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

back into a ponytail, and slung her pack over her shoulder like someone who was resigned to their fate.
    Maybe the man she had met on her way into the Twilight Realm had been right. Maybe she had given up.
    Cathel wasn’t dressed in the coat she had seen him in yesterday, instead opting to wear simple traveling clothes that were almost identical to hers. He wore a sword at his waist, one of his hands resting lightly on the hilt. It surprised her how comfortable he looked with the weapon. It always seemed to her that mages wouldn’t carry swords, or maybe that was just the popular depiction of them in her world.
    “A sword?” she asked, as she closed the door of her borrowed room behind her.
    “I’m not going into the Edgelands weaponless,” said Cathel.
    “I know that,” said Rae, deciding not to mention the fact that she didn’t have a weapon, and didn’t know what she would do with one if she did. He held something else in his hands as he stood in front of her—a small bundle wrapped tightly in blue cloth, with glittering gold lettering scrawled across it. The words were written in a language she didn't understand. It took her a moment for her to recognize them as words. As she watched, he held out the cloth bundle to her. She took it in both hands, testing its weight. It was surprisingly heavy.
    “Keep that in your pack,” he said. “Don't unwrap it until I say so.”
    “What is it?” asked Rae, curious in spite of herself as she slipped the bundle into her pack.
    “Iron.”
    She tested her pack's weight. It was heavier now with the added metal, but it wasn't unbearable. “Iron?” she repeated.
    “Iron talismans, with magic woven into them. They repel the Ivali. The cloth keeps them from sensing it. Don't remove it unless you absolutely have to.” He walked off, heading towards the tapestry. Rae hurried to catch up.
    “Wouldn't it be better just to wear them then?” she asked as she drew up beside him.
    “Would you wander into someone's house waving a weapon around if you wanted them on your side?”
    She imagined herself wandering into a potential ally's house waving around a machine gun and cringed at the thought. The image made things painfully clear. She didn't ask again.
    They passed through the tapestry portal, appearing on the lowest floor of the Tower. Rae gestured at Cathel's sword. “Are you any good?”
    “I can hold my own,” said Cathel. He stepped forward, opening the Tower's grand entrance doors by resting his hand on them. “I studied the sword for some time. I did some traveling, a while back. Knowing how to use a weapon seemed like a good idea.”
    “Think you could teach me?” she asked. “I’m not carrying a weapon.”
    “Maybe,” said Cathel. “But there’s no point in teaching you how to use a sword if we only have one between us. I can cut you a practice one later tonight, but if you want to learn to fight very fast, what I should be doing is teaching you magic.”
    Rae considered that briefly, pulling her traveling cloak around herself and folding her arms as they left the Tower behind them. It was still early morning. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the horizon was still gray. Cathel didn’t look back at the Tower as they left it, lending credence to Varra’s claim that he would rather be anywhere, literally anywhere, then the Tower right now. She glanced at Cathel, wondering if he had even bothered to tell Varra goodbye, before deciding that it wasn’t her place to ask. It wasn't like she was his mother.
    “Magic?” asked Rae, starting up the conversation again as they followed a path through the woods.
    “Your first try wasn’t exactly spectacular, I’ll admit.” Cathel shrugged off her sudden glare. “But it showed potential. I’d be a lot more comfortable not being the only mage on this ill-fated expedition.”
    “Are you good enough to teach?” asked Rae.
    Cathel shrugged again. “I'm no master. But it’s not like that means much.” She