Tides of Blood and Steel Read Online Free Page B

I’m expecting him to slip up and we’ll be able to duck out without being seen.”
    “I don’t sneak,” Boen frowned.
    The wagon creaked by. Bahr idly wondered if Ionascu was still waiting or if he gave in to his nerves and bolted. Truthfully the man was more of a liability now than when he was a spy. He had half a mind to put the man out of his misery. Too bad the wizard said Ionascu had some part to play in the future.
    Bahr looked back at the house. “Do you think he brought enough men?”
    More than fifty soldiers fanned out in a semicircle around the estate.
    Boen tested the strength of the bowstring. “Anything less would be downright insulting.”
    One of Harnin’s men spied them and gave a shout. Harnin barked orders. His men formed ranks and prepared to attack. Boen fit an arrow and took aim.
    “Can you hit that one-eyed bastard?” Bahr asked.
    “If you shut up.”
    He fired. The arrow sped fast and true, but he hadn’t taken into account the slight breeze picking up from the massive house fire. Smoke and flames licked into the sky. Harnin raised his sword to issue the charge when the bolt took the man to his right. Blood splashed. The body dropped with a strangled gasp. The order to charge froze in Harnin’s throat. He reluctantly held his forces back as his nemesis slipped into the forest. Their confrontation was going to have to wait.
    Harnin sheathed his sword. “Burn it! Burn everything!”
    He spun angrily, forcing his gaze away from the forest. Bahr won this time and Harnin lacked the manpower to effectively scour the forest. The wagon rolled, reins snapping for more speed. Bahr stayed a moment longer to ensure they weren’t being pursued. Flames poured from the windows and doors, licking up to the skies as more furniture caught flame.

     
THREE
    Into the Tunnels
    A stray dog scurried away at the sound of their approach. The dead rat it had been chewing on fell to the ground. Argis stepped past the small corpse and marched on. Skuld walked at his side. Together they traversed the back alleys in the hopes of remaining undiscovered, ranging down into the poorer parts of Chadra. Random patrols were already searching Chadra and Stouds for Bahr and his companions. Argis was immediately uncomfortable. As a lord of Delranan he was unused to seeing this part of town. They’d already passed plenty of homeless, further changing his image of what this noble city was supposed to be.
    Former lord, he corrected himself with a smirk. There was no way he’d be able to show his face in Badron’s court again after tonight. Traitor. He tried his best to beat back the feeling. Death was not going to be kind. History might view his deeds differently, but not today. Today he stood a traitor to crown and kingdom. The very thought threatened to drop him to his knees. He’d lived an honorable life, abandoning his core principles in favor of securing his own future, for whatever time he had remaining, was an anathema. But corruption needed to be dealt with quickly and effectively before it could spread. He felt the rot growing, but it was for different reasons he let Prince Aurec into Chadra Keep. Argis vowed to take that secret to the grave. Too much was at stake for him to betray not only himself, but the one he meant to protect.
    “It’s not much further,” Skuld whispered at his side. The youth knew the streets impeccably, never dithering or hesitating when it came to a turn.
    Good, Argis thought. I cannot bear to see my people suffer so. I wonder if Badron knows how poorly these wretches live, or if he even cares . Instead he asked, “How do you know so much about these streets?”
    Skuld tried not to laugh in his face. “You high born wouldn’t understand. This is the real Chadra. I was born here and live here while you sit in your fancy keep sipping expensive wine and laughing at petty fears. Look around you, Argis. People are starving out here. More than before. This is what your kingdom is really