Heirs of the Fallen: Book 04 - Wrath of the Fallen by James A. West Read Free Book Online Page B

a mole. When he saw Belina, a tired smile touched his lips. She flew into his arms.
    Adham stared intently. His son was grimy, tattered, and pale from the dust, but he looked as he should, and not like a corpse at all. Did I imagine it? He almost thought he had, but remembered that Ulmek had seen the change come over Leitos. He searched the warrior’s face for any sign of wariness, but saw only relief written across his hard features.
    “Good to see you, little brother,” Ulmek said, the warmth in his voice out of character. “As you are alive, and by the look of you better off than the rest of us, I trust you succeeded?”
    “I have news everyone needs to hear,” Leitos said slowly.
    He and the Yatoan girl joined the others. Belina was staring at him as if she could not believe he was real. Adham recalled that she had some strange ideas that she had seen Leitos in visions long before ever meeting him, and something about him being necessary to destroy the Faceless One.
    Adham shook off his doubts and hugged his son. Leitos felt real under his hands, solid. There was nothing abnormal or malformed about him, but still....
    Leitos gently pushed him away. “I’m well, Father,” he said, and Adham realized that he had been rudely poking and patting his son, much as he would a cut of questionable meat.
    “What happened?” Adham asked, unable to withhold the question.
    Leitos’s gaze was unwavering. “Every kingdom across the Sea of Drakarra is lost,” he said simply. “And your father, Kian Valara, is dead.”
    “Did you...?”
    “No,” Leitos said quickly. “What we saw, what I fought, wore Kian’s face, but was not him. Your father has been dead for some time.” He looked ready to add more, but abruptly pressed his lips together.
    “See there,” Ulmek said. “I told you Kian did not betray his people.”
    “Then who is the Faceless One?” Adham asked. What relief he had gained in learning that his father was not the destroyer of humankind was overshadowed by the grief in learning of his demise. And if Kian was dead, what of the others? The north was fallen, Leitos had said, and that meant his mother, Ellonlef, was gone, along with Hazad and Azuri, and all the rest who Adham had lived and fought beside since he was old enough to wield a sword.
    Before Leitos could reveal who had been wearing Kian’s face, Belina cleared her throat. She looked to Adham. “Why would you think the Faceless One was your father?”
    Adham realized she had never seen the Faceless One’s transformation. “When we went into the Throat, it was Kian who greeted us.”
    “No,” Leitos said. “The Faceless One and Peropis are one and the same, and she’s coming.”
    “Gods good and wise,” Daris breathed.
    “What else can you tell us?” Ulmek asked.
    “Little enough,” Leitos said. “But I’d rather tell it to everyone at once.” He looked about, concern wrinkling his brow. “Sumahn, Nola, Damoc, are they...?”
    “They are alive,” Belina said hastily.
    “And off to Armala,” Daris put in. “Nola was hurt. Sumahn and Damoc are taking her to the palace.”
    “We should go after them,” Leitos said. In a lower voice, he added, “Time is short.”
    Ulmek agreed with a nod and set out. The others quickly fell in line, with Leitos and Adham coming last.
    Adham studied his son with fleeting glances, assuring himself that he was whole and hale. Aside from that, he sensed a difference in him, something he could not name, something that made him uneasy. Stop being an old fool , he told himself, but just as quickly reminded himself that it was the rare fool who grew to a ripe old age.

Chapter 10
     
     
     
    After climbing down off the rockslide, the forest closed around them. A dense canopy of leaves blotted most of the sunlight, leaving them to walk in a steamy green murk. Through breaks in the boughs, Adham caught glimpses of clouds, their tops glaring white and swollen, and their bellies dark with the promise of