All Spell Breaks Loose by Lisa Shearin Read Free Book Online Page A

Carnades, and we hadn’t been in Regor for more than five minutes. “And announce ourselves to every Khrynsani within a hundred miles,” I said. “Great plan.”
    “I merely suggest putting our most effective weapon out front,” he said smoothly. “The goblins know what Raine is capable of. In my opinion, we would remain unmolested.”
    I hated to admit it, but I agreed with him. If I’d had all of my power there for the calling, I’d want to be out front, and screw the consequences. I’d blast my way into Regor. Anything to get this over with as quickly as possible. But I didn’t have my power, and even if I did, I couldn’t use it for exactly the reason I told Carnades. Big magic would attract big attention of the goblin army kind. There was safety in sneaking.
    “If I start a fight, they’re going to finish it,” I told Carnades. “Are you looking to get ‘finished’?”
    Imala slung a pack over her shoulders, settled it on her back, and began tightening the straps. “Sarad knows we’re here, but if we get our asses moving, and if Raine keeps her magic to herself, he may remain ignorant of our exact location.” She shot a meaningful look at Carnades. “Silence—both of voice or magic—is the best way to ensure that Sarad remains that way.”
    What a polite way to tell Carnades to keep his mouth shut. Court goblins did have a way with words.
    We lined up and left the back of the cave. There were more than a thousand miles between Mid and Regor. It had been late morning in Mid, so the sun had probably just risen here.Though you wouldn’t know it from where we were. Caves were absurdly dark.
    Tam was leading. The rest of us followed behind, more or less in a goblin-elf order, our footfalls muffled. Not bad for shell-shocked elves in the pitch dark. Though as my eyes adjusted as much as they could, I saw that the cave wasn’t completely dark. Faint green phosphorescence clung to the damp walls from what I guessed was a fungus of some sort. The light let me at least make out Prince Chigaru’s shoulders in front of me.
    Shoulders that suddenly stopped.
    The sharp whistle of an incoming crossbow bolt announced we weren’t alone anymore.
    I dived to the right, toward the cave wall. There was no room for swords, not to mention it was still too freaking dark. I drew one dagger in case someone tried to bring death up close and personal, but I kept it by my side. It’d suck to stab one of my own team; well, except for Carnades.
    Mychael and Tam were out front. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. Imala had enough magic to shield Chigaru, who had none. Carnades had probably crawled into a crack in the wall with his hands over his head. Either that or a Khrynsani had tacked him to the wall on the first volley.
    The twang of bowstrings was abruptly replaced by steel-on-steel combat.
    The goblins were happy to continue trying to kill us in the dark. Mychael’s shout of a two-word spell killed their happy real quick.
    Light, blazing like the sun at high noon, lit the cave. Happy turned to pained shouts and hisses. Tam, Imala, and Chigaru didn’t like it, but each had shielded their eyes with one hand and kept weapons moving in the other.
    Amazing thing about survival instinct—when your body realizes it’s in deep and stinky stuff, your eyes find a way to see just a little better than they ordinarily could; your hearing is just a little sharper; your reflexes faster.
    I didn’t see the Khrynsani’s lunge at my left side; I felt the air displaced by his movement, and slashed my long dagger across the back of his wrist. With a pained hiss, the goblin jerked his sword back only to instantly close distance with his dagger, giving me a slice of my own. I detected a flash of fang-filled grin right before he stepped in for what he thought was the kill. The Khrynsani froze for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for me to bury my blade between his ribs.
    The last expression on his face wasn’t