Target Of The Orders (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

birds and the scurrying of rodents as his partners. He got a late start, so the nighttime sky was crystalline and dark by the time he arrived again at Caledena's gates. The song of cicadas filled the air, and dim moonlight made the city was more shadow than passage. His skin tingled in the chill despite—or maybe because of—his body’s adjustments to keep him warm.
    He cast magic that silenced his footsteps, and he slipped through the woods at the edge of the city, pressing against walls of dry wood and gliding through alleys and across rutted streets as silently as a cat. The city smelled of refuse. It felt like a cancer.
    A derelict slept fitfully at the mouth of a nearby alleyway. Garrick’s life force wanted to reach out to the man, but he was not here for charity. He pushed himself to focus on Elman and his Lectodinian siblings. With the mage’s headquarters in shambles.
    Hersha Padiglio’s old mansion was the most likely place for Elman to be.
    A few minutes later, Garrick stood in the shadows of an alley just outside the manor. Lights blazed from the building. Three sentries standing inside the surrounding fence confirmed his assumption that Elman moved in.
    There would be more sentries, of course. And mages.
    A horse whinnied nearby, and the earthy scent of manure brought a grin to Garrick’s face. The stable was occupied.
    He set a mage gate and let his dark energy free. One sentry was hungry, another was thinking about a woman he had seen earlier in the day. Garrick held the guards’ life forces in his mind as if they were clay. One thought, and he could kill these men. One thought, and he could step unimpeded into the Lectodinian’s headquarters.
    He had killed before.
    The idea did not bother him, now.
    What did that say about him?
    A sharp cry came from inside the stable, followed by a thump like a sack of flour hitting the ground.
    The guards came to immediate alert.
    Garrick slipped into deeper shadows to watch as two of them went into the stables, and emerged wrestling with a small form between them.
    “What is it, Peitar?” the third guard asked.
    “Just a punk,” came the reply. “Stop kicking, boy. You’re making it worse on yourself.”
    The sound of a backhanded slap cracked against the night.
    “Nooooo,” the boy whined.
    It was Will, the stable boy who had kept Kalomar.
    Will’s youthful essence overwhelmed Garrick's senses. The heat that welled across the boy’s cheek tasted bitter. He felt shame in that heat, he felt weakness.
    The men laughed.
    “Teach him a lesson, Peitar.”
    Another slap came, then another.
    Garrick moved without conscious thought, casting a net of magic that flowed over Peitar as he strode toward the group. He spoke more magic.
    The guard farthest from him swung his sword and caught Garrick high on the shoulder, but Garrick funneled the guard’s life force into his arm and the gash immediately closed.
    Peitar dropped the boy and reached for his sword.
    “Alert!” he called. “Alert!”
    Garrick cut the guard down with a blast of pure energy, causing the other guards to retreat into the manor.
    He grabbed the boy by the shoulder and lifted him to his feet.
    Will flinched, but did not run.
    A clamor came from inside. Voices called to each other. His surprise was gone. The guards would soon be accompanied by mages, and while Garrick felt prepared for them, he didn’t care to create such a stir if Will were in the middle of it.
    Stand and fight, or ensure he could save the boy?
    He was here to deal with Elman.
    Here to extract his revenge.
    But now a crimson welt glowed across Will’s cheek, and Garrick felt chaos building in the city around him. Elman could wait.
    “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “Where’s Kalomar?”
    “Follow me, sir,” Will said as he set his jaw and raced to the stables.
    Kalomar whinnied as they opened the stall.
    “Can you ride bareback, sir?” the boy asked.
    Garrick leapt atop Kalomar and gave Will a hand up.
    “I can