The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Read Online Free PDF

impatiently, leaped, ran on and leapt again, finally detecting a deposit and pushing against it to gain impetus.
    Three of the soldiers were trotting over to where the prone figure lay. As she arrived, one of them, Rodann, was retrieving his weapon, whilst the others were chatting animatedly and clapping him on the back. Keris landed in front of them, and the conversation tailed off. She regarded the victim. It was one of the men; the younger of the two, she remembered. He was laying face down, the wound made by the shuriken clearly visible in his back. His sandy hair moved lightly in the breeze. Keris suddenly felt weak, bile rising up into her throat. Her stomach was knotting. Why did this happen? Closing her eyes with her jaw clenched, she fought to regain control. Finally, she opened her eyes again and turned to face Rodann. His face was unreadable.
    “What happened here?” she demanded.
    Rodann spoke up, “Escaped tribute, my Lady.”
    “ He is dead! You did not think to chase him down?” The two soldiers with Rodann shifted uneasily, contaminated with his guilt.
    “Apologies my lady, I should have explained to you that we are testing a new method of restraint for the tributes. They have been fitted with lodestone breastplates.”
    To impede their progress , she realised. The act of running would cause the lodestone to push the man backwards, the harder he tried to run. He probably panicked, not realising what was happening to him and only pushed the harder. But why kill him? So he could not tell others .
    All of a sudden she was struck by a horrific thought. Rodann planned this all along. He had been looking for a way to test his asinine devices. Now a man is dead, and I am responsible . Perhaps someone had put him up to it? The keep had a complex political structure, and her rapid advancement in the ranks of Keltar had made her her fair share of enemies. She thrust the thought to the back of her mind. There was nothing to do now except take charge of the situation. She rounded on Rodann.
    “Get back to the others now and remove those breastplates. You will watch the tributes closely, and if they flee, you will chase them down and bring them back. I do not intend to lose another. Do you understand?”
    “As you command.” Rodann pursed his lips; then motioned to the other soldiers and they began walking back to where the carts stood.
    Keris stood, looking down at the fallen man for a moment. Then she turned and followed the soldiers, her flying cloak flaccid about her shoulders like a useless appendage.
    ~
    The wheels of the carts clattered across cobbled stone as the tribute convoy passed under massive wooden gates and into the great city of Chalimar. Keris had packed away her cloak and was riding the graylesh once more. Following the incident on the road, the remainder of the journey had been conducted without incident and in near silence. Her first instinct had been to report the matter to Mordal, but she was certain it would be a waste of time. There was also the fact that it was likely that she would have to work with Rodann again and it was never good to have an enemy as your Captain. Nevertheless, she resolved that she would have to watch the man more closely in future.
    The late afternoon streets were eerily quiet. The city under the Prophet`s “protection” was a depressing place outside of the keep. The houses were of rough stone, with peaked wooden roofs, closely packed together. There were wooden shutters over most of the windows, despite the fact that it was day. A few people glanced nervously at the soldiers and their three tributes, but most ignored them and hurried on. They were passing through the merchants’ quarter and she saw that most of the stalls were empty. The rest of the sellers were engaged in the act of packing away their wares. It felt as if most of the citizens of this once proud city were cowering inside their homes.
    They passed through the narrow streets which eventually