The Exodus Sagas: Book II - Of Dragons And Crowns Read Online Free PDF Page B

boot to his abdomen sent him backwards off the pier and quickly into the cold waters of the bay.
    “Now you have lost a duel, Alec Silverblade, and the scar to show for it.” Shinayne sheathed her swords. The swordsman did not reappear as she had expected, minutes passed, yet nothing surfaced. She looked around, waiting for the humiliated young Harlian man to appear somewhere and run off. Nothing.
    The elven noble tore the armor off of one of the men she had dispatched, then the black tunic moist with rain and blo od. She looked at the shoulder and saw the brand of the white spider in his dead flesh. The elf had fought nearly thirty men, only killing a few, and always outnumbered the last three weeks in Harlaheim. She and Saberrak had foiled many traps and midnight hunts of those seeking their friends for the S croll of Annar, yet this time she did it alone. Finally, she confirmed that the White Spider was here as well, and hopefully they got the message that the other stalkers had gotten. She and Saberrak had been hunting the night, protecting the tower from its enemies that had been getting closer every week. Shinayne hoped that the minotaur had as much luck as herself this rainy evening, and went to meet her horned friend and the re st of the soldiers of Kalzarius in the deep of the dark city.

 
     
    Exodus II:I
    C ity of Harlaheim
    Her dark cloaked shadow moved with her through the early morning streets. Sunlight began to trickle through the high rising buildings, still glistening from the rains. Carice and Gimmor waned, vanishing into the north and east as clouds of purple drifted across their moonlight. Shinayne saw the trail of her breath, only faint as the cold here was not like that of the kingdom of Chazzrynn to the south. Her hands rested at her side, feeling safe as she saw the gray cloaked guards of Kalzarius ahead on Nen Fleur Street. The elven noble lowered her ho od from her long thin ears and stepped from the shadows to reveal her presence.
    “Lady T’Sarrin, we have been worried all ni ght about you.” t he capitan spoke as he gave a slight bow, realizing the elf was not stopping to converse.
    “You should be more worried about those that I find , Capitan. Did Saberrak catch anyone in his routes?” Shinayne took a turn around every twenty steps or so, watching her trail and the rooftops.
    “No, m’Lady, we saw nothing this night, and Saberrak the gray returned to the tower to rest some time ago. We did not see you at rendezvous. Did you see any-“
    “Yes, six men. One may have survived, and they were all White Spider for certain. I took them at the docks, doubt ful there were any witnesses.” s he kept moving, still a mile from the grand glowing tower of the ancient wizard. More and more guards fell in step behind her, leaving their various vantage points throughout the city.
    A look of surprise crossed the capitan’s face. “ The docks? That is far out of the areas we discussed. You took on six agents of the White Spider alone, m’Lady? How did you manage that?”
    “Easily and quickly .” Shinayne smiled, seeing the humbling look of shock on the grown Harlian man’s face. “Elven nobles train in the art of the sword and Simnorri styles for two decades, good capitan, I just trained for a few more.”
    “What is Simnorri, Lady T’Sarrin, if you do not mind my asking?” he smiled, impressed with the confidence the elven woman possessed. He had seen the prowress of both she and the minotaur, putting proof to the growing legends that spread of late.
    “It is the style of attuning oneself with two weapons, one longer and one shorter. My people are gifted with such matching blades, passed down to every royal generation, and taught to use them as our ancestors did in the ancient city of Viala Simnorr. That forest citadel was lost many, many centuries ago, but the practice and tradition lives on amo ng the nobility of the elves.” l ike she had taught it herself, Shinayne recited the brief