Heirs of the Enemy Read Online Free PDF

to it.”
    The sergeant stared at the farmer for a moment and then nodded in acceptance. “All right, Lloyd. I will take you to Tagaret, and my men will teach you what they can in the few days that we will be together, but I urge you to give some sincere thought to your plans once we reach the city. As much as we need soldiers, I wouldn’t want any man taking up the sword for the wrong reason.”
    “Agreed,” smiled Lloyd.
    “You will call me Sergeant Toucker for the rest of our journey. I will expect you to follow my orders as if you were one of my men. If you cannot do that, I will leave you at the side of the road. Do you understand?”
    “I understand, Sergeant Toucker,” Lloyd said with firmness.
    * * * *
    Sergeant Toucker sat on a log and watched the spar between Lloyd and one of his men. The fighters were using branches instead of swords so that the farmer did not get hurt, but the sergeant was beginning to wonder who would be the one getting hurt.
    “The farmer is a natural fighter,” the soldier next to the sergeant commented. “Look at those moves. He is good.”
    “Very good,” the sergeant replied suspiciously. “I find it hard to believe that Lloyd has never fought before.”
    “Why would he lie?” asked the soldier.
    “I don’t know,” frowned the sergeant, “but it is more than just his fighting skill. I watched him riding today. He is wary in a way that a battle-hardened veteran would be wary. When that herd of deer surprised us a couple of hours ago, Lloyd already knew that they were there. I could see it in the way he kept looking towards them, even though we could not see them.”
    A resounding crack split the air as Lloyd’s sparring partner cracked his stick over the farmer’s shoulder. The stick broke in two, but Lloyd acted as if he had not felt it. He brought his own stick around and swept the soldier’s feet out from under him. The other soldiers in the camp gasped and applauded, but the sergeant narrowed his eyes. The farmer dropped his stick and stepped forward to extend a hand to the fallen soldier, ending the spar.
    “Did you see that?” the soldier next to the sergeant asked excitedly. “He is a natural born warrior.”
    “Perhaps,” mumbled the sergeant. “I plan to do some checking up on Lloyd Becker when we reach Tagaret. In the meantime, I want you to keep a close eye on him. Don’t let him catch you spying, but watch his every movement.”
    “Will do, Sergeant, but I don’t understand why you are suspicious. They say that Alexander Tork was a natural born warrior. Why not Lloyd?”
    “It is possible,” conceded the sergeant, “but it is my job to be suspicious. You just keep an eye on him and leave the thinking to me. I will know soon enough if he is who he says he is.”

Chapter 2
Spymaster
    Alexander and Jenneva Tork walked through the magical portal from the dwarven kingdom of Tarashin to the Royal Palace in Tagaret. They were escorted to the Council Chambers where King Arik and his closest advisors were planning for the upcoming invasion of Alcea. The two Knights of Alcea entered the room and the conversation halted immediately.
    “We did not come all this way to halt your meeting,” Alex said humorously.
    “You are always welcome in my company,” grinned King Arik. “Come in. We were just discussing the defense of Alcea. Your thoughts will be most welcome.” The king turned back to face Governor Mobami of Sordoa and nodded for him to continue.
    The rogue-general-turned-governor continued his statements. “As I was saying, there is a good possibility that we have rooted out all of the Snakes in Sordoa. We have not had any indication of spying in over a month.”
    ”A good spy knows when to lie low,” interjected Governor Fernandez of Cordonia. “I should know; I used to be one. While it gives one a good feeling to think they have made great progress in eradicating the spies amongst us, we can not afford to let down our guard. Let me send some