Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: M. S. Dobing
Cian.’
‘You’re from the Families, aren’t you?’
‘The name is Barach, of the Family known as the First. This,’ he motioned to the magi at the perimeter of the room, ‘is my coterie. You are Seb, bearer of the message that destroyed the Magistry and also breaker of the Spoke Stone.’
Seb’s face flushed. ‘How do you know all this? None of the Families even knew about the message.’
‘No, we did not, although that was purely down to the ignorance of your Magister.’
‘How did you know?’ Seb repeated.
‘When we detected the disruption caused by Skelwith’s destruction, several of our coteries converged there. We found the mansion in ruins. Many dead. After the news became public in our particular community we happened upon Loremaster Brun. The slimy whelp couldn’t live with the guilt of what he knew and was only too eager to enlighten us on what had transpired.’
‘We were tricked.’ Seb heard himself say, his mind drifting back to those final few hours. Something hot filled his throat and he swallowed it down.
‘Save your explanations. Whatever your motives, the actions that transpired that day have led to severe repercussions throughout the Shard.’
‘What repercussions?’
‘That is not for me to explain. My instructions were to find you; unfortunately, the changes in the Weave have meant it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily for us you decided to come back to one of the few places we had under observation.’
‘Who’s instruction?’
Barach sat back, his eyes wide with disbelief. ‘You really don’t know anything, do you?’
‘Can you cut the smart ass shit, please? Just tell me.’
‘The Archmage, boy. My Archmage.’
Seb shrugged. ‘Sorry, I haven’t been told any of this.’
Barach stood. ‘That is very apparent.’ He waved at one of the nearby magi. ‘We’re going,’ he said.
‘Going where?’ Seb said.
‘Out of here. This place makes my skin crawl.’
The mage Barach had spoken to pulled a familiar-looking gem from inside his jacket. He dropped it to the floor. The gem smashed, and in its place a glowing blue portal flared into existence.
‘A home stone,’ Seb said.
‘My, they did teach you something after all,’ Barach said. ‘Come now, we travel.’
Seb paused for a moment. He could’ve said no, of course, but did he really have a choice? Sylph and Cade were still surrounded by the other magi. Without their weapons they were still fearsome warriors but recent experience told him that they were still no match for Barach’s coterie. Wasn’t this what he wanted anyway? To find the Families? He’d been trying for months but with no success. The experience so far didn’t fill him with confidence. In the months since the incident at Skelwith he’d forgotten, or at least tried to forget, the role he’d played when he’d destroyed the Spoke Stone, removing Marek’s spell and freeing the sentinels. The side effects of that were that the Consensus was broken; the Weave had been freed from the constraints layered upon it. Had he honestly expected this to be without ramifications?
Well, time to face up to them.
He stood, exchanging resigned glances with his companions as they made their way to the portal. With a flash of blue light, they left the ruins of Marek’s lair behind.
CHAPTER FOUR
The swirling torrent of blue lightning faded away. The ground firmed underneath his feet and the rotten smell of Haven gave way to something different, a sweet smell of incense. The coldness that had filled his bones evaporated away in an instant. A warmth enveloped him, comforting and reassuring all at once. He opened his eyes.
‘Wow.’
Their location couldn’t be further away from the ruin they’d left behind. They were stood on a raised platform of polished black stone. Around them a grand hall, much larger and splendid than the Magistry ever was, stretched off into the distance. A wide staircase led up and onto a balcony
‘You’re from the Families, aren’t you?’
‘The name is Barach, of the Family known as the First. This,’ he motioned to the magi at the perimeter of the room, ‘is my coterie. You are Seb, bearer of the message that destroyed the Magistry and also breaker of the Spoke Stone.’
Seb’s face flushed. ‘How do you know all this? None of the Families even knew about the message.’
‘No, we did not, although that was purely down to the ignorance of your Magister.’
‘How did you know?’ Seb repeated.
‘When we detected the disruption caused by Skelwith’s destruction, several of our coteries converged there. We found the mansion in ruins. Many dead. After the news became public in our particular community we happened upon Loremaster Brun. The slimy whelp couldn’t live with the guilt of what he knew and was only too eager to enlighten us on what had transpired.’
‘We were tricked.’ Seb heard himself say, his mind drifting back to those final few hours. Something hot filled his throat and he swallowed it down.
‘Save your explanations. Whatever your motives, the actions that transpired that day have led to severe repercussions throughout the Shard.’
‘What repercussions?’
‘That is not for me to explain. My instructions were to find you; unfortunately, the changes in the Weave have meant it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily for us you decided to come back to one of the few places we had under observation.’
‘Who’s instruction?’
Barach sat back, his eyes wide with disbelief. ‘You really don’t know anything, do you?’
‘Can you cut the smart ass shit, please? Just tell me.’
‘The Archmage, boy. My Archmage.’
Seb shrugged. ‘Sorry, I haven’t been told any of this.’
Barach stood. ‘That is very apparent.’ He waved at one of the nearby magi. ‘We’re going,’ he said.
‘Going where?’ Seb said.
‘Out of here. This place makes my skin crawl.’
The mage Barach had spoken to pulled a familiar-looking gem from inside his jacket. He dropped it to the floor. The gem smashed, and in its place a glowing blue portal flared into existence.
‘A home stone,’ Seb said.
‘My, they did teach you something after all,’ Barach said. ‘Come now, we travel.’
Seb paused for a moment. He could’ve said no, of course, but did he really have a choice? Sylph and Cade were still surrounded by the other magi. Without their weapons they were still fearsome warriors but recent experience told him that they were still no match for Barach’s coterie. Wasn’t this what he wanted anyway? To find the Families? He’d been trying for months but with no success. The experience so far didn’t fill him with confidence. In the months since the incident at Skelwith he’d forgotten, or at least tried to forget, the role he’d played when he’d destroyed the Spoke Stone, removing Marek’s spell and freeing the sentinels. The side effects of that were that the Consensus was broken; the Weave had been freed from the constraints layered upon it. Had he honestly expected this to be without ramifications?
Well, time to face up to them.
He stood, exchanging resigned glances with his companions as they made their way to the portal. With a flash of blue light, they left the ruins of Marek’s lair behind.
CHAPTER FOUR
The swirling torrent of blue lightning faded away. The ground firmed underneath his feet and the rotten smell of Haven gave way to something different, a sweet smell of incense. The coldness that had filled his bones evaporated away in an instant. A warmth enveloped him, comforting and reassuring all at once. He opened his eyes.
‘Wow.’
Their location couldn’t be further away from the ruin they’d left behind. They were stood on a raised platform of polished black stone. Around them a grand hall, much larger and splendid than the Magistry ever was, stretched off into the distance. A wide staircase led up and onto a balcony
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