Fire In The Blood (Shards Of A Broken Sword Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

Kako that made her so easy to read?
    He was still frowningly observing Kako when her eyes opened and met his, sleepy and then sharp. She looked cautious and a little bit speculative.
    Rafiq said: “You sleep very late for a serving maid.”
    “You’re a strange little construct,” she said, yawning and stretching. “It’s not polite to watch people while they sleep: didn’t your prince tell you that? It borders on disturbing, actually.”
    Rafiq was goaded into retorting: “My usual form isn’t this little .”
    “Speaking of your usual form, what is it? More importantly, why do you have fire running through the magic around you–” Kako’s mouth remained open, but her words died away. She leaped from her settee and crouched in front of Rafiq, who submitted without blinking to a wide-eyed and animated scrutiny that lasted for many minutes.
    When at last she was done, Kako looked at him with slightly dazed eyes and said: “Rafiq, where did your dragon go?”
    Rafiq crossed his arms.
    “That dragon, the one who killed the Keep’s dragon. Where is it?”
    “It went away.” It didn’t sound convincing even to his own ears.
    “ You’re the dragon!”
    “I’m a man,” said Rafiq. His voice sounded even less convincing.
    Kako, her eyes shining, said: “You’re the dragon! You’re a dragon-human construct! How are you doing that?”
    “He told me to be man,” said Rafiq, with bitterness in his soul. “I became man.”
    “Yes, you’re under Thrall: I understand that. But even a dragon in Thrall can’t change into a man at will.”
    Rafiq, who knew of several ancient draconian lines whose descendants could and did change to man (or woman) at will, shrugged. When it came to consciousness, humans and dragons were not so far apart. That fact more than magical talent made the change between species possible.
    Kako drew in a deep breath, questions blossoming in her eyes, but before she could speak even one of them Prince Akish strode into the room in all his sweat and said: “Up, lizard! The day has well begun. We shall seek food, and then the way forward.”
    “There is no food,” said Kako, accepting Rafiq’s offered hand to rise from the rug. “It’s not part of the paradigm. Unless you’d like to eat books, of course.”
    Of course, thought Rafiq sourly, Prince Akish still had his rations pack: a small, half-empty skin of water and two days’ worth of marching rations. Those rations, he was well aware, wouldn’t be offered to him. He could go for longer than Akish without food—or water, if it came to that—but it wouldn’t be pleasant.
    “Water, then? How will I wash?”
    “You won’t. Your highness. Water isn’t part of the paradigm either.”
    “Rafiq, seize the serving maid. Menace her with your dagger or some such thing.”
    Rafiq obeyed with murder in his thoughts. Kako squeaked when he folded one arm around her swiftly, pinning her arms to her sides and her back to his chest, but though she was startled she didn’t seem to be frightened. She didn’t even wriggle when Rafiq’s dagger caught in the folds of her neck scarf.
    He said, through his teeth: “I object to menacing females.”
    “Your objection is heard and disregarded,” said Akish. “Now, maiden: inform the Keep that if it doesn’t co-operate, I will slaughter you where you stand.”
    “You can tell it yourself, if you like,” said Kako, but she nevertheless called out: “The prince says he’ll kill me if you don’t co-operate.”
    There was the kind of awkward silence that suggested everybody knew somebody had been made a fool of, but nobody quite liked to say so.
    Prince Akish clicked his tongue impatiently. “Ho there! Open the third Circle to us or your serving maid dies!”
    Rafiq felt Kako sigh slightly. “It’s not a person, your highness. It doesn’t understand death. The Circles can’t be cheated: threatening me will only waste time we could be using to find the way ourselves.”
    “Let her feel