Ward Against Darkness (Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the ruckus, reminding Celia of carefree days. Although, really, her days hadn’t usually been carefree. The activity that had filled her with joy was the thrill of the chase, the challenge of an assignment. She hadn’t thought it was normal, just the way she was. But now the chase wasn’t so thrilling, not when Ward’s life was on the line.
    They passed through the pretentious white and gold antechamber and out the front door into the chilly summer evening.
    Almost there. As easy as breathing.
    She’d never been this high in the Red Mountains before, and while she knew it got cold at night, even at the height of summer, she hadn’t anticipated just how cold. For a heartbeat, she wished she were back in Brawenal City. But home was an impossible dream now, a seven-day hard run from here. She could never return, just like she could never go back to what she’d been.
    Ward had changed everything.
    Which wasn’t really true. Her father had changed everything by murdering her. Ward— gentle, intelligent, determined Ward—had just opened her eyes to that terrible truth.
    She glanced at him. So unassuming, so much more than what anyone saw at first glance, so much more than even he realized.
    And so damned distracting. She’d become as bad as he was, lost in thought in the middle of doing something important. But there were too many unanswered questions more difficult to ignore every passing day, hour…at this rate, every passing minute.
    Their footsteps crunched on the gravel. Steady, relaxed. They couldn’t look like they were fleeing. Ward’s pulse raced under her fingers. He wanted to run, and she couldn’t blame him, but they needed to play their part for a little while longer.
    She led him down the lane. The gravel trailed off into a rutted and weedy path and presumably to a road. They needed to get far enough away that if someone glanced from one of the windows they wouldn’t notice Ward and her. Then they’d double back, get Ward’s rucksack with his illegal surgical implements and her weapons.
    Almost there.
    Just a few more steps.
    Something snapped a few feet ahead, and a man-sized shadow eased away from a lone tree guarding the lane. “I thought you said you were tired?”
    Macerio. She’d never met anyone with a voice like that. Silk on a sword’s edge and much older than he looked.
    Ward froze beside her. She couldn’t blame him. In the darkness, Macerio’s menace became clearer. The man she’d seen back in the house had been a pleasant façade hiding his true nature.
    “We are tired, but with the excitement of arriving here and meeting you…” She hoped he’d fill in the rest himself and not end up with, ‘we were running away.’
    “It can be quite thrilling to take the next step in your destiny.” He stepped onto the path. “But remember, even though you come with a recommendation from Lauro Allard, you’re not the only one vying to become my apprentice.”
    Ward’s arm trembled under her hand, and she hoped he didn’t bolt right this minute. The last thing they needed was to add an Innecroestri to the troubles chasing them. “Quirin is more than ready to prove himself, again.”
    Macerio’s gaze never left Ward, as if he’d spoken and Celia hadn’t. “You do know how to make a first impression, although your spell is rather unusual. I’m sure the other hopefuls are trying to figure out how to create their own pet as we speak.”
    “I’m sure they are,” Ward said, his voice surprisingly even given the shaking under her fingers.
    Macerio took another step toward them, and the muscles in Ward’s jaw clenched. “You haven’t told me everything, though.”
    Ward hadn’t told him much of anything, and Celia intended to keep it that way. “All Innecroestris have their secrets.”
    “But this isn’t something you should keep from your host.”
    “And what’s that?” Ward asked.
    “Unwanted guests.” Macerio sliced a nail through the palm of his hand, drawing blood, and