Asunder by David Gaider Read Free Book Online Page A

keep us in the dark forever."
                "I suspect they would argue otherwise."
                He fully expected Adrian to explode once again, but instead she looked pensive. She turned and walked toward the bay window, staring out at the city below. He knew what she was thinking. He'd taken his Harrowing almost twenty years ago, and since then he'd let himself believe he was someone of importance to the Circle, that they valued his abilities and his contributions. It wasn't easy to be reminded how untrue that was.
                Ever since the Chantry ordered the closure of the College of Enchanters, things had been steadily growing more tense. Permission for travel had been suspended. Gatherings were forbidden, and even on those rare occasions when assembly was allowed in the White Spire's great hall, the First Enchanter had little to tell them. He was supposed to be their leader and their advocate, but now it seemed he was reduced to a figurehead.
                There was talk of rebellion, of course. There was always talk. Mages in the far- off city of Kirkwall had rebelled a year ago, and considering what happened to them Rhys wasn't surprised the talk never went further than that. It did make him wonder if that might ever change. If Adrian had her way, it would, and sometimes he even agreed with her.
                He jumped as the door to the Knight- Commander's office suddenly opened. Adrian spun around, her vexed expression indicating she planned to give the man a piece of her mind, but both of them were startled to see a woman standing in the doorway instead. It was Knight- Captain Evangeline, wearing full templar regalia and clearly in no mood to be trifled with.
                The First Enchanter was at her side. Edmonde was an elder statesman among the White Spire's mages, a man so grizzled and bent by age it seemed like he could barely wear his black robes without collapsing. Now he looked defeated, his limbs trembling with such weariness it was only by leaning on his staff that he was even able to remain upright. He glanced at Rhys, his bleary eyes full of apology— for what he had told them or what was about to come, it couldn't be said— and slowly tapped his way out of the room without a word.
                Ser Evangeline watched the First Enchanter leave, and for a moment her rigid demeanor faded. She closed her eyes and sighed, the small and tired sound of someone forced to do the unpleasant. When she opened them again, it was as if the moment had never occurred. "Enchanter Rhys," she said, indicating for him to enter.
                Adrian stepped forward. "And what about me?" she demanded.
                "In good time."
                "So I'm to be left out here until you're bloody ready? Why are we being treated like criminals? If you want our help with an investigation, this is hardly the—"
                "In. Good. Time," the templar repeated in a steely tone. Her warning look said that her patience was wearing dangerously thin, and it was enough to give even Adrian second thoughts. Rhys shook his head at Adrian in a manner he hoped she would find discouraging. She clenched her teeth and glared at him, but kept her silence.
                Rhys followed the Knight- Captain inside.
                The office was unchanged from the last time he had been there. The same war trophies from the Knight- Commander's younger days as a soldier. The same dull painting by some relative preoccupied with the pastoral Orlesian countryside. The same bookshelf filled with long- winded treatises on history and Chantry dogma. The fireplace had settled into a dull smolder, but put out enough heat to give the room a warm, smoky feel. About the only thing that was different about the office was that the Knight- Commander wasn't there.
                Instead, there was a stranger seated behind