The Seekers of Fire Read Online Free PDF

shifted silently and felt a pang in his body, then adjusted his coat again with a hushed curse under his breath.
    The girls whispered something, then hugged each other and laughed again. There was definitely something aberrant in this laughter. Rianor was very annoyed that he could not quite catch what it was, but he was certain that it was a good thing that there were no Mentors around. Even if the girls did not mind them.
    Linden and her friend said their good-nights, and the friend walked further away in the street, while Linden aimed towards the house next to him, pausing to gaze at a puddle of frozen water. First the trees and the careless conversation and now this—her unorthodox attitudes were a bit too obvious if she were to stay safe. He waited for her friend to disappear, then walked slowly out of the shadows. The girl needed to be taught some subtlety, and he was going to start now.

    * * *
    Linden silenced the scream a split second before it escaped her mouth. The young man seemed to have materialized from nothing. She had almost bumped into him, and right now he was staring at her with an intention in his gray eyes that she could not define. Probably it was better to scream. If he was not dangerous, he would go away, and if he was, well, it was definitely better to scream, then. However, somehow it seemed that he wanted her to do just that, so she locked his gaze instead.
    He removed his hood and gave her a teasing smile as he brushed a streak of dark hair away from his eyes, then moved closer to her. Linden resisted the urge to back away and continued to glare at his face.
    "Stay where you are, sir!" she hissed, hoping that he had not noticed where her right hand was.
    "Good evening, Miss Linden," the man said in a soft voice carrying only the slightest trace of danger. "I like the way you laugh."
    He moved again, his steps fast and unnaturally stealthy. She did back away now, her eyes quickly scanning his body for weapons. Then she felt his eyes scanning hers, and she trembled, hoping that the cloak hid it from him.
    Linden made a dash towards the entrance and tripped, hitting her knees hard at the fall. Strangely enough, the man did not come after her; he stayed still and pulled his cloak around himself while she was staggering up. He was still watching her. A belated realization slowly crept into her mind. She had perceived the lithe muscles and the weapons beneath his cloak, but she had failed to notice the most important aspect of him. What he wore was not a cloak. It was a frock coat. He was a noble and, save for a Ber or a Mentor, he was more dangerous to her than anything she might have imagined him to be.
    Unlike a Ber or a Mentor, he did not have the legal right to follow her home, but right now Linden's legs seemed too weak to take advantage of that. It had been such a stupid idea to try to make waves beneath the ice in the puddle. Nobles did not come to this neighborhood every day. He knew something.
    Slowly, Linden took control of her body and rose, then trembled violently as he moved towards her, his teasing smile gone. Suddenly her earlier exhilaration was gone, and the apprehension it had suppressed overwhelmed her. Still, she made a step forward but stumbled, then felt the man's arms around her, just as her eyes instinctively closed to protect her thoughts. He pulled her towards himself and then dragged her somewhere else, just as voices sounded down the street.

    * * *
    Rianor had to press his hand against her mouth as he almost carried her to the tunnel. There was no time to reach the house's entrance before the two Mentors saw them. If they did, and if they had heard her and her friend earlier, he would have to surrender her to them or kill them. He pulled her further into the shadows. He was definitely not going to do the first and preferred to avoid the second, if possible. She tried to bite his hand through the glove. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her whole body was shaking in his arms.