Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 5 - The Cerulean Storm by Troy Denning Read Free Book Online

use can
     carry only one.”
    “Don't worry about it,” Rikus said, just as glad he would not have to endure the touch of
     her strange magic. “But what about the giants?”
    “They can't escape-and if they could, you couldn't stop them.”
    The sorceress raised both hands toward the sun. Her shadow formed a circle around her
     feet, then rose up to swallow her body in a dark fog.

Chapter Three: The Council of Advisors
    When Sadira stepped into the vaulted murkiness of the advisors' chamber, she saw that the
     entire host of Tyrian councilors stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the orator's floor, while
     the feather-stuffed chairs in the gallery sat empty. She knew instantly that this
     morning's session would be a trying one, and that her opponents on the council would use
     her tardiness to make it even more difficult. Although her trip to help Rikus and Magnus
     had delayed the meeting less than a quarter hour, many advisors made a point of shuffling
     around to cast impatient glares in her direction.
    Sadira started across the floor. The advisors were divided into four different groups,
     each gathered around a podium in a separate quarter of the floor. In the far corner, with
     the rays of the morning sun spilling through the windows behind them, were the guildsmen.
     Mostly humans and dwarves, they were dressed in sooty aprons and clay-specked tabards
     appropriate to their various professions. Next to them stood the free citizens, consisting
     of hemp-robed muls, half-elves, tareks, humans, and anyone else who had been either a
     slave or pauper before Tyr's liberation. Closer to the entrance were the nobles, dressed
     in exotic silks of every color and description, and the templars, who embellished their
     black cassocks with bronze neckchains and breastpins of precious copper.
    As Sadira passed between the noble and templar podiums, she found her way blocked by a
     double-chinned templar. He had a shaved head, eyes as shadowy as her own skin, and a long
     silver chain hanging around Ms corpulent neck.
    “Sadira, here you are-at last!” he said, smiling just enough to bare his gray incisors.
     “How kind of you to come so promptly to the meeting you called.”
    “If a short delay matters so much, then I suggest you let me pass so we can get started,
     Cybrian.” Sadira tried to step around the heavy templar.
    “I think we can excuse your tardiness,” said a blue-frocked noblewoman, moving forward to
     block the sorceress's way. She was a handsome woman with gray eyes, silver hair, and a
     patrician nose. The lady eyed Sadira's dusty robe, then clucked her tongue and added, “But
     your raiment is another matter. By now, you should realize that your apparel reflects your
     respect for the council itself.”
    Sadira suppressed the urge to make a sharp reply, suspecting that the noblewoman's purpose
     was to disrupt the meeting by starting a senseless argument.
    “To the contrary, Lady Laaj,” the sorceress said. “I came as I am because I have no wish
     to keep the council waiting.”
    Sadira stepped between the noblewoman and Cybrian. When her adversaries tried to stand
     their ground, the sorceress chuckled at their foolishness. While her ebony body was
     steeped in the power of the sun, even a half-giant could not have blocked her way. She
     brushed the pair aside easily, sending them stumbling into the midst of their respective
     groups, and walked over to the free citizens. Here, the sorceress found her three guests
     waiting.
    “Who were those two?” asked Neeva. A former gladiator with blond hair, deep emerald eyes,
     and a figure as powerful as it was voluptuous, she wore only a breech-cloth and halter,
     with a cape of green silk thrown over her shoulders to show respect for the council.
    Sadira cast a contemptuous eye upon the two advisors she had just shoved aside. “The lady
     fancies herself the leader of the noble faction in Agis's absence, and the templar