Heir of the Elements Read Online Free

about it.” Falcon cracked his knuckles. “We’ll find him and force him to tell us what he knows.”
    “Or we could just ask nicely.”
    “No. Trust me, Faith. Violence is all this guy knows. A good beat down should get me the information I need. That’s the plan, at least.” He took a tentative step forward, careful not to lose control on the slimy surface. “Well, that and not falling in the river of gunk.”
    Faith cringed. “Yes, I would say that not falling is a sound plan.”

Chapter 3
     
    Falcon’s eyes darted around Ladria as they crawled out of the sewers. From outside he had only a small view of the city, but now that he stood inside the gates, he saw how bad it really was. The small cottages that usually spread in even rows had all been burnt down, leaving only heaps of dark rubble. Suteckh soldiers, dressed in their usual black and silver leather uniforms, walked through the streets. Many of them held mugs in their hands, no doubt filled with wine. Countless Ladrian citizens sat huddled in corners, their terrified eyes following the passing soldiers. The few citizens who milled around the streets kept their eyes on the dirt-paved ground as they moved.
    A husky Suteckh soldier caressed the skull emblem etched on his chest. He belched loudly as he tossed a half-eaten pichion drumstick to the ground. Immediately, a skinny woman with dark bags under her eyes crawled to it on all fours. She took the miserable scrap of meat and scurried back to the corner she had been settled in. Without bothering to clean it, she offered it to a young boy who sat by her side. The boy, who was no doubt her son, devoured it in seconds.
    “Hey,” said the fat soldier. “I wasn’t finished with that.” He stumbled over to the burnt wall, where the woman sat, clutching her son. “Do you think you can simply take a mighty Suteckh soldier’s food whenever you feel like it?” He scratched his behind as he spoke. “Well, do you?”
    “N…no, of course not. You t-threw it on the ground–”
    “And you got greedy.” The man took out a whip that hung on his waist. He unrolled it, causing the woman to crawl deeper into the corner of the wall. The rest of the people watched in silence, their faces ashen.
    The woman looked around, as if begging for help. Once she saw that no one was coming to her aid, she faced her attacker. “I only want to feed my son. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
    The soldier threw the whip into the air, causing it snap loudly. “So now you’re saying that the dry grit we give you every week isn’t good enough. Maybe after this beating I should also take your son to the gates to be tied like the rest of those dogs. Their parents got greedy too, and now their children are paying.”
    “No!” cried the woman. She hugged her sobbing son protectively. “Not my little Aaron.”
    “Enough!” He moved his hand and brought the whip forward with tremendous force.
    Having heard enough, Falcon moved forward and took hold of the whip in mid-stride. There was a collection of gasps from the people.
    The guard turned. The flabby skin hanging from under his skin dangled viciously. “Who dares? Remove that cloak and face me like a man.”
    “You like hitting defenseless women, do you now?” asked Falcon. He pulled the whip away from the man’s hands and tossed it to the ground.
    “Why, I’ll teach you to raise your hand to a mighty Suteckh arghhh ….”
    The man crumpled to the floor as Falcon punched him in his oversized cranium. Falcon then grabbed the whip and used it to tie him by his legs.
    “What are you doing?” asked Faith. “He’s not going to be happy once he wakes up.”
    “That’s fine,” said Falcon, taking another look around. There were no other soldiers in sight. “This will be the least of his problems when he comes to.” He pulled the man across the ground and into the sewers, which was harder than he had initially thought it was going to be. The man easily weighed over