War of the Magi: Azrael's Wrath (Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

Petra.” The djinn cleric gestured toward the second woman beside her. “And the alchemist, Master Bashir. They volunteered to assist me in fulfilling your task, Holy One.”
    The djinn man nodded slightly.
    Raziel smiled. “Again, welcome, and thank you. Please sit.” He gestured to the soft grass where the students had sat the day before, but the three solemn djinn remained standing.
    “Your message was brief,” Samira said. “I understand that there is a human cleric of Sophir that you wish me to subdue.”
    “Possibly,” the angel said. “The Navean kingdoms stand on the brink of war, and this one cleric, this one woman, may be the cause of untold suffering in the years to come if she cannot be stopped. She may believe she is protecting the weak, she may even believe she is protecting the peace, but she is at this moment provoking a cruel warlord to lay waste to an entire country. If it is in your power to stop this, then I ask you to stop it.”
    The djinn cleric stood silently for a moment, but no movement of her mouth or eyes betrayed her thoughts. Finally she said, “I was given to believe you called us here on an errand of divine necessity. Human affairs are not the concern of Odashena. They have their world, and we have ours. Our laws forbid us from interfering.”
    “Oh really? Why?” Zerai asked. He stared into the woman’s dark, unblinking eyes in search of the threat that he felt in every step the djinn had taken into his home. “You don’t need to be afraid of us. We’re not contagious.”
    Samira Nerash turned slightly to face him. “We do not fear your bodies. We fear your intentions. The last time Odashena revealed itself to the human kingdoms, it caused a war that nearly destroyed my country. Your people tried to take our city, our knowledge, and our lives. We will not make that mistake again.”
    “Nor should you.” Iyasu paced quietly into the square. The young Arrahim wore his travel-stained white and yellow robes and carried a plain wooden staff in his hand. “Welcome. I am Iyasu Sadik, of the Arrahim.” He offered his hand to Samira, who merely glanced at it. Iyasu retracted the hand as he said, “We’re not asking Odashena to take sides in a war, and we don’t want to reveal the existence of the djinn to the world. Your privacy and your neutrality are safe here.”
    The djinn cleric gave no sign that she was at all reassured by his words. “But?”
    “But there is a warrior cleric in Elladi, and now King Darius wants her head on a spear,” Iyasu said. “Who is she? Why is she fighting? We don’t know, but she’s putting us all in danger. A war between the eastern and western kingdoms could rage all the way to the holy mount and the angels who dwell there.”
    “Ah.” For the first time, a hint of concern passed over Samira’s face. “I agree, the rogue cleric could be a danger to the holy orders, and to the angels themselves. Very well, I shall complete the task and bring this cleric to your divine justice, Holy One.”
    Raziel raised his six crystalline wings to catch the morning light and cast a dazzling array of rainbow lights across the square. “Divine justice is for the divine. For this cleric, an end to the violence will suffice. I would prefer if you simply bring her here. She may be in need of our healing gifts.”
    “Actually, before you do that, before you bring the extremely violent cleric here to my home, could I just ask one question?” Zerai called out. “There’s just one small thing I don’t understand. How is a Tevadim going to stop a Sophirim? Don’t get me wrong, the gifts of Tevad are very beautiful and very useful, but I don’t see how a stone or wooden sculpture is going to stop a woman who can shatter trees and boulders with her bare hands.”
    Samira looked at him coldly. “Are you a cleric?”
    “No, I’m just a lump of talking clay,” the falconer said. “But I’ve known Tevadim and I’ve fought beside Sophirim, and if even