Golden Son Read Online Free PDF

rememberwhatwedidtoyou.Rememberyoubreathebecauseweletyou.Rememberyourheartwill
    onedaybeonourtable.Risesohigh,inmudyoulie.”

    4
    FALLEN
    Istandbeforemymaster,buthedoesnotcare.
    Theofficewallsareofpaneledwood,andonthefloorliesanancientrughisironancestortook fromapalaceofEarthafterthefalloftheIndianEmpire,oneofthelastgreatnationstostandagainst Gold. What dread those natural-born humans must have felt to see the Conquerors falling from the sky.Manperfected,butbringingchainsinsteadofhope.
    IstandinfrontofAugustus’sdesk,abarethingofwoodandiron,justbeforetheseven-hundred-year-old bloodstain where the final Indian emperor had his head parted from his body by a sleek Goldkiller.
    Idly,NeroauAugustusstrokesthelionthatliesbesidehisdesk.Theylookliketwinstatues.Behind them is space. A viewport peers into the blackness, where the ships of the Scepter Armada lie like giantgolemsinterribleslumber.Wepassthemonthelastlegofourthree-weekvoyagefromMars.
    Augustuspeersathisdeskasastreamofdatarunsoverthewood.Itseemssolongagothathetook meonatourofMarstoshowmeourdomains—fromthelatfundiaswherehighRedstoilovercrops
    tothegreatpolarreacheswhereObsidiansliveinmedievalisolation.Hefavoredmethen,bringing meclose,teachingmethethingshisfathertaughthim.Iwashisfavorite,secondonlytoLeto.Nowhe isastranger,andI,anembarrassment.
    It’sbeentwomonthssincethedayKarnusbeatmeattheAcademy.Thoughmyhairhasgrownback
    and my broken bones have mended, my reputation has not. And because of that, my tenure in ArchGovernor Augustus’s employ is tenuous, at best. My enemies grow by the day. But these new onespreferwhisperstorazors.
    MoreandmoredoIbelievetheSonsofAreschosethewrongman.Iamnotmadeforthecoldwar
    of politics. Not made for subtlety. Hell, I’d hide a boy in the gut of a horse any day, but I wouldn’t knowhowtobribesomeoneproperlyifmylifedependedonit.
    A gentle, warm voice made for half-truths drifts through the ArchGovernor ’s office. “Three refineries. Two nightclubs. And two Gray police outposts. All bombed since we left Mars. Seven attacks,myliege.Fifty-nineGoldfatalities.”
    Pliny.Slenderasasalamander,withskinassmoothasaPink’s.ThePoliticoisnoPeerlessScarred, never even went to the Institute. His glittering eyes peer out from eyelashes that would put peacock plumage to shame. Muted lipstick coats thin lips. His hair is coiled and scented. His body thin but muscularinapleasingbututterlyfacilewaybeneathatoo-tightembroideredsilktunic.Achildcould beatthelivinghelloutofthisbeautifulkittenofaman.Yethe’sendedfamilieswitharumorhere,a jokethere.Hispowerisofadifferentbreed.WhereIamkineticenergy,heispotential.
    I’veheardhe’salsoresponsibleforruiningmyreputation.TactusevenhintedthatPlinymighthave putKarnusuptotheviolenceinthegarden,orattheveryleast,arrangedaholoCamtorecordmy proudmoment.
    BesidePlinystandsthefourthmanintheroom,Leto.He’sabrightlancertenyearsmyseniorwith braided hair and a half-moon grin. He’s also a poet with the razor, a younger Lorn au Arcos, according to some. It’s likely he’ll inherit Augustus’s estate instead of the ArchGovernor ’s blood heirs—MustangandtheJackal.Truthbetold,Iratherliketheman.
    “TheSonsofAresgrowtoobold,”Augustusmutters.
    “Yes,myliege.”Plinysquints.“Ifitisindeedtheywhoperpetratetheacts.”
    “Whatotherantbitesus?”
    “Nonethatweknowof.Buttherearespiders,ticks,ratsintheworlds.Thebombingsarecrudefor Ares, indiscriminate, uncharacteristically violent. Discontiguous from the pattern of technological sabotage and propaganda in his profile. Ares is not capricious, so I struggle believing these acts originatefromhim.”
    Augustusfrowns.“Thenwhatdoyousuggest?”
    “Perhaps there is another terrorist group, my liege. With eighteen billion souls on the census, I hardly think one man has a monopoly on terrorism. Perhaps even a criminal syndicate. I’ve been creatingadatabaseIcanshare.…”
    Plinyisright.TheterrorattacksthathaveplaguedMarsandotherplanetsmakelittlesense.Dancer spoke of justice, not