Sands of Aggar: Amazons of Aggar Book 3 by Chris Anne Wolfe Read Free Book Online

single arched eyebrow. It would be wise for her to stay a step ahead of Calder.
    She moved silently, staying deep enough in the forest not to attract attention until she was as close to Calder’s meeting as possible. She crouched beside a thick, thorny bramble bush, focusing intently. She couldn’t see them anymore, she was too close to stand without being betrayed by the light of the torches, but she could hear them just fine.
    “We found the third piece has been returned to the Core, but the Twins say the second two are in the desert,” Kasin reported. The sound of a finger striking parchment echoed. They were looking at a map.
    Calder’s voice was low and thoughtful as he plotted his next move. “There aren’t a lot of villages in the desert.”
    “Initial scryings have placed one artifact buried in the sand and the other in the Great Market.”
    “We’ll need a larger party if we’re going to take on the Market.”
    “We may not be able to take it at all. It will require more subtlety than our usual ventures.”
    “Subtlety? From these brutes? By the time we get to the Market they’ll be frothing at the mouth for a raid.”
    “We’ve been given clearance to pillage as we please. The Twins believe the random violence will disguise our true purpose.”
    Calder’s voice was thick with pleasure. Rox didn’t have to see him to know he was smiling. “Good. Then we head south. Perhaps we’ll run across a merchant’s caravan on our way into the desert.”
    Their voices faded as the meeting broke and they returned to the main camp. Rox waited for them to go silent and settle into their beds before standing. She drew a deep breath, steeling herself for the destruction and mayhem to come. She’d always known the Twins had a purpose for sending out the Circle, but she’d assumed it was to amass wealth, maybe sow fear. She had never involved herself in their raids, staying behind as they’d pillaged and plundered a half dozen villages, leaving behind only corpses and ash. She didn’t realize they’d been searching for something.
    The mention of artifacts was intriguing. She wondered exactly what they were, if she’d seen one of the artifacts in the loot bags constantly coming in and out of camp. Still, she decided not to dwell on the thought. Whatever the Twins were looking for was bound to be dangerous. She would do well not to research them any further. Her curiosity didn’t matter. She didn’t want to be involved in their plans. She wanted to finish the mission and earn her wage. The moment she was paid, she could break ties with them forever.
    She circled back around in case any of the men were awake enough to be suspicious of where she re-entered camp. She slid onto her sleeping mat, pulling a light-weight wool blanket over her shoulders. She was small enough that the cheap lap-blanket she’d been given when she joined the party nearly covered her entire body. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Still, resting in silence was a luxury she never took for granted.
    Fisk slinked out of her jacket, curling in the crook of her arm and burying his head beneath her sleeve before promptly falling asleep. Rox stroked the top of his head with one finger, marveling again that despite everything they’d been through, he still trusted her so much.
    “You’re a fool,” she whispered affectionately, laying a gentle kiss on his downy head and saying a silent prayer to the Mother for safety. “But it will all be over soon. One way or another.”

Chapter Four

    Wind and sand howled past the city gates, engulfing Oasis in it torrential wake. Jacquin crawled across the desert floor, her mouth and lungs filling with sand, the tiny grains drowning her as if she’d been plunged underwater. Her nails clawed at the shifting desert, searching desperately for something to hold onto as the storm ripped at her hair and skin, slicing her open then filling her bloody cuts with more sand.
    Her hands reached out wildly,