Son of the Dragon (The Netherworld Gate Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

side. “Am I?”
    “You fail to see how my starting a war between Shausmat and Zinferth has led to the death of many, including women and children.” Talon smiled to himself as he watched Jahre squirm and fish for a rebuttal.
    Jahre’s mouth hung open. “But…you didn’t kill them directly.”
    “Nor did I stop them from being killed. I did what was necessary to accomplish my goals. What makes you believe I won’t do the same on a much larger scale if it suits me?”
    Jahre closed his glowing eyes. “I refuse to believe that you will. When the time comes, you must choose right. You must!”

CHAPTER 2
     
     
    Kelden stumbled forward. A rough hand pushed his back while another seized his upper arm and yanked him onward. The chains connecting his ankles rattled and slithered across the stone floor. A faint bit of light managed to penetrate the bag over his head, but it did nothing to help orient the man while he was shoved and pulled.
    He heard a metallic click, and then the squeaking hinges of a door. He was pulled forward and greeted by the sounds of cheers.
    “Kill the spy!” someone shouted out.
    “Death to the queen’s man!” another hollered.
    A breeze swirled around him, alerting him that he was now outside. The rattling of his chains softened as they scraped along hardened dirt instead of stone with each step, as Kelden was escorted forward by a man on either side.
    The bag was ripped from his head and the light assaulted his eyes. He staggered to his left and shook his head as he squinted against the brightness, but the men with him didn’t allow him any time to recover. The two escorts pushed and pulled with a sense of urgency that was unnerving.
    When his eyes finally adjusted, Kelden realized where he was. He was out behind the prison, approaching the gallows. The platform was raised six feet from the ground, and was fifteen feet long and eight feet wide. The beam running over the platform was thick and sturdy, easily capable of supporting four or five men at a time.
    Today, there was only one rope hanging down from the beam.
    A two wheeled cart behind the gallows held a pile of bodies from the previous day’s hanging. Kelden had seen several officers taken from their cells over the last several days, never to return. Now, he was about to join them.
    Kelden felt a knot grow in the pit of his stomach. How had it come to this? He had survived so much, only to be brought now to a grotesque end by a rope. This is not what he had ever imagined his final moments to be like. There were seven men standing before the platform, all wearing Shausmatian uniforms. On the platform stood Captain Vald, the commander responsible for Kobhir’s downfall.
    If only Kelden had succeeded in his attempt to assassinate the man, perhaps the war would have gone differently. Kelden sighed and hung his head low, looking to the ground. The man pulling him along nearly dragged him up the stairs and onto the platform. He led him to the rope and then motioned to the stool below the noose.
    Kelden tested the ropes binding his wrists. His skin stung instantly and the rope wouldn’t yield at all. There was nothing he could do.
    “Up you go,” one of the men said sourly.
    Kelden stepped up with his right foot, and then half-jumped the rest of the way onto the stool. The Shausmatians in front of him shouted and hurled insults.
    Vald stepped over to stand in front of Kelden. The hard man narrowed his eyes on Kelden and tilted his head to the side, almost nodding. “I have a great deal of respect for what you tried to do,” he whispered. “I have talked with Queen Dalynn about you. It seems you were most loyal in all of your efforts. Your valor and courage is beyond question.”
    Kelden looked curiously at Vald, wondering where this conversation was going, and why Vald would take the time to say any of it.
    “The queen made an impassioned plea for your life, informing me of how you single-handedly put down an insurrection,” Vald