Ghost in the Maze Read Online Free PDF Page B

her legs collapsed beneath her to absorb the shock of her landing. The Immortals were strong and fast, but their heavy armor slowed them, and by the time they got over the wall, Caina would be long gone. 
    She turned, intending to make her way toward the poorer quarters of Istarinmul, and froze.
    Blue lights glimmered in the darkened street. The lights resolved into the black-armored shapes of Immortals, the ghostly light shining from the depths of their black helmets. Anburj had indeed come prepared. In addition to the men he had sent into the palace, he had dispatched Immortals to seal off the street.
    But the trap had not closed yet. 
    One route was still open to Caina.
    She turned and sprinted towards the Alchemists’ Quarter as the Immortals shouted and pursued. 
    The College itself dominated the Alchemists’ Quarter, a massive palace that made Vaysaal’s home look like a shepherd’s hut. Its domed towers thrust proud and tall against the stars of the night sky, and crystals gleamed along the College’s walls, lit by sorcerous illumination. The effect was eerie and beautiful, but Caina knew those crystal statues had once been living slaves, murdered and transmuted to stand forever as adornment.
    The College dominated the Quarter, but there were other buildings outside its grounds. The Alchemists were cruel and brutal sorcerers, but even they enjoyed good food and drink, fine clothing, and the company of attractive slaves. Merchants had established businesses outside the College’s walls, inns and coffee houses and bookshops, and Caina headed for them, her breath burning in her throat as she sprinted. Losing her pursuers in the wide, broad streets of the Emirs’ Quarter would be impossible. Losing them among the shops and coffee houses of the Alchemists’ Quarter would be difficult, but possible. 
    She risked a glance over her shoulder. Nearly forty Immortals pursued, grim and implacable. Her legs and arms burned from the effort of running, and her heart hammered against her ribs like a war drum. Caina was in good physical condition, but her strength would fail long before the Immortals exhausted their stamina.
    Caina ran towards a three-story building of polished white marble and red granite, its windows gleaming with light. A sign adorned with a stylized cup of coffee hung over the door, and two scowling footmen in ornate robes stood guard. 
    “Halt!” said one of the footmen. “Only those with invitations are allowed into the House of Sozanat! Name…”
    The footman’s voice trailed off and his eyes widened. 
    “By the Living Flame!” he said. “The Balarigar! It is the Balarigar!” 
    “What?” said the second footman. “You have had far too much to drink, fool. The master shall have you put out for…”
    Caina sprinted past them before they could resolve their quarrel and slammed into the door, which burst open beneath her weight. Beyond the main room of the House of Sozanat was spacious and luxurious, lit by dozens of lanterns shining upon the round tables. Balconies ringed the walls, giving patrons space to converse in private, and the smell of roasting coffee and cooking pastries filled her nostrils. Merchants, nobles, and not a few men in the gold-trimmed white robes of the Alchemists sat at the tables, sipping coffee. Attractive slaves, men and women both, waited upon the tables. For an agonizing moment the coffee house reminded Caina of the House of Kularus back in Malarae, the business she had run as a front for the Ghosts with Corvalis…
    The shouts of the Immortals outside quickly shattered the illusion. 
    For a moment the patrons of the coffee house gaped at her.
    “I am the Balarigar!” roared Caina in her disguised voice, dashing forward, “and I have come to slay you all! Perish!”
    As she expected, a ripple of panic went through the crowd. Some of the merchants cursed, scrambled to their feet, and headed for the back door, surrounded by their bodyguards. A few of the