Edge of Pathos (The Conjurors Series Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

living there for the past few
weeks as the Fractus had stepped up their attacks on Silva.
    Valerie knew the
instant they had been spotted. The branch of a tree moved slightly, and she saw
a little rainbow on the ground as light reflected through something almost
transparent. One of the invisible Fractus was the lookout.
    The leaves rustled
in the breeze, and adrenaline pumped through her system. She guessed that the
wind carried the news of who was entering camp.
    Her suspicion was
confirmed when three Fractus appeared in front of them, as if they had stepped
out of thin air. Which they might have, Valerie realized, thinking about
Reaper’s ability to bend space.
    The Fractus could be
from Elsinore—they were tall men dressed in elaborate armor that was as
fashionable as it was functional. They all carried swords that looked as if
they had been dipped in black ink.
    Henry’s fear swept
through her before he closed his mind. She stared at him, confused. They knew
that they would have to fight before their message to Reaper became clear. Why
was Henry so frightened?
    “We’ve faced these
weapons before,” she reminded him. “They won’t be able to steal our powers.
Pathos and your machete were both created by the People of the Woods and imbued
with light by Cyrus. They’re stronger than what the Fractus are wielding.”
    “That won’t be
enough this time,” he replied, his face grim.
    Before Valerie could
ask him what he meant, the men attacked. She let her magic rush through her,
and Pathos was a blaze of light, flashing as she parried with two of the
Fractus who attacked her at the same time.
    “She really isn’t
bad,” one of the Fractus said with a sneer, though Valerie could see that he
was breathing hard.
    Next to her, Henry
blasted the third man with his telekinetic power, sending him skidding across the
ground.
    In a move so fast
that her attacker didn’t notice, Valerie cut his armor in six key places, and
it dropped to the ground with a clatter, leaving him clad only in his
underwear.
    “My next attack
won’t leave you unscathed,” Valerie said with a smirk of her own.
    She ducked as her
second attacker swung wildly at her head. He became unbalanced by his move, and
she expertly knocked him in the head with her elbow without even bothering to
watch.
    She kept eye contact
with the first man the entire time.
    “Tell Reaper we’re
here to discuss his truce.”
    Valerie was so
confident of her victory that she didn’t see that the man was smiling, in spite
of looking ridiculous. She stumbled backward when his eyes turned black. She
was so transfixed that she didn’t notice at first that Pathos was no longer
glowing. In fact, the area around them seemed dimmer, as though it was quickly
becoming twilight.
    “What’s happening?”
she asked, sparing a glance at Henry.
    It was a mistake.
Henry was grappling with his attacker on the ground, and Valerie could see that
he was gritting his teeth to avoid making a sound of pain. His attacker’s eyes
were black, too.
    Her distraction cost
her, as her attacker knocked Pathos, which was now devoid of light and
ice-cold, out of her hands. The black weapon of her attacker sucked away her
powers. She fought the urge to drop to her knees.
    It was so dark now
that it was difficult to see. She tried to summon the energy to leap at her
attacker before her powers vanished entirely.
    “Truce! Tell Reaper truce!”
she called desperately, considering for the first time that this might be a
fight she and Henry wouldn’t win.
    Beside her, Henry
managed to head-butt his attacker, and she swept her foot in front of her. Her
attacker stumbled, but didn’t fall. He must already be channeling her magic,
which had been absorbed by his black weapon.
    “Stand down,” Reaper
said, and the two Fractus who were still conscious dropped their weapons and
stepped back, their eyes returning to normal. Abruptly, light returned to the
woods.
    “Good puppies,”
Valerie said,