Ghost Claws Read Online Free Page A

golden blur slammed into Cardiz.
    I heard the peddler’s horrified scream, followed by the sound of tearing flesh and crushing bone. 
    A huge golden grass lion crouched over Cardiz’s corpse, its muzzle smeared with the dead man’s blood. The brilliant golden eyes fell upon me, and the beast showed its fangs. 
    “Back away,” I said, walking backwards and spreading my arms to make myself look larger. “Back away slowly. It wants to protect its kill. If we get away…”
    But Caina could not stop coughing. 
    The lion’s head swiveled towards her, and the beast stalked forward, five hundred pounds of muscle tensed and ready to spring. Her coughing was drawing the beast, and I felt a surge of panic. I had no weapons that could hurt the lion, and the Imperial Guards and anjar were too far away to help. 
    The lion sprang at her.
    I saw a black blur as Corvalis ran past Caina, his sword in both hands. The blade slammed into the lion’s head, and the force of his blow knocked the beast aside. Corvalis lost his balance and fell, and the lion slammed into the ground, its limbs thrashing, Corvalis’s sword stuck in its head. 
    And then it went still.
    “Good,” said Caina, still coughing as she rubbed her throat, “good swing.”
    Corvalis got to his feet, wiping sweat from his brow. “You’re not hurt?” I saw a hint of fear in his face, but not for himself.
    For her.
    “I’m fine,” said Caina. “Gods! Someone ought to tell Cardiz not to use so much sulfur in his smoke bombs.”
    “I think,” I said, looking at what remained of Cardiz, “that the lesson will be lost on him.”
     
    ###
     
    The khadjar Arsakan was annoyed by the death of two of his anjars, but the evidence was plain, and the man responsible for Kamahd’s and Masud’s deaths had met his just fate. Arsakan promised to pay an indemnity to their widows and orphans, and that was that. 
    When the column stopped for the night, I found Corvalis sitting by a campfire, sharpening his sword.
    “Lion bone,” he said, “is not good for a blade. Are you here to kill me?”
    “Where’s Caina?” I said.
    “She went to buy some tea from one of the merchants,” he said, “something to soothe her throat.”
    “I think she’ll be fine,” I said. “A few days and the cough will stop.”
    Corvalis nodded, but again I saw that faint hint of fear on his face. I realized that he feared losing her, perhaps more than he had ever feared anything. Yet he had not allowed that fear to rule him. Instead he had slain a lion with nothing more than a sword.
    Few men could boast of such a feat.
    “Good,” said Corvalis. “So. Will you kill me tonight? Or should we do it tomorrow? I would hate to die without a good night’s sleep.”
    I snorted. “That would be tragic. But unless you get yourself killed, I don’t think you need fear.”
    I turned to go.
    “How did it happen?” said Corvalis. “How did you become a Ghost?”
    “I was charmed by a beautiful woman, a woman fearless and clever,” I said, “and in her name I joined the Ghosts.” 
    Corvalis snorted. “Now you are repeating my story back to me. Keep your secrets, if you like.”
    I smiled and walked into the darkness.
    My hand dipped into my pocket, and I felt the worn impression of the stone seal of House Naerius I had received thirty-eight years ago. But not from Alexius, of course.
    From his older sister Rhoanna.
    Caina was right that Alexius had become Emperor thirty-three years ago. But old Emperor Staurion Basilicus had been sick for years, and the intrigue to become his successor had been brutal and often bloody. Rhoanna and Alexius had fled to my father’s vineyard, hoping to elude their pursuers. Stunned by her beauty, I spilled a glass of wine on her gown. My father was furious, but Rhoanna laughed it off.
    And when the Kindred came, my father opened his doors to them…but I hid Rhoanna and Alexius in wine casks, and lied to the assassins. 
    Rhoanna thanked me for protecting