The Void of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 3) by Jeff Wheeler Read Free Book Online Page B

toppling, the stones just starting to crash down in the heath, and he hoped to come out ahead.
    “Do it!” Trefew ordered savagely.
    The kishion stepped forward. Her heart was brim with emotions as she heard and felt the distinct thud of his boots. At least the Apse Veil had been opened, she reminded herself again. Her mind wandered to those poor souls from Assinica, who would come to this land for shelter, only to find themselves in an evil kingdom that despised mastons. She thought of her grandmother and of Collier, wishing she had been permitted to say good-bye.
    Then Maia lowered her head and swept the dark hair away, exposing the nape of her neck. The kishion’s shadow passed over her. She could hear his breathing.
    “Do you forgive me of my office?” he asked her gruffly, his voice so familiar. They had wandered through the cursed shores of Dahomey together. Of the protectors who had traveled with her, he alone had survived the journey to the lost abbey. He had protected her from Corriveaux and his Dochte Mandar. He had nearly died at a mountain crossing in a confrontation with the Fear Liath.
    “I am content to die,” Maia whispered, refusing to meet his gaze. Her head dipped lower.
    “I know,” he answered softly. There was something in his voice when he said it. A familiarity. Compassion. “But you were born to rule.”
    She heard the sudden stomp of his boot, so she shut her eyes, not wanting to see the blade as it came down to end her. But the cut did not come—at least not for her. Gasps sounded from the crowd, and a commotion erupted on the platform. There were cries of pain, shouts of outrage, and Maia opened her eyes and whirled around to look.
    The kishion was attacking the soldiers on the platform, cutting them down one by one with the greatsword. For a moment, she did not understand what was happening, and then her heart burst with relief at the realization that her protector was protecting her still. The kishion kicked a soldier in the ribs so hard he flew off the platform and into the mass of swarming men who had gathered to watch her die.
    Forshee barked orders with uncontainable rage. There was no way the kishion could face so many foes singlehandedly, was there? Maia stood on shaking knees, watching the chaos unwind in the greenyard. The kishion cut down another man, and Maia spied Trefew cringing behind Suzenne, using her as a human shield. How she loathed him for his cowardice. Suzenne’s face was pinched with pain, but there was no fear there—only triumph.
    The kishion untied something from his belt that looked like two glass cylinders stoppered with cork. He flung the vials off the platform, right by Forshee’s stamping horse. There was a flash of white and suddenly a mist began to fill the green with snaky tendrils. The people in the crowd began to scream in pain and terror as it licked against them.
    Forshee’s mount bucked and threw him, adding to the tumult of the scene. People were fleeing in all directions to escape the choking mist, while soldiers charged from the castle to join the fray. Were they there to fight for Maia’s freedom, or her death? She could not tell amidst such confusion. The kishion shoved another man off the platform and then ripped off the leather executioner’s hood and dropped it at his feet.
    “Follow me to safety,” he said, his smile savage. He rushed to the far end of the platform, reached into his belt again, and hurled another pair of glass vials onto the ground, which also erupted in a flash of seething smoke. More shouts and cries rocked the greenyard, and Maia heard her name screamed by Suzenne. She tried to turn, but the kishion grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the back edge of the platform.
    “Jump!” he growled. Though she strained for Suzenne, the kishion pulled her with him, giving her no choice.
    They landed with a jolt on the cobblestones. The mist was already reaching them, and the kishion grabbed a scarf from his pocket and