The Legend of Asahiel: Book 03 - The Divine Talisman Read Online Free PDF Page A

way.
    As he rounded a corner, his eyes met those of the sentry posted at his door. The guardsman, engaged in casual talk with a chambermaid, straightened immediately. The woman stiffened as she turned, widened eyes betraying her sudden alarm.
    “Elder Thaddreus,” she greeted, “I beg your pardon. I was not given to expect your return.”
    Vorric Haze brushed past the obsequious scrubwoman. Inside, he slammed the door and slid the bolt. He needed some time to himself, free from the duties of the mortal whose guise he had taken.
    Time in which to consider his untenable position.
    General Rogun was a savior. Those who did not already believe it would not long remain unconvinced. Even now, Haze chafed at the ease with which the general and his supporters on the council had brushed aside the notion of insubordination—or worse, insurrection. Though Haze had known before suggesting it that he would never be able to jail the commander on such charges, a lengthy trial might at least have weakened Rogun’s standing and bought the First Elder some time.
    It would not be long now before the Circle sided with the general in its entirety. A few of the Elders, he knew, would dissent until the bitter end, butwith half of them agreeing already to the idea of a citywide cleansing, these lone voices would soon be trampled. The cry for personal privacy could not withstand the people’s growing demand for security. Haze himself would be subjected to the general’s tests. And when found to be Illysp-possessed, he would be destroyed.
    He stepped to the window, flush with fury and denial. Gazing out upon the city that had so nearly been his, he thought back to how matters had gone wrong. Due to his station, First Elder Thaddreus had been among the first to be taken and reborn. In the weeks that had followed, Vorric Haze had killed and raised more than a dozen himself—including a pair of Elders. His victims had claimed others in turn. They had done so carefully, patiently, as their leader, Kael-Magus—the one known outwardly as Darinor—had instructed.
    Perhaps they should have worked faster. But why? With Kael-Magus away, and Allion and Marisha off in pursuit, there had been no one left behind who truly understood what they were up against. The city’s defenses were hardly a threat. Rogun and the army had been dispatched to the south. And Evhan, captain of the City Shield, had been the primary seed with which Kael-Magus had sown the infestation. His orders had been clear: Start with Thaddreus, and do nothing to raise an alarm.
    And they hadn’t. There had been whispers, of course. Even in the beginning, fears and suspicions and false assumptions had abounded. But their execution had been flawless. In the course of supplanting Krynwall’s leadership, Kael-Magus had seen to it that those most likely to uncover his plot were either reborn or distracted elsewhere. Using general confusion and various illnesses of the winter season as cover, Vorric Haze had helped to orchestrate a flawless takeover from within.
    But Rogun had outwitted them, and in so doing had changed everything. Instead of rising up against an unguarded city, the force Kael-Magus had seeded had found itself in a vicious struggle against nearly the whole of Alson’s armies. Recognizing this—and knowing well that his greatest value lay not in his combat skills but as one of the city’s ruling advisors—Haze had kept to the side, waiting for the dust to settle. Doing so had spared him the immediate destruction so many of his kind had faced. Yet, with Rogun’s military victory and the elimination of Kael-Magus, his own end remained clearly in sight.
    He had to escape before the general discovered him; that much was evident. But he was determined to salvage something of Kael-Magus’s plan before surrendering all to folly. This war would yet be waged on many fronts, and it had come to him to lead his kind. He would not fail as those before him had.
    The afternoon sun