Kara Read Online Free Page A

trait among the Mathis royal line. No one touched the king’s
hair. It seemed that no one needed to. La’ard relished how some
servants whispered that his hair was magically enchanted, while
peons from the town below the hill said it was wraith’s hair and
that La’ard himself was an apparition in disguise. All utter
nonsense, but the king did not wish to dispel the rumor, for it
caused loyalty—or at least fearful devotion.
    “Complications?”
    “Yes, sire.”
    “So, I gather you were not able to retrieve
what I sent you for.” La’ard began walking again. Kreitan followed
suit.
    “No, sire.”
    “Was the item even there?”
    “Unknown, sire.”
    La’ard pursed his lips and lapsed into
silence. The two men entered a hallway corridor, where a servant
quickly skittered out of their path.
    “But I trust the baker and his family were
brought in for further scrutiny?”
    “The baker was, but the wife and daughter
were not.”
    La’ard stopped and looked back at Kreitan.
“Escaped?”
    “The daughter…yes. The wife did not…escape.”
A small smile cracked the captain’s face. Kreitan only found
pleasure in the death and misery of others.
    “I see.” The king paused. “What should our
next actions be, Kreitan?”
    “I believe the girl knows something.”
    “Continue.”
    “She ran.”
    La’ard looked at the man. “Of course she ran.
Your Witch Guard are feared throughout the land. I’m sure Euphoria
would….”
    The king caught his words and paused a
moment.
    Kreitan waited. He knew the king’s weakness
was his precious daughter. It was the reason for all the ‘chores’
Kreitan had to do. He decided to provide a little more unasked
detail to hide his delight.
    “When using the daughter as leverage, the
baker cracked even more so than when using his wife. When he found
out she escaped, he clammed up.”
    La’ard continued down the hall. Kreitan had
to take a hurried step to catch up. “The bond between father and
daughter is a strong one, more so than wife and husband. Of course,
he would crack more when the child was threatened.”
    “The girl also escaped from three of my Witch
Guard with help from a Mordock.”
    The king stopped in his steps and swiftly
turned. “A Mordock? Are you sure?”
    “As sure as I can be from my men’s
descriptions. He claimed to be her uncle.”
    La’ard hesitated. “Was this man brought
in?”
    Kreitan hesitated a moment, a definite sign
of weakness. La’ard would criticize him for this. “The Mordock also
escaped. My men claimed magic, but I believe it was a simple smoke
bomb that confused them. They have been dealt with.” A slight smile
hinted upon his face. La’ard cringed.
    After a moment, captain and king began moving
again.
    “Where is the girl now?”
    “She jumped into Kilarne River and was pulled
down stream.”
    La’ard cursed under his breath.
    Turning a corner and descending stairs, the
castle façade changed—mood, temperature, and light. A smell of
defeat hung on the air. At the bottom of the staircase, a door
opened.
    Tyr, the chief dungeoner stood on the other
side. Tyr was darker than the absence of light and larger than any
column of marble used in Euphoria’s room. His hands were two huge
boulders themselves that had crushed many a man’s skull. Muscle and
flesh that served La’ard.
    “Sire.” Tyr’s deep voice greeted him. La’ard
visibly shook each time he heard Tyr’s voice.
    Kreitan watched, apparently amused. La’ard
knew he enjoyed Tyr’s demon vocal cords placed in a behemoth of a
man. His voice rattled the prisoners to madness and their hearts to
despair.
    “Bring me the prisoner.” La’ard
commanded.
    Tyr struck the floor twice with his mighty
poleaxe. The sound reverberated off the stone walls. Within
seconds, a smaller guard appeared at Tyr’s side.
    “Prisoner.”
    The guard wasted no time on his mission.
Within a minute, Kara’s father crumpled on the floor before
La’ard.
    The baker struggled to look