Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) by Elisa A. Bonnin Read Free Book Online

pushing herself away from her work. “Now isn't the time for it anyway. I need to get you some proper traveling clothes, and some supplies. I don't know what you'll need in the Edgelands, so it's best to be prepared for everything."
    "Everyone keeps talking about the Edgelands," said Rae, following as Varra walked away. "What are they, and why are they so dangerous?"
    "This world is divided into two areas," said Varra. "There's the Safelands, the lands where humans live, and the Edgelands, the lands that are ruled by the Ivali."
    "Ivali?" asked Rae.
    "Magical beings," said Varra. "Some of them look human, others, vastly different. They're not all bad, according to the tales, but they're all powerful, and I wouldn't trust any one of them fully. Mages can go into the Edgelands a little ways—it's where we get the best magical plants, and we can fight off the weaker Ivali. But if you want to find Kaeltharin, you'll have to go deep into the Edgelands, past the borderlands and into uncharted territory. Not many people who go there return."
    "…But you said they weren't all bad," said Rae.
    "They're not," said Varra. "But for every powerful benevolent one, there's an equally powerful malevolent one. Humans aren't meant to live in the Edgelands. The Towers can keep the Ivali out, between our power and the power of the existing barrier, but we'd be stupid to try and take them on in their territory.” She paused, her eyes hardening as she opened the door for Rae.
    “If you run into one of the High Lords,” she said, “I suggest you run as fast as you can. They might let you. If you run into one of the Dark Lords, there won't be anywhere to run.”
    She walked off, heading into a storage room. Rae followed her inside, still thinking over her words. The mage said nothing after that, grabbing what looked like a backpack from the wall and selecting items to place in it. The emotions Rae had seen in her earlier had disappeared, and she went about her task with a calm, business-like manner, as if she sent friends off to their deaths every day. But it startled her to know that she understood what Varra was feeling inside. She had felt it time and time again, when she looked away from a person that had the black mark on them.
    A thought made her feel slightly sick. She was Cathel's black mark, and Varra had chosen to look away from her.
    A single thought came unbidden to the forefront of her mind, and Rae felt a shudder run through her.
    Bringing death to everything you touch , it said. Maybe the Reaper was right, maybe the two of you are similar after all.
    She clenched her fist, putting the thought out of her mind as she listened to Varra explain what were essentials for her pack. It wasn't the same, she decided. It would never be the same.
    It was their fault for following her down into the dark, but she wasn't responsible for taking their lives. It would always, always be the Reaper's fault.
    Always.
    Keeping that in mind, she nodded grimly, watching as Varra added more things to her pack and showed her which clothes were best to wear and what sort of fabric would keep them out of the weather.
     

Chapter Five: Over the Edge
    When Cathel came in the early morning and knocked on her door, she was ready.
    Sleep had come surprisingly easily to her that night. It almost worried her, knowing that she was so used to strange events that she could fall asleep at a time like this. She knew that she was walking into great danger, but that thought was something that seemed almost distant to her, like a post-it note she had put up on her wall somewhere. It didn’t seem real, or if it did, it seemed so common place that she simply didn’t care anymore. She had spent so much of her life looking over her shoulder for the Reaper. There was only so long a person could spend being afraid to die .
    So when Cathel arrived, she didn’t say anything. She simply rose from bed, slipped into the traveling clothes Varra had set out for her, tied her hair