Cursed Bones: Sovereign of the Seven Isles: Book Five by David A. Wells Read Free Book Online

family.”
    “I’m Isabel Reishi. Why are you here? And how did you get into my chambers?”
    “I come with a warning,” Ayela said again. “Do not trust the men … any of them.”
    “Why not?” Isabel asked, frowning.
    “I believe they’re under the spell of the Sin’Rath,” Ayela said, looking about nervously as if someone might hear her.
    “I keep hearing about these Sin’Rath witches,” Isabel said, “but no one can tell me anything about them except that they exist. Who are they?”
    Ayela swallowed hard and looked down, composing herself. She was shaking like a leaf.
    “I saw one once, though they do not know it,” she said. “I was very young and I found a peephole into a chamber where my father went to receive their counsel. He stood before her as if she was a queen, treated her like a man treats a woman that he’s courting, as if she were beautiful beyond words. But what I saw was a monster. I still have nightmares about her, and I’m quite certain that she would have killed me if she’d discovered my presence.”
    “I don’t understand,” Isabel said. “Why do you think your father was so enamored with her if she was so ugly?”
    “I don’t know,” Ayela said, shaking her head slowly. “What I do know is that I’ve never seen anything so dark, so wrong, or so frightening. Not until I saw the things Phane sent against us on the night the rest of my family died.”
    Isabel’s mind raced. “You mean the Sin’Rath are demons?”
    “I think so,” Ayela whispered.
    “Have you told your father or your brother about your suspicions?”
    “No,” she said. “Every man who goes to see them is changed somehow, they come to believe the witches are working for the betterment of Karth and our people, they suddenly change their opinions on a host of issues and begin to work toward new goals. My father always issues a bunch of orders right after he takes their counsel.”
    Ayela paused, wiping a tear from her cheek with a trembling hand.
    “Now Trajan has gone to see them and the same thing has happened,” she said. “He’s my best friend. I know his heart better than any. Before he went to meet with them, he confided in me that he intended to reject their counsel and demand that they stop meddling in the affairs of the people of Karth.”
    She shook her head sadly, another tear sliding slowly down her face.
    “When he returned, he spoke only praise for them. He said the one he met was the most beautiful woman in the world. He said he understood why Father thought so highly of their counsel, even though they cost us our family.
    “My father brought the warning he received in his dreams to them and they told him to ignore it, they told him it was just a dream, they told him that the Regency would not attack … but they did, and half my family died, not to mention countless thousands of innocent people. Now my brother has fallen under their spell and I have no one else I can trust.”
    She placed a small vial of clear liquid on the counter.
    “This will counteract the effects of the malaise weed they’ve been giving you,” Ayela said. “You must drink it all at once and it will take a minute or so for it to take effect. Once it does, the malaise will vanish.”
    “Why are you giving me this?” Isabel asked.
    “Your husband sent the warning that saved my life, saved my father and brother,” she said. “I can’t trust anyone here; the witches have their fingers into everything and everyone in this fortress. I don’t know what they’re planning, but I do know they’re up to something since you’ve arrived.”
    “I’ve offered your father an alliance against Phane,” Isabel said. “It could be that they’ve decided to accept my offer and they’re just making preparations.”
    “You could be right,” Ayela said, “but things have a way of happening in the background, when no one is looking, after my father speaks to the witches. Please don’t tell anyone about this