Etchings of Power (Aegis of the Gods) by Terry C. Simpson, D Kai Wilson-Viola, Gonzalo Ordonez Arias Read Free Book Online

me . Concentrating, Ryne held the urge to kill at bay the way he’d practiced the last twenty years. He forced back the murderous intent by sheer will. A deep breath escaped his lips. Why has my control waned? Why now after all these years?
    Ryne cast a glance behind him. Mariel’s form disappeared among the trees. He knew the pattern well by now. If he stopped to pursue her, she would continue to hide, moving more like an Alzari assassin than one of the high priestesses of Ilumni she claimed to be. Why would a Devout venture this far into Ostania? The thought was just one of many troubling him about the woman. He couldn’t remember ever seeing one with such high rank as she without their silver uniform or their full retinue of guards. He considered hiding himself, but at eight feet tall, conventional methods of concealment presented dilemmas. In this case, drawing on the essences within the elements of Mater to mask his presence wasn’t an option.
    He took another quick look behind. He’d opened up more distance, but she still followed, as dogged as a hound. Again, he resisted the nagging temptation to go after her. But he couldn’t let her just roam free could he? Not with Kahkon’s safety at stake. Choice and consequence continued to pry at him.
    He made up his mind.
    “You wish for me to join you to chase her down?” Sakari’s smooth voice broke in, the words more a suggestion than a question.
    Ryne’s forehead wrinkled. When did I link with him. “No. I only intend to lead her away,” he answered in a level voice. He used the link with Sakari to gaze through the man’s eyes. Sakari, accompanied by four hunters, worked their way through the forest several miles east of Ryne’s location. “Continue to follow the tracks until they lead you to the beast’s lair and Kahkon.”
    “If you hold back, you will not capture her,” Sakari responded, as if he heard nothing Ryne said.
    “I said I have no intention of chasing her right now. Besides, if I don’t hold back, I’d have to kill her.” Ryne’s mouth curled with distaste at the thought. He shook his head.
    “Not if you allow me to help.”
    Ryne’s forehead wrinkled at the sudden urge to ask for his companion’s assistance. Could he trust himself with his earlier loss of control? He hardened his tone, “No, you stay with the others. Find the boy. I promised his mother. He mustn’t end up the same as those corpses we found, and we can’t allow him to disappear like the others. I’ll do what I can about Mariel.” Not wishing to second-guess his decision, he broke the link before Sakari could reply.
    When he swept his gaze behind him once more, Mariel was a mere speck. At that moment, the hunter’s horn sounded in a long, undulating bray to announce the others had located their quarry. Swearing, Ryne chased Mariel from his thoughts and dashed off toward the sound.
    As Ryne drew near, the ever-present lump in the back of his mind that told of Sakari’s presence grew in size. Feet flew by like inches and miles fled like yards as he followed his connection to Sakari along a path the hunters had hewn through dense undergrowth. The smells from fruits and orchid blooms and the twitter of birds hurtled by with each stride. One with the woods, Ryne avoided any branches and vines the men had missed. Within minutes, he reached the horn’s origin.
    An abrupt silence greeted him.
    Lenka, gray-haired and wiry, stood with horn in hand behind a large mahogany tree. Its thick branches drooped from the weight of its leaves and the lantum vines snaking among them. The canopy in this part of the Fretian Woods grew in a tighter knit than elsewhere. If one didn’t know the time of day, the murky light could easily be mistaken for dusk instead of late afternoon.
    Sakari and the other four hunters, all in scaled leather armor with short swords at their hips, melded with the tree trunks within the area until all were one and the same. Not a sound or motion gave away