes to heaven and gave his brother a sharp kick on the right ankle.
    “He even barks like my dog,” said Nessa, but she seemed amused by Steven. “My dad says he’s ready. What do you say?”
    She leveled her gaze at Paul. Jean might have been prettier, but Nessa had something special, a kind of charisma. Paul might even have found her attractive if she hadn’t been so terrifying.
    “He’s ready,” said Paul, after only a moment’s hesitation. Beside him, Steven’s