The Devil Incarnate (The Devil of Ponong series #2) Read Online Free

military; I’m intelligence.”
    The little joke was a mistake. Voorus seemed even more
determined to unload his thoughts on Kyam. He plucked at Kyam’s sleeve like a
child wanting attention while he whispered, “My men realized they were in enemy
territory, so they gave up the search. It took them a couple days to find their
way back to civilization – if you can call this town civilized.” He took
a deep breath. “Some of the militia think the snakes should be held captive,
but some of us... It’s wrong, Zul. Wrong.”
    Shocked, Kyam stared
at Voorus. Fear seemed to have sobered the man. Could it be that Voorus had a
sense of moral right and wrong after all? He was ashamed that he’d thought so
poorly of him. “Have you told anyone what they did?”
    Voorus looked at him
as if he had gone insane. “They’d hang my men.”
    “Then why, for the
love of deep water, did you tell me?”
    “Because I think you knew what the Devil’s whore planned to
do, and you let her. I think you agree with me. I think you’re a real patriot
too.”
    Kyam searched Voorus’ face for any hint of cunning. He
realized that Voorus was looking at him for the same sign. Trust was an awful
lot to ask. On Cay Rhi they’d had each other’s backs, but that was against the
Ravidians. Now it was Thampurian against Thampurian.
    Which was the real treason? Refusing to follow orders, or
betraying the principles you’d sworn to uphold? Kyam saw that Voorus knew the
right answer, but was he willing to put his life on the line for that
principle? He obviously wanted to know the same thing about Kyam. As if he
could spend all night waiting in the stinking alleyway for an answer, Voorus’
pleading gaze never left Kyam’s face.
    One of them had to break the silence. Since Voorus was the one
who wanted to talk, he did. “I know that you hate her, Zul, so the way I figure
it, you feel the same way I do about the slaves. Otherwise, you would have let
us take the Devil’s whore captive on Cay Rhi.”
    Kyam had to be careful. As Voorus pointed out, theirs were
treasonous acts, if only by failure to act. A man in trouble might turn over
anyone to save his own neck.
      “So she and the
escaped slaves are somewhere on this island,” Kyam said slowly to buy himself
time to think. If Voorus was telling the truth, QuiTai had eluded the soldiers
and gotten away. A burden lifted from his soul. He’d known he was worried about
her fate, but he hadn’t realized how tightly his nerves had been knotted as he’d
awaited news. If only she’d sent him some sign. But where the slaves only had
to dodge the soldiers, there was more danger lurking in the jungle for her.
Maybe her luck ran out. She couldn’t outsmart everyone forever.
    “You know what worries me?” Voorus asked.
    Dear Goddess of Mercy, there was more? Wasn’t the threat of
death enough? “What?”
    “The Devil’s whore has three days’ head start on us.”
    Kyam had no idea where Voorus’ thoughts were headed.
    “Why hasn’t she done anything?” Voorus asked.
    Kyam’s brow furrowed. “What do you expect her to do?”
    Voorus shrugged. “You know her reputation as well as I do. She’s
capable of any brutality. We know she has separatist sympathies.   And think about this – there are
only about eighteen hundred Thampurians on this island, and that’s if you count
the plantation owners. There are thousands of Ponongese, and they hate us. You
can see it in their eyes. They’re just waiting for any excuse to slaughter us,
and she has that excuse, Zul. We gave it to her! For all we know, she’s touring
the island with those escaped slaves and whipping the Ponongese in the remote
villages and outer islands into an army. We know how bloodthirsty these savages
are. They tore those werewolves apart with their bare hands on the steps of the
government building for their part in the Full Moon massacre.” He nodded
sharply. “Think on that.”
    Kyam’s stomach lurched. He hadn’t