Flight Into Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

reason to believe that one may have escaped the Drakhaon's purge.”
    “How can I believe another thing you ever tell me, my lord?” Rieuk rose unsteadily to his feet. “You made me the Arkhan's tool. You groomed me to serve him. You spun me lie after lie.” He drew closer to him. “I'm leaving Ondhessar.”
    “Sardion won't let you go. You know too much. If you were to sell his secrets to his enemies—”
    “I really don't care anymore.” At that moment, it felt as if the fast-melting ice crystals of Imri's body had chilled all feeling in Rieuk's heart.
    “He may even send one of us to destroy you.”
    Rieuk shrugged. “I'll take my chances.”
    “I won't be able to protect you if you break your bond.” Lord Estael's face looked suddenly drawn and old; the fierce mage fire in his eyes had dimmed. “But then, what does it matter now, anyway?” he said. Rieuk heard a bone-deep weariness in the magus's voice. “It's all over for us. The longer she is absent from the Rift, the weaker we become. Our Emissaries will fade first… and once they're gone, our powers will diminish too. Our time is over, Rieuk.”
    “Magister! Emissary Mordiern! Wait!”
    Rieuk turned, shading his vision against the harsh sun. The crimson dunes still reflected the fierce heat, even in the late afternoon, making the desert air shimmer with a bloodied haze. A man was coming toward him over the sands, his head and face protected by a loosely wrapped burnous. Below him, the strange excrescences of earth-colored rock, the Towers of the Ghaouls, wavered in the dry heat.
    “Where are you going?” As the man came nearer, Rieuk recognized the dark eyes burning accusingly above the folds of the black burnous. Oranir.
    “I haven't decided yet.” He turned away, knowing that he was lying.
    “You and Lord Estael quarreled. Didn't you?” Oranir had almost caught up with him, walking with the loose, swift stride of thoseaccustomed to desert life. On the ridge, Ondhessar loomed above them, the hated crimson flag of the Rosecoeurs fluttering from every watchtower, a constant reminder of the foreigners’ presence. “What happened?”
    “That's between me and Lord Estael.” Rieuk didn't want to pick over the bones of that painful encounter just yet.
    “You're leaving.” It was an accusation, not a question.
    Rieuk kept on walking.
    “Answer me! Don't I deserve an answer?”
    Rieuk stopped and turned to confront him. Oranir would not be satisfied with half-formed excuses. “Yes. I'm leaving. I can't stay here and you know why.”
    “Then take me with you.” He heard the breathless eagerness in Oranir's voice, and caught the echo of another passionate young man begging Imri Boldiszar to take him as his apprentice. He banished the memory from his mind; such strong emotions would only cloud his judgment.
    “If you come with me now, you throw away everything you've worked so hard for. You become an outcast. A wanted man.”
    “I want to go with you.” There was a stubborn note in Oranir's words that Rieuk had not heard before. “Besides, you're not fully healed yet. You need me.”
    Rieuk almost smiled. “So you have Lord Aqil's permission to accompany me?”
    Oranir shot him a sullen, defensive look.
    “And what of your vow to the Arkhan?” Oranir did not reply. Rieuk took a step closer to him. “You have such a promising career ahead of you, Oranir. Don't ruin your life for my sake.” He let his hand rest on Oranir's shoulder. “Forgive me. I should have told you I was leaving. You've taken such good care of me. Thank you.”
    Oranir struck his hand away. “I don't want thanks.” He backed away, feet slipping in the sand. “Why don't you understand? Why must you be so stubborn? Why can't you share your troubles?”
    Rieuk turned away with a regretful little shrug. “Too many years of working alone, I guess. Farewell, Oranir.” He slung his travel bag over his shoulder and set off again, climbing up the side of the ridge without