Nemesis Read Online Free PDF Page B

glade, and centaurs occupied the areas of the world untouched by humans. Several centaurs waited around a prepared wooden table with seats for the humans–at least, it seemed a thoughtful gesture, but the low seats gave the centaurs even more of a height advantage. I scanned the surroundings and more centaurs lurked behind the trees, armed with crossbows and spears. Not taking any chances, then.
    Magic lurked here, too, but not like the wildness in the Passages. More like Valeria, where I could sense I could use it, but not the constant pressure. In Valeria, it was an aftereffect, like smoke from the vehicles that used it as a power source. Here, however, the smoky-red clouds visible through the branches above showed the altered climate from mages constantly adapting the weather conditions to suit what they needed. Like a gigantic ash cloud over the atmosphere. It wasn’t harmful, as far as anyone could tell, but it was yet another point of conflict with the centaurs, who didn’t appreciate the sky turning purple-red on a regular basis.
    A string of introductions swiftly descended into another centaur verbal battle, while the council watched helplessly. Bloody argumentative centaurs. I’d have thrown Markos an exasperated look, except he was the one doing most of the shouting. Several of the council had their communicators out in case they had to call for backup, and I was acutely aware of being unarmed, except for magic. Raj appeared equally uneasy. He could only use magic up to second level and preferred to avoid it, like every magic-wielder from a non-magic world with a shred of common sense.
    In the end, all we gleaned from the meeting was that the centaur king had been killed by a falling tree, not magic (naturally, the first argument was that magic could have been used to knock the tree down, which was undoubtedly true). No one wanted to make any commitments. Markos refused to stay in Aglaia. His siblings weren’t even at the meeting, as they had some kind of mourning phase for close relatives, which Markos hadn’t been invited into. He didn’t seem particularly fussed.
    “He wouldn’t have wanted me there,” he told me, when we finally extricated ourselves from the meeting and made our way back through the Passages, leaving the other centaurs behind. “In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he rose from the grave to tell me never to come back to Aglaia again.”
    “That so?” I’d never asked the centaur about his homeworld before, primarily because a centaur living in London, Earth, of all places, had either been banished by his tribe or exiled himself. Going against family was the worst crime a centaur could commit. And that went double for royalty.
    “My sister will not be pleased I’ve come here, either. Hopefully, I’ve avoided that pesky title ceremony and offloaded it onto her,” Markos said, his hoofbeats echoing through the corridor. “She’s a year older than me, and she’d do a far better job.”
    “Well, that’s something,” I said. “If you can convince them to let you leave.”
    “Worry not, for I am awesome,” said Markos, with the air of a show master addressing a crowd.
    I rolled my eyes. “Just don’t go getting yourself into trouble.”
    “Yes, I think our office has rather an appalling track record for accidental deaths, doesn’t it?” said Markos, manoeuvring himself around the corner at a Passage junction.
    “It does,” I said, habitually checking behind us before following him. “And I’ll thank you not to remind Ada of that.” She’d be at Central right now. If the universe played nice for once, I might actually get to see her before being called offworld again to chase invisible goblins…
    “The infamous Ada? Is she working at Central now?”
    “If she passes training,” I said. “So, yes.”
    “Wow. Someone’s certain.” He looked at me slantwise. “You like this girl?”
    Guess I hadn’t exactly been subtle about it. I shrugged.
    “Humans.” He