Through the Veil Read Online Free PDF Page A

to like following somebody so young, and the old war dog was right. Lee had saved his life again, and after that, Lee started fighting, not just sliding in and out of his life like a wraith, but fighting. Small things at first. He hadn’t wanted her in danger. She was just a kid—she might have just been three years younger but she hadn’t grown up fighting to stay alive, not like he had. She’d been too soft. Too pretty—and not just because she was a girl. But for all his instincts to protect her, Lee had a knack for finding dangerous situations and defusing them. Or finding innocent families, trapped and helpless—Kalen had long since lost count of how many people she’d been responsible for saving.
    At first, she’d simply appeared and led Kalen and his men, but eventually, she’d started showing up with people in tow. People she’d saved. Now he led yet another band of rebels, but this one was larger, more organized, and they didn’t just fight small skirmishes. They fought on the most dangerous front left in their world, with the gates in both Yorkton and Jivan decimated.
    They fought to keep the demons from spreading past the Roinan Mountains. Lee, always an enigma, came and went like the wind, appearing out of the night like a shadow, full of whispered secrets and magicks that saved countless lives. Most of their witches were useless when it came to fighting near the gates—it was as if something from the gates froze their power. What they could do was divert the energy flow that fed the gates, but it wasn’t easy work and usually required the strength of a good three witches.
    Lee, though, was different. A witch, yes, but the gate’s energy didn’t affect her at all. Even more, she was quick, canny and intuitive. The woman should have been leading this army. If Dais truly wanted to call somebody a leader, then it needed to be Lee. Leader, wise one, corida—for all her young years, the titles suited her. She was a leader and Kalen was simply a soldier. He wanted to be out there fighting, not issuing orders and playing the diplomat with fellow rebel leaders.
    Crouched on the twisted rock outcropping, Kalen watched as she issued orders to the rebel soldiers with ease, the sunny banner of her curls gleaming in the false light as she shook her head in response to a question. Tonight’s agenda was the same as it had been for the past week: recon and salvage.
    This had to stop. There had to be a better way to fight this war than this. Gaining a little ground on one front, only to lose it on another. But Kalen didn’t know what the other options were. One of his best warriors was about as insubstantial as a wraith. Until she opened her eyes . . .
    The screams painted the night like blood. Hot, vivid washes of it. Kalen jerked to his feet and all around him, people stared.
    The screams hadn’t come from here. He’d heard them echo through the Veil—a warning, but he had a feeling it was already too late. As he stood, he grabbed the plasma assault rifle from the ground and slung it over his shoulder. His feet passed silently over the uneven ground as he moved closer to the source of the turmoil. Too many screams. He ran for the rebuilt solar-powered glider and powered it up with a silent prayer. It came to life with a muted roar and he breathed out in relief.
    “I don’t like this.”
    He shifted his eyes as Lee slid out of the darkness, running along beside him effortlessly. Her hair gleamed like silver in the darkness of the night, her blue eyes colorless. “You heard the screaming.”
    Her lips flattened. “The very dead heard those screams,” she whispered. The glider moved over the ground with blurring speed, and she caught her hair in her fist to keep it from blowing in her eyes.
    Miles passed in silence. As they moved closer, other tran-units joined them. As they slowed to a halt, he heard the soft whimper that rose in her throat before she could stop it.
    Kalen had to bite back his own furious