Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

but he later learned that it was because he was a fledgling mage known as a Latent. He told of the initial encounter with Sarah and her death at the hands of Clementine, and of the message she passed on to him, the message that turned out to be a trap all along, a master plan concocted by the renegade mage, Marek. He glossed over his training at the Magistry; no doubt this was nothing new to Sedaris. When he came to the point of his astral journey and his encounter with the mysterious tower he again faltered like he had with Caleb, as if he was betraying some inner secret in relaying this information. He skipped over it, moving straight on to the mission in the Nexus and their attempts to speak to Woden, the First mage. He finished with Silas’ betrayal and the assault on Skelwith. Cumulating with Cian’s sacrifice that allowed them to destroy the Spoke Stone and release the sentinels, destroying Marek and his forces.
    When it was all over, Seb sat back, exhausted from retelling the story. He’d gone over it many times in his head, but had never spoken it out in full since, well, ever. As he reflected upon it, a cloud formed in his mind. The whole thing, the whole damned thing had been orchestrated by Marek from the beginning. He had known the magi too well, knew the Magister too well. He acted upon her pride and her need to prove herself to the Families. Their elitism had cost them. Now she lay dead, as did so many others.
    And what was it all worth?
    ‘So it was you who destroyed the Spoke Stone?’ Sedaris said.
    ‘It was the only option. Destroy it, release the sentinels, or allow Marek to take over the Magistry with his sheol army.’
    Sedaris rose and rested an arm on the mantelpiece. His eyes stared into the flame.
    ‘Was it?’
    ‘What?’ Seb replied.
    Sedaris turned, the veneer of friendliness dropping slightly. His jaw was set, his eyes slightly narrowed.
    ‘The only option. Why not allow Marek to take over?’
    Was he hearing this correctly? Seb was aware he had suddenly sat forwards, a tenseness having crept into his arms. ‘Sorry? How was that an option?’
    ‘Let me put it this way, Seb. You let Marek win his battle. The Brotherhood is wiped out. The useless fraternity of magi that formed the Magistry are destroyed. Would that be such a great loss? Removing those remnants of an archaic age that have no relevance in today’s world?’
    He was standing without even realizing it. His clenched fists dug into his sides. King mage or whatever he was, no one would dismiss the sacrifice of Cian, Caleb and company in that way.
    ‘Loss? People died. Good people. All in the name of protecting this realm from the sheol. How can you dismiss it so easily?’
    Sedaris held up his hands, the serious look vanishing in an instant. ‘You misunderstand me, Seb. I do not relish the death of any mage. However, in order to go forwards our organization must adapt to the new world. The old ideals and oaths do not work in this era. Marek’s deception and the Magistry’s destruction are symptoms of these changes. And besides,’ Sedaris continued, stopping Seb before he could speak, ‘the world has changed significantly for our kind, even in the last few months.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    Sedaris sat back down.
    ‘There has been a variety of what’s best described as - occurrences - that have taken place.’
    ‘Occurrences?’
    ‘Random corruptions in the Weave. Glitches in reality. It started small at first. One man at a bar in Manchester swore blind that the bottle he was holding simply vanished out of his hands. He found it several feet away down the bar.’
    ‘Sounds like typical drunk behaviour to me.’
    ‘Then there was the occasion when an articulated lorry vanished in full view of several witnesses. It reappeared a few hundred yards down the road. But only the back end. It looked like something had sliced it in half. The front end, including the driver, was never found.’
    ‘What? That’s just