Blood of Innocents (Book Two of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence) by Mitchell Hogan Read Free Book Online

Have they gone?”
    “I think so, from what I could tell. They’re very good. I wasn’t sure they had stopped and left for a while.”
    “What should we do?” Elpidia asked.
    “They’ll watch for a time to gauge our strengths… and weaknesses. That they haven’t made themselves known to us yet speaks to their wariness and patience. They know what happened when we escaped Anasoma, and for us to have captured one of their sorcerers has to make them cautious. I doubt they will come for us tonight.”
    It was the longest speech they had heard from the shopkeeper. Caldan and Elpidia exchanged glances.
    “But we can’t be sure,” Caldan said.
    Elpidia looked around at the night. “Should we all stay up and watch?” she asked, trembling.
    Amerdan only shrugged, unconcerned. “If we stay, we’re exactly where they want us to be in the morning. We don’t know how many there are of them, though I think it’s likely there’s only one or two.”
    “Any idea what we should do?” Caldan had his own thoughts, but without materials to craft, he didn’t have many options.
    With a grunt, the shopkeeper drew a long strip of ragged cloth from one of his pockets. It looked to have been torn from a piece of clothing. Gesturing, he drew Caldan and Elpidia in close.
    “Gag that bitch sorcerer,” he said. “Build the fire up so it lasts for a time, then get out of here.” Elpidia began to protest, and he raised a hand to cut her off. “We’re heading for the city, correct? But steering clear of the road to avoid any pursuit, which has slowed our progress. And now… there’s no point, if we’ve been found. So, as I see it, we need to use the road to move as far ahead as we can. Tonight. With luck, and a few hours head start, whoever has tracked us will be way behind. We could even make it to Riversedge before them and have a better chance of losing them there.” He shrugged. “Just my thoughts.”
    Caldan nodded—as did Elpidia, though reluctantly. To him, the shopkeeper made a lot of sense. Their progress would be slow, though, with both Bells and Miranda limiting their pace. They were weary and in need of more rest, but it was better than waiting here the night.
    He held his hand out for the cloth strip. “Agreed,” he said.
    Amerdan smiled. “I’ll do it. Just gather your things, and keep quiet about it.”
     

Chapter Three
    Vasile Lauris sipped his mug of water and studied the hard men around him. He had come to think of them all as inflexible, though the truth was that only one of them was: Aidan. The sorcerer, Chalayan, and the swordsman, Anshul, were quite adaptable, once he had gotten to know them.
    Around them, the ship creaked and swayed constantly. The tiny cabin felt cramped and claustrophobic, and the air never seemed to freshen, holding a moist rankness he breathed reluctantly.
    He eyed the mugs of ale they drank and licked his lips. To his left, Mazoet drained another. The sorcerer drank like a fish, and from what Vasile had seen of his appetite, ate enough for three men. And every time Vasile met with Aidan for a talk, either Luphildern Quiss or Mazoet followed him like a shadow.
    They had spent days on board since Anasoma had fallen. Gazija, ancestors curse him, told them to be patient. All the while, the old man had been in Vasile’s ear, explaining to him the need to persuade Aidan and his men to join with them. Why Gazija couldn’t just talk to them himself, he didn’t know. Perhaps he feared revealing too much of his plans to men with unknown motives and loyalties. Whatever the old man’s reservations, Vasile didn’t appreciate being used in this way. Gazija and Luphildern may have stumbled upon the truth of his talent, but that didn’t give them leave to manipulate him.
    He guessed Aidan and his men would be hard to persuade to support anything that was against their code. But nothing Gazija’s people had done so far was out of the ordinary. It could be Gazija’s sorcery that was the