War of the Magi: Azrael's Wrath (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

half the stories about her are true, then I can’t see how you could possibly stop this Daraji woman.”
    “These clerics that you have known, they were human?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then that is why you do not understand.”
    Zerai gripped his sword. “Can you help me understand, or are you just going to keep trying to piss me off with your condescending, cryptic crap? Because unless I do understand it, I’m not going to let you put my friend’s life in danger, or risk killing thousands of innocent people in Elladi.”
    “I see. You’re not going to let me.” It was softly spoken, not a question, not sharpened with anger or cruelty. The sentence was an icicle in the woman’s mouth. “Then I will teach you, for the sake of your friend, the seer.” Samira nodded at Iyasu, who nodded back with more than a little nervousness in his eyes. “Prepare to defend yourself, if you can.”
    Zerai exhaled slowly as he drew his sword and approached the djinn cleric as her two companions moved swiftly aside to stand near Iyasu.
    She’ll try to move into the shadows to hide, and to slip around me. I have to keep her in the light.
    And she’ll need to touch the stones on the ground, or in the fountain wall, to use her gift. So watch the hands.
    But if she does touch the stones, the change will be slow. I’ll have to time to see it, to figure out what she’s doing.
    Now!
    Zerai dashed forward, leapt to his left, and kicked off the top of the fountain wall, leaping toward the djinn cleric with his sword raised to strike.
    He never reached her.
    Something cold clamped down on his foot and yanked his whole body straight down toward the ground. He fell face-first onto the ancient cobblestones and only barely managed to get one hand under his head before he struck the street. The crushing pain ripped through his arm and the side of his face as the wind was knocked from his lungs and his trapped leg twisted sharply.
    He cried out a wordless, senseless noise as his sword clattered across the stones. Gasping for air, he tried to raise his head to see what had happened when a short spear of stone erupted from the ground and flew at his exposed throat. The cold tip of the spear stopped just short of his hot skin and he froze in place, not daring to move even as he struggled to catch his breath through the pain in his face, chest, and leg.
    So fast, she’s so fast, Adina was never that fast… And she never even moved.
    “I trust you are satisfied with this demonstration?” Samira asked.
    Zerai grunted and nodded his head a little. The stone spear slid back into the ground, leaving no trace of its existence, and the stone clamp on his foot melted away, freeing him to sit up and bleed in a more comfortable position.
    “A human cleric only has a few decades in which to study and hone her skills,” Samira said. “Thus, you are accustomed to seeing only those skills that can be achieved in such a short period of time.”
    “Yeah, I get it,” Zerai wheezed as he staggered to his feet. “Djinn live longer, so you have time to learn more.”
    “Much more.”
    Zerai focused on limping to the fountain wall so he could sit and massage the pain in his chest. He was still probing the bloody gash on his face when he felt one of the angel’s wings brush his shoulder, and instantly all the pain vanished and he knew he was healed completely. Physically, at least. A small burning pain still lingered in his mind. He grimaced at the djinn cleric, at her impassive eyes and small mouth, at her reserved stance and the long robes hanging perfectly still around her.
    Did she enjoy that? Is she smiling on the inside? Or is she really that cold, that empty? Does it really mean nothing to her, to be able to thrash a person without lifting her finger?
    “That was… impressive,” he said softly, not quite looking her in the eye. “I had no idea a Tevadim could do that. Still, I wouldn’t want to bet against a Sophirim. One of them could put her fist