Balancer (Advent Mage Cycle) Read Online Free Page B

other reward instead.”
    Phew. Got out of that one. Before he could think of some other outlandish reward, I gave him a bow and beat a hasty retreat.
     
     

Chapter Two: Reconnaissance
     
     
    We’d been put up in a building that actually stood separately from the palace, even though it was in the same compound. It rather reminded me of the Hainian Embassy just because it had the same construction to it. The building stood four stories tall, with a variety of rooms inside. I had a suspicion that once the Remnant magicians arrived they would be housed here. The place had enough room for two hundred or so people.
    Chatta put up a ward on the building as soon as we arrived. Her barriers were very different from mine, and wards were entirely different than barriers, so we were fairly confident that it would repel any Priests who tried to enter. Still, if nothing else, she would definitely feel it if someone did breach the wards. It let us all get a sound night’s sleep.
    ~*~
    We all drifted down to the main level for breakfast. The sweet scent of warm food acted as a siren’s song, drawing us into the large main room. It held a long table that someone had set up with a buffet style meal against one wall, another table in the middle of the room with places set. Abundant windows let in the soft morning light enough that no lamps needed to be lit.
    Saroya met us for breakfast. He looked rougher than the last time I’d seen him, when we’d rescued Nolan. Dark smudges under his eyes, and deep lines around his eyes and mouth aged him ten years. His uniform was impeccable, as always, but the general air of fatigue around him made me think he was subsisting on two or three hours of sleep a night.
    Chatta took one look at him, reached into her pocket, and drew out a small vial. He took it from her in bemusement. “What is this?”
    “Rejuvenation potion,” she answered with a searching look. “It’s no substitute for real sleep, but it will keep you from dragging around in a haze of exhaustion.”
    Old reflexes made him hesitate, but he looked down at her worried expression and whatever reservations he had faded. With a nod of thanks, he pulled the stopper and downed the vial in one go. His nose scrunched up in distaste and his mouth worked for a moment.
    “It must be effective. Like all good medicine, it tastes awful.”
    Chuckling, I handed him a glass of water.
    He quaffed that down quickly. “Phew, better. Thank you. Now, let’s get down to business.” He took a seat at the head of the table, a plate mounded over with food. He didn’t touch any of it, though. He let out a sigh, shoulders slumping. “At this point, I’m afraid to say that we know very little. One of my men reports that he’s seen Priests sneaking into Darlington Province’s manor house in the dead of night. They were apparently dressed in farm hand’s clothes, but he recognized one of them. We can only assume that those with him are also Priests. That is the one confirmed trouble spot we have. The rest of them are sightings from citizens in practically every other Province. Jarrell and Habbick are the exceptions. I haven’t heard anything from those two.”
    I winced. Every province but two? That’s practically the entire country!
    Shad let out a soft whistle. “Well, that just made things challenging. Any chance we can borrow Coven Ordan’s pool and let them do the spying for us?”
    Chatta shook her head before he could get the full question out. “It might help, but I’d lay odds that any scrying pool would be useless at this point. Anyone that could find a safe place has already gone to ground. They’re not going to leave their hidey hole until it’s safe again. A pool can’t see through a building’s walls.”
    “We’re going to have to do this the hard way,” Xiaolang agreed, stabbing at his food with more force than necessary.
    “That will take weeks ,” Shield groaned. “Even with our Priest-detector.”
    I pointed a