The Half Dwarf Prince Read Online Free Page A

immediately moving to the best possible location. There was still one other clan, but from the sound of it Fredin had plans to unite all the orcs under his leadership. Vingaza wasn’t excited about the prospect of staying with the orcs, but he didn’t have much of a choice. All of the strongest Black Dragons in the area were dead or running scared. He had gathered a few here, but they hadn’t heard from any of the others. He wouldn’t be able to show himself openly until he got a feel for things. He didn’t want to leave himself unprotected, but he also needed to know what was going on. He would have to send Malvagio and Cattivo back to Ambar to find out what was happening. The orcs around him really weren’t a threat. Even Fredin couldn’t really harm him. This was the safest place for him until he knew how the dwarves planned to retaliate and what Anwar was going to do.
    That was the biggest question. Vingaza had killed Anwar’s brother, and so he knew Anwar would seek revenge. But Vingaza couldn’t fight Anwar openly—he was too strong. Vingaza’s only option had been to run. Being here in the mountain would allow him to escape if Anwar came: he would make his escape while Anwar was distracted with the orcs. If Anwar didn’t come, then Vingaza would help the orcs as best he could until he could come up with a plan to reestablish the Black Dragons here in the north. He could always send for some help from the southern cities, but he wasn’t sure how that would play out. He wasn’t ready to risk the possibility of someone else taking charge yet. He knew that there were at least three other wizards in the Black Dragons organization who had the potential to rival him, and Vingaza knew that one of them was capable of besting him: Dirigente was the most powerful wizard alive, well, except for Anwar and the Father. He was sure of that now. Anwar had the power to challenge the gods, and he had done just that by challenging Delvidge. For now Vingaza needed to worry about his own situation, though. He would keep the other wizards close for now. He would send one of them with his assassins, Malvagio and Cattivo, to help them travel magically. That wizard would be able to relay the information those two gathered by instantly traveling back here to report to him.
    He found the assassins sitting at a table in their small apartment playing cards. They had been offered separate quarters, and then they were offered the much larger apartment next to Vingaza’s. But they had taken this one instead. He hadn’t questioned them. He understood their thinking perfectly. They were always on their guard, and this smaller apartment had only one entrance, so they would know immediately if anyone entered and the intruder wouldn’t have much space to work with. Anyone foolish enough to come looking for a fight with these two would not be able to move around. They had also set the furniture up so that it canalized anyone who entered and prevented a mass flooding of forces into the room. One long dresser was set up next to the door so that a visitor could only move between it and the wall as he entered. The other dresser in the room was a few feet in front of the door so the room couldn’t accommodate more than four people in the area between the dressers and the wall, and the only way into the room was between those dressers. It was paranoid, but clever. That was why these two were so effective, and that was why Vingaza had retained them in his service.
    The only other furniture in the room was the two beds along opposite walls and the small round table in the far corner. By the time Vingaza made his way through the barricade into the room they were both on their feet waiting for him.
    “I need you two to go back to Ambar. I’m sending Allocco with you.”
    They both raised their eyebrows at that. “I know, I know, he’s an idiot, but all he has to do is get you there quickly. Once you are there, get as much information as possible