The Shadowmage Trilogy (Twilight of Kerberos: The Shadowmage Books) Read Online Free

to know better.
    Glancing to the east, he saw the Street of Dogs sweep downwards towards the cliffs, perhaps a couple of miles away, where they formed a natural defence against the ocean. The waters constantly raged against the land either side of the city, gouging chunks from it every year, and Lucius wondered at the sanity of the original settlers in building a port here. Only maybe one day in ten could a ship brave the barriers shielding the port from the churning waters to dock at the massive stone harbour built at the bottom of those cliffs, and then only with great risk – and that was assuming the harbour could accept another vessel, as one section or another was always under repair. Once a great marvel of engineering, the harbour had fallen into various states of disrepair over the years as the change in the city’s leadership began to favour other priorities. It was certainly no coincidence that many of the Vos nobles now running Turnitia had their own existing interests in the mercantile activities of companies that relied on horse and wagon to transport goods, rather than the dangerous and intemperate sea.
    Even from the centre of Turnitia, he could hear the roiling surf blasting itself against the barriers, conjuring a constant dim roar that the citizens of the city soon learned to tune out. For someone who had been away for so long, however, it was a reminder of just how precarious the city’s position was. One day, the land must succumb to the angry waters and collapse into the sea, taking Turnitia with it. Perhaps that would not be so bad a thing, he thought. It would save many people a great deal of trouble.
    “That’s the whore’s son.” The voice brought Lucius back to the present and he turned around to see if it was indeed him being spoken of. It was. The beaten card player had evidently found some friends in a nearby tavern and had either been convinced to take his money back, or was somewhat braver than Lucius had thought.
    There were seven of them, though only two had had the presence of mind to bring weapons. One brandished a knife, while the other wielded a crude cudgel. They had come from the high end of the Street of Dogs and were fanning out in a loose semicircle to trap him against the row of buildings behind.
    “I really don’t need this,” Lucius remarked, as much to himself as to the men. His original opponent appeared to take the comment personally.
    “Well, I don’t need to be cheated out of me money by a charlatan like you. Breezing into the city, hitting up a few of the locals, and then breezing out again with your pouch clinking with our coin. Is that it?”
    “Friend, I beat you fair and square, no cheating,” said Lucius, raising a hand in an attempt to forestall any violence. It was not true, of course, but there was not much else he could say.
    “Hey, no need for us to start trouble,” the man said with a crooked smile. “Just hand me the money back – and your other coins, which you no doubt gained from your games – and we’ll call it quits.”
    Lucius sighed, wondering how far he had fallen to have his own marks trying to rob him. He was not worried about his own immediate safety. A half dozen or so labourers, a little worse for drink no doubt, were of small concern. The city guard, however, were another matter and while he spied no patrols nearby, open violence on the street would bring them running in no time. That was something worth avoiding.
    “I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” he said, knowing exactly how this was going to turn out. “I warn you now, walk away. Just walk away. There is nothing you can do that will end this well.”
    “Cocky, ain’t he?” said one of the man’s companions.
    “He’ll be less cocksure with this wrapped round his head,” the thug with the cudgel growled. He took a step forward and drew the weapon back as if he were aiming to knock Lucius’ head clean off his shoulders and send it sailing down the street.
    Lucius ran.