The Silent Tempest (Book 2) by Michael G. Manning Read Free Book Online Page A

fight with the Krytek,” said the warden. “Not
everyone believes the story, but there’s no other way…”
    “I can sever a slave collar as well.” He lowered the
tip of the blade to the old man’s throat. It made a shallow slice in the flesh
as it slid close to the spellweave around Gwaeri’s neck. Blood welled and
dripped to the ground, but the warden didn’t flinch or cry out. “Do you know
what happens if the collar is broken?”
    “Death.” Sweat was beading on the older man’s
forehead, but he gave no other sign of fear.
    Tyrion dismissed his enchanted arm-blade and then
presented the outer edge of his arm for Gwaeri’s inspection. “See the runes
there?” He waited for the other man to nod before continuing, “Those are the
secret. They forge my aythar into a type of magic that is similar to She’Har
spellweaving. I call it enchanting.
    “If you refocus your magesight, you’ll find something
similar on your skin.” He used a finger to push the slave collar up a bit, to
make it easier for the warden to examine the symbols on his throat. They had
been hidden by the collar.
    Gwaeri frowned.
    “I kept the marks as small as I could, so your masters
won’t see it, unless you deliberately show them. I wouldn’t advise it,
though.”
    “What purpose does it serve?”
    “Mine,” said Tyrion with steel in his voice, “just as
you do now. If I decide you have been disloyal, I will activate the
enchantment tattooed onto your skin, destroying your slave collar and ending
your miserable life.”
    “I cannot disobey, Dalleth,” said the warden.
    “Then you should take care to make sure he never gives
you an order that I will take exception to. If you displease me, if the girl
comes to harm, or if you attempt to show your new decoration to anyone, the
enchantment will activate,” Tyrion stated calmly.
    In truth, the enchantment would do none of those
things, unless he deliberately activated it, and that would still require him
to be within a few hundred yards of the tattoo. It was possible to create an
enchantment that would do all those things, but Tyrion had yet to discover how
to trigger one beyond the limit of his own power. Nor did he know how to set
an enchantment to detect betrayal.
    But of course, Gwaeri knew none of those things.

Chapter
5
    Haley had fallen asleep exhausted, both emotionally
and physically. She lay on the living wooden pallet that grew from the floor.
The buildings in Sabortrea, like those in Ellentrea, were actually part of the
roots of one of the nearby god-trees. The She’Har could control how they grew,
forming them into buildings complete with furniture-like protrusions such as
the ‘bed’ she now slept on.
    She was shivering now, her concentration had lapsed
when she fell asleep, and the pocket of warm air she had kept around herself
had dissipated. Done properly, the spell that maintained the warmth around her
would have lasted through the night, but she was still a novice, and her father
had been pushing her hard.
    Tyrion felt impatient. He only had twenty-four hours,
and it bothered him that they were being forced to spend some of it sleeping,
but he knew she wouldn’t be able to learn without rest. She had already had
far more help than he had received when he had first been taken.
    He picked up the blanket he had brought, his only gift
to her, and draped it over her gently, tucking the edges around her shoulders
and feet. Haley seemed small under his hands.
    Looking down on her, he couldn’t help but examine her
features. Her face was smooth, relaxed and calm with sleep. She was
beautiful.
    She’ll probably die in the arena.
    Tyrion shoved that thought aside and stretched out on
the ground. He spoke a word and wrapped himself more firmly in a shell of
warmth, outlining it vividly in his mind. It would last long past his descent
into unconsciousness. Years and constant practice had given his imagination
and will a strength that iron would envy.
    He closed his