Warrior's Dawn (Fire and Tears) Read Online Free

Warrior's Dawn (Fire and Tears)
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the job of writing down the names—given to him in secrecy—and another was given the job of guarding the List. The man who’d taken the names was killed so he couldn’t be tortured into revealing any of them. The woman who guards them was given a certain measure of power to protect her. Not enough to threaten the Sorcerers’ own power. But enough to keep them from bypassing her to steal the List.”
    “Why would they allow her to know their names, though?”
    “She doesn’t know. The List was locked away in a bespelled vessel by the original taker of the names.”
    “Wait.” She raised a hand. “We not only have to get around this guardian, but we have to get through a spell to get at the List?”
    “You didn’t expect this to be an easy mission, did you? That the Sorcerers would just leave something so valuable lying about?”
    She scowled but rather than responding to his barb, she said, “So the Sorcerers use the List as a kind of insurance against betrayal. If one attempts to overpower the others, there’s some plan in place for that Sorcerer’s true name to be revealed?”
    He clapped slowly in approval, the sound muffled by his thin leather gloves. “Just so. As you said, a standoff. A way to maintain the alliance. If one tries to betray the others, they risk losing something far more important to them than the power they might otherwise gain.”
    “Their true names. Which can be used in magic against them. Spells to destroy them.”
    “Oh more than just simple death spells. They could be turned into slaves if their true name gets into the wrong hands. A fate none of them covets.”
    “How could the name get out if one of them attempted to overthrow the others? Couldn’t that one just kill the guardian, steal the vessel and make sure the others never got his name?”
    He walked back to the wall, his earlier tension replaced by a strange need to be near her. “Outside of the guardian’s own powers to help prevent that, part of the spell placed on the vessel is tied with all of their blood. The betrayal of one triggers an element of the magic that then whispers that one’s name to the others. They would all know of both the betrayal and the betrayer’s true name before that Sorcerer could ever make a move. Quite elegant, really. The perfect stalemate.”
    “I didn’t even know there was magic capable of what you’re describing.”
    “It’s not common knowledge. And Sinnale had very few practitioners before the invasion. None since. Your people don’t know the half of what your enemy is capable of.”
    He settled his hip against the wall, closer to her than he’d been before. She didn’t move away, too caught up in their conversation to notice he’d placed himself so near. The position gave him a chance to breathe in the very faint but deliciously sweet smell of her skin.
    He hadn’t noticed her scent when she came to speak with him the day before in his cage. She’d kept herself too far away. Now, he was drawn by that elusive hint circling toward him on the chilled breeze. He wanted to nuzzle her neck to better capture and analyze the soft sweetness. But he had a feeling he’d end up with one of her swords in his gut if he tried. For some reason, that thought actually amused him, further lightening his earlier tension until he was almost cheerful.
    “Do your people understand fully?” she asked. “You work with magic. You each have some to command.”
    “Our magic is different. Of the earth and ourselves. Not ripped away from some unlucky sacrifice. Our magic doesn’t come from books and spells. It’s part of our essence, part of who we are in each life we live.”
    “That doesn’t answer my question,” she said, her chin pulled back as she stared up at him.
    He allowed a very slight smile. “No. It doesn’t.” He nodded back toward the currently empty streets. “And we’ve moved away from our goal. If we enter there now, we’ll have to hide inside enemy territory. And
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