Temple of the Traveler: Book 02 - Dreams of the Fallen by Scott Rhine Read Free Book Online Page B

you is in the center of the vast territory you control, protected on all sides.”
    Morlan, the Imperial bodyguard, had been stabbed through the throat while defending Lord Kragen, losing his voice in the process. Humi had personally nursed the young, broad-shouldered, strong-jawed fighter back to health. Largely due to Morlan, every bold plan she proposed for House Kragen had succeeded. Because of his undying devotion to her and the regard that the Brotherhood of Executioners held him in, she’d promoted the bodyguard to general in charge of the invasion.
    Glancing at the papers, she complained, “This is a merchant vessel.”
    “The fastest available, madam. Our only other choice was the protection of your warship, and your orders were clear for that in the campaign. Prolonged land travel might endanger the Kragen heir.”
    Mollified, she looked for some other flaw in Morlan’s usual, iron-clad reasoning. “It’s an awfully large ship for me and my honor guard.”
    “The ship had to be large enough to bear the highest-order spirit wards.” The steward handed her the orders for the increased contingent of guards. “He has made provision to protect you against every danger.”
    Reading the cargo manifest, she snorted, “A luxurious provision it is. We couldn’t eat half this.”
    Being a mute, Morlan was impossible to argue with. This left the steward to face her wrath. “Before marching north against King Zandar, he left you a letter explaining everything,” the steward said, holding up the parchment like a ward.
    The document was full of Morlan’s well-reasoned words, but the Lady perceived a motive much deeper than logistics of war. As proof, he’d renamed her new vessel The Beauty . Imperial men could never say what they meant when it came to emotions. She tucked the letter into her kimono to reread later. She sighed, “He makes a convincing argument. Take me to the ship.”
    The steward bowed, “It shall be done as you require.”
    “I know,” she whispered. King Zandar had insulted her, refusing her family lands and title due to her mixed blood. Morlan would behead the king single-handedly, if only to make her smile. He’d push his troops to move at impossible rates if only to return to her one day sooner.
    This is precisely why Humi had told no one in Innisport about the Emperor Sandarac’s marriage proposal. On the face, the deal held promise; however, she needed two pieces of crucial information. Could she trust the Pretender, and could this man deliver on his goal of world conquest?
    Once onboard the merchant vessel and heading toward the Kragen Palace under cover of darkness, Humi dispatched her pet Shadow to question the one person whose plans had always been bolder and more ruthless than her own: General Navara. During his final battle, Lord Kragen had bound his lecherous apprentice, Tumberlin, to a molten chunk of Emperor’s Glass. With techniques from her dead husband’s secret journals, Humi could command the man’s spirit to go anywhere she desired. Tumberlin’s spirit form could be used to scout, carry messages, or terrify her enemies. That night, Tumberlin returned much later than usual. She had to inflict pain on him via his life-stone to draw him back again.
    Wheezing from exertion, poor health, and the punishment, the apprentice returned to his body, which was chained just outside the dark Lady’s sorcerous circle of protection.
“Why were you late?” Humi demanded, fingering her magic pearls like worry beads.
    “Navara had a lot to say,” hissed Tumberlin’s crumpled form. “He had to wake some people up to ask a few important questions of his own.”
    “Tell me everything he said!”
    The emaciated face sneered, dark eyes mocking her. He no longer looked at her in lust; his appetites had changed during these many weeks of disembodied travel. “I don’t know if I should tell you. Ask me nicely.”
    The Lady answered by holding the life-stone over an open flame. Both she