EPIC: Fourteen Books of Fantasy by Terah Edun, Anna Zaires, Dima Zales, Lindsay Buroker, C. Greenwood, Jeff Gunzel, Daniel Arenson, Megg Jensen, Joseph Lallo, Annie Bellet, Edward W. Robertson, Mande Matthews, K. J. Colt, Brian D. Anderson, David Adams Read Free Book Online Page B

before , she thought.
    It was an object of residual magic and imbued with a specific gift. In this case, the ability to cloak the man and his compatriot in a mobile sight shield. The problem with objects like that was that they could only accomplish one thing. They could do it perfectly but nothing else. Which meant the man hadn’t been able to muffle the sound of his breathing like he would have if he had been a true mage with a sight and sound shield.
    She took out her knife and wished she had a sword at the moment. Screw the wharf rules.
    “Who are you?” she said tightly.
    “Not important,” said the man in a relaxed voice with an inflection that indicated an educated background.
    She said through gritted teeth, “It is to me.”
    He stared at her with cold eyes. “Edgar, it’s time to go.”
    He wasn’t talking to her that time. The man in the back startled and turned around. When his cape moved, she saw a rotund belly, several chins, and thick, squinty eyes. Not a threat.
    “Already?” said Edgar in a whine.
    “Yes,” said the man tightly.
    “But there’s so much here.” Edgar clearly didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
    “Get what you came for and let’s go,” said the man with his knife at Ezekiel’s throat as he stepped forward. He was watching Sara warily.
    She mirrored his actions with a thin smile.
    He raised an eyebrow and pressed the knife down on Ezekiel’s throat. A thin red line of blood appeared and dripped down. The curator of the artifacts whimpered. She halted.
    “I would stay where you are.”
    They faced each other resolutely. From behind them all, Edgar whined again, “Is this about her? Kill her.” Her eyes flickered to Edgar. He sounded like a child.
    The man’s face hardened. He apparently didn’t like Edgar’s tone any more than she did.
    “But don’t kill the curator!” Edgar hastily said. “We need him.”
    “Do you, now?” Sara cooed with a smile. She had her in. The man in front of her realized Edgar’s mistake at the same time she did. He couldn’t kill Ezekiel even if he threatened him. Which made Ezekiel’s position as a human shield improbable.
    She ran forward with her knife in one hand, her dagger in her other. He tossed Ezekiel to the floor with a curse in order to meet her head-on with both of his knives in hand. They came together in a clash of slashes, kicks, and whirls. She tried to slit his throat with her knife in her right hand while keeping out of reach of his longer knives. She was successful in the latter, thwarted in the former. So they circled each other warily as Ezekiel coughed on the floor. Too late she noticed they were moving toward the back of the warehouse. Closer to his partner, Edgar. When she looked around out of the corner of her eyes to locate the rotund man she noted that he was plastered against the far wall and edging to the door. Not a threat. But still he was stealing something out of their warehouse.
    She called out, “Ezekiel, stop him! He’s getting away.”
    The curator’s head popped up from between the benches and he looked around warily. He spotted the man leaving the building. “You’re joking, right?”  
    He ducked back down. Sara rolled her eyes and exchanged swift slashes with the man in front of her. Neither of them seemed to be gaining the advantage.
    “Fine,” snapped Sara. “But he’s taking your statue.”
    Ezekiel leaped up faster than she would have ever given him credit for.
    By that time Edgar was swiftly walking just past the hiding spot Ezekiel occupied. When the bespectacled man spotted the golden statue in the fat man’s hands, he let out an inhuman shriek. “Not the statue of Tirsaman!”
    With a yowl, he launched himself at the thief.
    Sara lifted a surprised eyebrow. “Not exactly what I had in mind, Ezekiel.”
    Ezekiel wasn’t paying her the least bit of attention. He was wrapped around the fat man’s body as they struggled for ownership of the golden statue.
    Then