Eve of Destruction Read Online Free PDF Page A

am a mage.”
    “Indeed,” Maltus said. “On that note, I was surprised when your mother mentioned that you were specializing in sorcery. I’d assumed you would follow in her footsteps.”
    “She only decided to do that when some professor told her it was a bad idea,” Zach muttered. “You know how it works with her.”
    Eve shot him an annoyed glare. “They all kept trying to push me into the soft stuff like I couldn’t handle it. I’m smart enough to figure it out.”
    “Modest, too,” Zach chided.
     Maltus chuckled, and the deep lines in his face seemed to relax. “I never said I doubted your ability. You’re a DeShane—if you put your mind to it, you can figure out anything. You just might have to kick and scream a little along the way.”
    Eve smiled. “I’ve already started on my thesis. You should read it sometime.”
    His eyes sparkled. “Well, if I can’t go with you, perhaps this will help.”
    He opened the bag he had brought with him and slid out a book. Judging by the intricate glyphs and formula on the cover, it was obviously a spellbook.
    “A colleague of mine in Selerius gave it to me,” Maltus went on. “If you’ve already started down the path to this knowledge, then I hope this will steer you in the right direction.”
    Eve took the tome from him, mouth agape. “Can’t you get in trouble for this?”
    “Oh, yes,” he said soberly. “I could lose my position. It’s quite illegal to teach someone who hasn’t taken the Oath Rituals yet. The Enclave might even choose to lock me up for it.”
    “I…” Eve shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”
    “You don’t need to say anything—just promise me you’ll be careful. You may have to defend yourself, and there are many ways to do that that you won’t learn in school. I hope Zachary can teach you some mundane techniques when he has a moment.”
    “I’ll try not to be insulted by that,” Zach muttered.
    “Well, thank you anyway,” Eve said, thumbing through the small book, her eyes still wide. “You know, you’re welcome to stay in the house while you’re in Lushden. I can give you the keys, if you want.”
    Maltus smiled and shook his head. “No, I have other friends to see, and I’d like to spend some time at the cemetery while I’m here. There are some things I need to tell your mother.”
    Eve closed the book, and the fleeting smile vanished. “Me too.”
    Maltus stood and gave her a hug. “Send me a wire the moment you find something.”
    “I will,” she promised. “And thank you.”
     
    ***
     
    Glenn Maltus turned the corner outside the diner and released the breath he’d been holding since he’d walked in the door. It was much harder than he’d imagined to lie to the girl’s—the young woman’s—face. He’d known her since she was an infant, after all. She was a spitting image of her mother, and behind those amber DeShane eyes he could see the same fiery temperament that had gotten Tara into trouble on so many occassions. But it had also given her strength, and it gave him faith that he’d made the right decision. This deception was for Eve’s benefit.
    Or so he told himself.
    No matter how much the calculating part of his mind insisted otherwise, he couldn’t look into the face of that young woman and see the end of the Fane—the end of the world. Instead he selfishly saw a path not taken with her mother and a future that might have been if things had worked out differently.
    “She has the book,” Maltus murmured. “Now it’s time to watch and see what happens.”
    He stopped at the corner of an alleyway, and a shadow detached itself from a nearby wall. Tall and lanky, the dark figure was draped in a body-length black coat and hood.
    “Such a risk,” she replied, her voice as coarse and accented as ever. “Are you sure it’s one you want to take?”
    Maltus paused and bit his lip. “Tara has been wrong before.”
    “Not often.”
    “No,” he admitted. “But I’m not