Forged In Death, Book 1 of The Death Wizard Chronicles by Jim Melvin Read Free Book Online Page A

footsteps. She would never be a wizard; it was not in her. She could, however, love one.
    She was brave. She was loyal. She often was told she was beautiful. Why not her?
    Kusala would have called it infatuation, but she knew better. Sōbhana loved Torg, as a woman does a man. She was puzzled that he had never taken a wife, but at the same time it pleased her. It gave her a chance to realize her dream. And if she had ever seen Torg with another woman, she might have committed murder.
    Marriage was relatively rare among Tugars. Most of their men and women preferred sexual freedom—and among their own kind, the warriors were promiscuous. Unlike the others, Torg was not. He always slept alone. Sōbhana once asked Kusala about it, and the chieftain had fidgeted, uncharacteristically.
    “There are rumors, among the elders, that something terrible happened to him when he was young,” Kusala whispered. “He will not speak of it. I asked him once, and the look he gave me shriveled my tongue. I will not ask again.”
    As Sōbhana replayed the chieftain’s words, she burrowed beneath a mound of crumbled stone until only her eyes and the crown of her head were exposed. She watched Mala and Torg as they slept beneath the slanted roof of a rock shelter. She saw her beloved open his eyes every now and then and look at the Chain Man. Tears coursed down his cheeks. She cried too. If Torg attempted to escape, she would rush to his aid, heedless of her own survival.
    She followed them for days, all the way to the outskirts of Senasana. There she noted the approach of the scouts, and then the soldiers. As the morning sun climbed in the sky, Torg was led toward the main gates. People gathered along the wide road that ran through the center of the city. Sōbhana stayed far back, away from prying eyes.
    Senasana was an active marketplace. Traders came from as far west as the Kolankold Mountains and as far east as the Barranca wastes. More than fifty thousand lived there permanently, and transients doubled its population.
    On this day, what Sōbhana saw stunned her. A well-equipped army of more than five-hundred-score golden soldiers occupied the city. In addition to this infantry there were dangerous monsters: several druids from Dhutanga and a Kojin from the Dark Forest. Until now, Invictus had not sent this caliber of force this far south, as far as she knew. But the sorcerer’s boldness had grown.
    The citizens of Senasana were not warriors. They could not forestall an army. Accumulating wealth was their main talent. Under these circumstances they were frightened—and cowardly. Accommodating their new guardians would be their safest course.
    Sōbhana knew most Senasanans admired Torg, who’d been a frequent guest. But this time the wizard was a helpless prisoner. It’d be one thing to join forces with an army of Tugars come to rescue their lord. But without the desert warriors to lead the way, it would be suicide to aid him.
    As Torg and his captors marched past her hiding place, someone hurled a tomato from the side of the road. Its aim was true, striking her king in the face. Mala guffawed, along with the crowd.
    It sickened Sōbhana—and angered her.
    Still laughing, the tomato thrower suddenly bent over and coughed up a ball of blood that resembled the splattered fruit. Needless to say, he never laughed again. It wasn’t wise to offend an Asēkha.
    Sōbhana crept closer to the crowd. A large ox cart, piled high with women’s clothing, had been left on the side of the road. The merchant had wandered a few paces away to watch the excitement. Sōbhana stole a loose-fitting kirtle, a pair of low-cut leather shoes, a cloth purse and a hat with a linen band that wrapped under the chin. Kneeling behind the cart, she quickly changed, tucking her uttara and dagger into scabbards beneath the dress and stuffing her black Tugarian outfit into the purse. The hat concealed the cut and color of her hair, which would have looked suspicious to