Ferran's Map Read Online Free PDF Page B

into
Lorianne’s gaze.
    “I’m not a defenseless victim!” she finally
exclaimed. “Crash saved my life countless times! I can’t believe
you would doubt him. Just keep out of my business, would you? I
know who my friends are.” Then she turned quickly on her heel and
stalked across the deck, thumping her feet as hard as she could,
wishing she could snap each plank in half. She was relieved when
her mother didn’t follow her.
     
    * * *
     
    Deep underground, Krait knelt on one knee
and bowed her head. Above her, the sound of the ongoing churn of
gears grated through heavy granite stone.
    Shadows filled the domed, circular chamber.
Summoned by Grandmaster Cerastes, she was transported under the
earth by a shadow portal, an instant doorway. She didn’t know where
this chamber resided, perhaps deep beneath the City of Crowns, or
perhaps buried under a mountain range hundreds of miles away. It
made no difference. Cerastes had called, and she had come.
    To her left knelt another assassin, clothed
similarly in plain black garb: a member of The Shade. She had yet
to meet him. Cerastes kept their order hidden from the world, even
from each other. Higher-up members rarely gathered together except
for training or to study the Dark God’s lore. She wasn’t sure why
Cerastes had summoned them both, but as she raised her head, she
thought she might know the answer.
    At the center of the chamber hovered an
eerie, nightmarish apparition. The creature made her skin crawl and
adrenaline rush through her blood. It seemed molded out of mist and
shadow. A tattered black cloak was wrapped around its evanescent
form, creating the illusion of a body. Beneath its hood, only empty
space stared out. It shifted back and forth, flickering in the air,
as though it might vanish completely.
    A circle of fine chalk on the ground kept
the creature contained. Krait didn’t know much about magic, but she
knew this was an ancient spell taken from The Book of the
Named . Her master had imprisoned this thing for his own dark
purposes.
    “Cobra tells me that the Viper is indeed
alive and has returned to the mainland,” Cerastes remarked from
behind them. He stood to their backs, though the chamber seemed
filled by his presence, as foreboding as the wraith. One long,
calloused hand rested on each of their shoulders, connecting the
two assassins. Krait forced herself not to shudder beneath his
touch. “For the past month, Cobra and his team of savants have kept watch over the minor tributaries branching from the
Crown’s Rush. He tells me the Viper and his ship have returned from
the ocean.”
    Her heart quickened at Cerastes’ words. She
first encountered the Viper almost six months ago in the port city
of Delbar. Before that, Cerastes’ infamous protegé was thought
dead. Their fight was fast and violent, and she had barely escaped
with her life.
    Then Krait felt a twinge of
uncertainty—almost jealousy. The Viper was her discovery. So
she dared to speak. “Master,” she murmured, “you assigned me to
watch for him at the gates of The City of Crowns—”
    “And Cobra found him first,” Cerastes cut
her off. “We can’t afford to wait and let him slip past our ranks
unnoticed. Winter solstice will soon be upon us. I must ensure that
the Viper arrives with the weapons on time. And if we can persuade
him to do so willingly…even better.”
    Krait ground her teeth. Her thoughts made it
imperative that she speak. “He has more than one weapon?”
    “Yes,” Cerastes said. “He carries the sacred
spearhead and sword hilt. He has already killed the bloodmage who
initiated the plague. A pity, but not detrimental to our plans.”
His voice turned deceptively soft. “Does that ease your mind?”
    Krait bowed lower and pressed her lips shut.
Clearly, she had overstepped her boundaries.
    “You and Cobra have been of great service
these past weeks,” Cerastes continued. “With The Book of the
Named , I’ve been able to harness the last of