Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) Read Online Free

shops and gas stations crowded the next strata of air below, and on the roads, cars were everywhere. In a few seconds, the portal had carried them for miles, right to the edge of the city and far from any wizards that might have been following her.
    Unnerved, she turned back around. The fabric seats itched beneath her and she shifted uncomfortably. Glancing down, she caught sight of dust and cedar chips still flecking her jeans from the dash through the pet store.
    A humored smile touched her face, dying almost instantly. She wondered if Bus and Spider had gotten out of town alright.
    Pain rose at the question, and she tried to push the thought away. She’d see them again. Once this was done, once she’d finished what Carter asked, she’d head straight back to the Abbey or wherever the Hunters were staying. And the rest was nothing. Together or separate, those two were tougher than she’d ever hope to be.
    They’d be fine.
    With dirt-smudged hands, she brushed the dust from her legs as her gaze rose to the window. Up ahead, Cornelius quietly ordered the driver to take the next onramp and silently, the man complied. Cars swept around them, racing for the highway, and the two sedans accelerated, joining the throng. In the distance behind them, the skyscrapers faded into the smog.
    Exhaling slowly, Ashe tucked the gun beneath her jacket and tried to remain calm as the cars sped northward, deep into wizard territory.
     
    *****
     
    At one o’clock, the Rio Dulce hotel was solely occupied by those few travelers unlucky enough to have reserved more than a single night’s stay, and the ostensible housekeeping staff, most of whom were taking a cigarette break by the building’s side. Over the years, the hotel had changed hands so many times that locals had long since stopped keeping track of the current name, and from the look of the cheap vinyl sign covering the old marquis, even the present owners weren’t holding out much hope for this incarnation’s longevity.
    Shoving his car door closed, Harris eyed the building skeptically. It didn’t seem the kind of place a businessman like Jamison would choose for a meeting, but maybe that was the point. Ritzy hotels in better parts of town would have more traffic, and thus more chance for discovery.
    But still, this place was a dump.
    He strode across the parking lot and then pulled open the front door, trying to ignore the sticky palm prints coating the glass. At the desk, the young clerk barely looked up from her computer as the door announced his entrance with a sad ding. The reek of cleaning solution filled the air, though the stained carpets and grimy windows gave no evidence of where the substances had been used. Down an adjoining hallway, shrieking children with beach towels clutched in their chubby arms raced pell-mell for the pool area, while two bored-looking adults sauntered after them, occasionally shouting hypocritical reprimands to stay quiet.
    Grimacing at the noise, he glanced around. Beyond the sagging couches in the lobby, Simeon leaned against the wall, talking softly into his cell. A door waited beside him, the sign above it designating the space beyond as the hotel conference room. At the sight of Harris, the man nodded to the door before returning to his call.
    Without a word, Harris walked past him.
    Nearly two dozen people milled around inside, talking quietly. On the opposite end of the room, a chipped wooden podium faced the rows of metal folding chairs that filled the rest of the space. Obliquely, he watched the other people as he lowered himself onto a creaking seat, and then shifted uncomfortably as the uneven legs made the chair rock.
    Only a few of the room’s occupants glanced to him, their expressions almost uniformly wary, before returning to their hushed conversations.
    His brow drew down. The suspicion shouldn’t have been warranted. After all, Simeon had let him in here same as them. But then, he supposed they hadn’t gotten this far in