The Rising King Read Online Free Page B

his back on Reece, and I level a serious look at him. “When I left, the borders were secure, and now suddenly we’re under attack?”
    “What my boneheaded brother doesn’t understand is that I didn’t let them do anything. The council got together and made an executive decision without me, the dumb shits. Even after I explained how suicidal that move was, your father couldn’t dissuade them.”
    The usually crowded room was definitely lean on manpower. More like a skeleton crew minus more bones than a recent lion kill picked over by vultures. “Where’d they go?”
    Wyatt rolled out a map on a nearby table. “I can’t be too hard on them. I mean, their job is to protect the people, but instead of calling everyone closer to the city, which I immediately did after they left, they’ve been rushing around putting out little emergencies. Remember those skirmishes last week?”
    I nod. A whole section of Teag was attacked, alerting us to the fact that our neighbors were more than a little curious as to what was going on in Teag, but we quickly took care of that threat and it’s been quiet ever since.
    Wyatt pointed to the area. “No one could tell us anything. It was like a ghost killed a handful of families while they slept. No footprints. No signs of heavy activity. Just dead people. That’s not normal.”
    “How so?”
    “That kind of raid is never clean,” Reece injects.
    Wyatt nods. “No one covers their tracks like that. There isn’t a need. Whoever it is, they’re fishing, trying to draw us out. Thin us out.”
    I don’t like the sound of that. I move closer, and ask Cahl, one of Wyatt’s top soldiers, what type of people inhabit the land closest to the area that was attacked “They’re simple and direct. Sneaking around isn’t their way.”
    “Okay, we have a new threat.” I search Wyatt’s face and find doubt.
    “I don’t think it’s new. While you were gone, a big problem popped up.” He sweeps his hand across the map in the other direction. “Dark Souls swooped in and did a number on this little place right here. Burned the whole damn place to the ground and then spread out to the next village. Very messy.”
    “You think the two attacks are connected?” They didn’t sound connected.
    “Yeah. We’re being set up. I let slip my suspicions to your dad. He hesitated, wanting more proof. Unfortunately, the proof he wanted meant people would die, and they did, and then the council panicked, and now we’re so thin, it’ll take a miracle to keep us afloat until the others return.”
    “Where’s my dad?” It’s odd he’s not here issuing orders.
    Halim returns, breathless, sweaty, and filled with visible fear. He whispers into Reece’s ear.
    Wyatt ignores the kid and answers my question. “Over here.” He points to the area where the Dark Souls were last seen. “He convinced the council he’s the only one who knows how to deal with them. They agreed, and last I heard they got it under control and are making their way back.”
    “You believe all of that was a coordinated effort to get us to weaken the Ruined City’s defenses?”
    “I do.”
    Their plan worked. “Do we know who’s outside the gates?” I ask.
    “Rodarians,” Cahl says. “They’re from the east.”
    “What do we know about them?”
    The stiff way Cahl stands reminds me of the clay soldiers standing guard in the first Chinese emperor’s tomb. He clears his throat. “They can do little tricks, the most impressive being they can change their appearance into almost anyone.”
    That doesn’t sound good.
    Reece rubs Halim’s head and points to a pitcher of water before turning back to us. “We’ve got even bigger trouble.”
    The whole room comes to a stop with that pronouncement. We’re under attack. What more could go wrong? The silence is eerie and makes my ears hurt almost as much as too much noise. I slump, dropping my head between my shoulders. “There’s something freaky going on outside,