Return to Honor by Brian McClellan Read Free Book Online

cigarette smoke pricked her nostrils. “Olem?”
    “That’s what I said. Looks like you had quite a party last night.” Olem stood by the window, dressed in his uniform, hat under one hand.
    Vlora looked around at the piles of clothes and discarded wine bottles. Her head pounded, and she couldn’t remember much of anything after dragging Wohler screaming through the streets and delivering him to the Adopest police. “It takes a lot to get a powder mage drunk,” she said.
    Olem lifted one of the bottles and held it to the light. He swirled the contents and sniffed it, then took a swig.
    Vlora tossed the sheet away and reached for her pants, pausing to smile when Olem turned hastily away from her nudity. She pulled on her shirt and boots, then stood up and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make herself presentable. Olem offered the half-empty wine bottle. She took it with a word of thanks and took a large gulp.
    Foul.
    “What’s going on?” she asked. “We caught Wohler, didn’t we?”
    “That we did. Good work. The intelligence is secured and Wohler will be talking to our boys about any of Charlemund’s other secrets he may be privy to.”
    “So, uh, what are you doing here?
    “I thought you might like to go get some breakfast down the road.”
    Vlora raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”
    Olem gave her a grin. “Indeed. You’ll want a full stomach. We’ve got a long way to ride today.”
    “We?”
    “I’m done with my recruiting, and my men and I need to be in Budwiel in four days. I thought you might want to come with us.”
    Vlora blinked lazily, her mind still trying to catch up. That’s right, she had captured Wohler, which meant she was welcome back at the front. She gave a sigh of relief. Two days ago she had all but resigned herself to failure. Now she had succeeded, with Olem’s help.
    To be honest, it felt like a hollow victory. It was all for what? To impress Tamas and go to the front, where she could get back to killing? No, she reminded herself. It was so Sabon could rest easy.
    “Was this meant to be a test all along? Were you here to watch me?”
    Olem looked around for someplace to ash his cigarette, then opened the window to do it outside. “No,” he said. “I was told to bring you if you succeed, leave you if you failed.”
    “And you weren’t supposed to help me?”
    “I was told not to, actually. But I figured that was just the field marshal’s mood talking.” Olem extended a hand. “Shall we?”
    Vlora clasped the hand. “Breakfast first?”
    “I don’t start the day any other way. Besides, there’s going to be a battle at Budwiel, and a damned big one. I figure it can wait for a good meal.”

Meet the Author
    Photo by Kevin Kempton
    Brian McClellan is an avid reader of fantasy and a former student of Brandon Sanderson. When he is not writing, he loves baking, making jam from fruit grown in northeast Ohio, and playing video games. He currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife. Find out more about Brian McClellan at www.brianmcclellan.com.

Also by Brian McClellan
P OWDER M AGE T RILOGY
    Promise of Blood
    The Crimson Campaign
    The Autumn Republic
S HORT F ICTION IN THE P OWDER M AGE U NIVERSE
    Forsworn (e-only novella)
    Servant of the Crown (e-only novella)
    Hope’s End (e-only short story)
    The Girl of Hrusch Avenue (e-only short story)
    Face in the Window (e-only short story)
    Return to Honor (e-only short story)

If you enjoyed
RETURN TO HONOR
look out for
THE AUTUMN REPUBLIC
B OOK T HREE OF THE P OWDER M AGE T RILOGY
by Brian McClellan

1
    F ield Marshal Tamas stood in the ruins of the Kresim Cathedral in Adopest.
    What had once been a magnificent building with golden spires that rose majestically above the surrounding buildings was now a pile of rubble being picked over by a small army of stonemasons in search of usable marble and limestone, and birds that had built their nests in those spires now wheeled aimlessly overhead as Tamas inspected the