Heroes Return Read Online Free PDF

coffee.
    I saw Taro, dressed for the day, standing at a window and staring out. His posture wasn’t quite as correct as it usually was. His shoulders seemed a little slumped.
    I wondered just how hard it was for him to be here.
    “Where have you been?” he asked.
    “I was looking for something to eat.”
    “The girl brought something for us.”
    “Which girl?”
    “She said her name is Lila. Apparently Fiona just hired her to see to us.”
    “She didn’t need to do that.” In fact, I wished she hadn’t. We didn’t need a personal servant.
    He shrugged. “It is done.”
    I looked for and found the source of the wonderful coffee aroma. It was a large silver pot of coffee on a tray that held also a pot of tea, plates of pastry, cheese and fruit, and a letter with the Triple S emblem addressed to me.
    “Lila said that came for you over a week ago.”
    I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a pastry, then settled at a table. After a few sips of coffee and mouthfuls of the delightfully light pastry that tasted of almonds, I cracked open the letter.
    To Shield Dunleavy Mallorough:
     
    I trust this missive finds you and your Source in good health and meeting your obligations with competence.
    As you are aware, it is the honor and duty only of the council of the Source and Shield Service to assign the posts of our Pairs. Be not alarmed. It can be understood why you and your Source accepted your transfer, but we trust you understand why we need to remind His Imperial Majesty that assigning the posts of our Pairs is not one of his responsibilities. It is for this reason that we ask for a complete account of the circumstances leading up to the oath of fealty given by your Source and the transfer made by His Majesty.
    You may or may not be aware of the Source and Shield Service policy, which dictates that Sources are not to be posted at the places of their birth. Sources have been known to experience difficulties channeling in such circumstances. We require from you careful observation of your Source’s performance and a report describing such.
    For the same reason, we request from you a report of the circumstances surrounding your temporary removal from the roster of High Scape by Her Imperial Majesty Empress Constia.
    Finally, you resumed your post at High Scape only a few months ago after being absent from that post for over a year. We are aware that this absence was due to an order of the Empress Constia. Again, this is an action the Crown lacks the authority to take. Despite several requests, you have not yet informed us of the nature of the reason behind your absence, and where the relevant activity took place. We expect a thorough explanation of this matter in your next report.
     
    Yours very truly,
Shield Kayan Lucitani
Source and Shield Service Council
    Wonderful. What an annoying letter. I couldn’t really explain why the Emperor had done what he did, because I couldn’t figure out what the man was thinking. There was no logical reason for the Emperor to send Taro to Flown Raven. The man didn’t like Taro. Unless the Emperor knew being sent to Flown Raven would be a punishment for Taro, not a reward, but how would he?
    I couldn’t tell the council what had been going on with the Empress, because we had been sworn to secrecy. The Empress was dead and could no longer hold us accountable for keeping that secret, but I still didn’t think it was wise to tell anyone that she had chosen us to look for the descendants of the collateral line to the throne, and that she had sent us to the remote southern island of Flatwell to do so. I didn’t know what the repercussions would be if we told anyone, but I was sure they would be nasty.
    So that was going to be a short couple of paragraphs.
    As to Taro experiencing difficulties, we already knew that. “They want me to tell them how well we channel here.”
    Taro frowned. “We’ll channel well enough.”
    “You know we’ve had difficulties before.”
    “You