Powers of the Six Read Online Free Page B

find you in this position again?”
    The man shifted uncomfortably. “Of course not, sir.”
    “For your sake, I should hope not. If I ever find you sleeping on duty again, the consequences will be … grave.” Golden-yellow light glowed in his eyes. He leaned toward the man. “Now let us in.”
    The two men fell over each other trying to open the door first. After a monumental struggle, one soldier came out victorious. He opened the door with a pathetic flourish, allowing Kael and Nolan to pass through.
    The door closed with a reverberating thud . Finally, unable to control himself, Kael erupted into boisterous laughter that echoed off the gray walls of the empty stairwell.
    “Was that necessary?”
    “Oh, Nolan.” He wiped tears from his eyes. “You never had a sense of humor.”
    “They were afraid of you before you showed your light,” he said. “You’re such a twit.”
    Kael’s grin vanished, and his eyes glowed again. He pressed his face close to Nolan’s, his teeth clenched. “Those men out there, though they wear the crest of the king, are just as pathetic as you.” He jabbed a finger into Nolan’s chest. “They need to be reminded that the soldiers of the Shay Rol’dan are the only ones with real power and control.” His Shay light faded. He turned and climbed the stairs as if the quarrel had never happened.
    Flaunting powers was control? More like stupid. Arrogant. Nolan had hidden his Shay the last two years. Now that was control. He’d like to see Kael pull that one off.
    Nolan inhaled, calming the frustration grating his already frazzled nerves. Then he remembered the task. He would come face to face, once again, with the Traitor of Faylinn. Would the traitor say anything in front of Kael? Nolan’s stomach knotted and his mouth turned to wool. What in Brim’s name am I doing?
    “Nolan!” Kael called. “You’re not that slow, are you?”
    He could do this. He really had no other choice. At least they’d blindfolded the prisoner.
    “Nolan!” Kael growled.
    Nolan forced his feet up the stairs and joined his brother.
    Kael pulled at the handle, muttering a curse under his breath. Kael awakened his Speed, shot away, and reappeared with a key. After unlocking the door, he said, “Take this.” In a toss obviously meant to plummet down the stairs, Kael threw the key.
    Without thinking, Nolan seized it from the air.
    Kael eyed him suspiciously for a long time.
    Nolan forced a smile and held up the key. “Got it.”
    Kael grunted. “Well, don’t lose it.” He turned his attention back to the door.
    Nolan swallowed hard. It was a good catch. Too good. This tension between them had distracted him. Nolan glared at the offending key. Not knowing what else to do with it, he crammed it into his leather pouch.
    The door groaned open, and Nolan squeezed the Book of Records in his hands. Four chains connected the prisoner to the wall, securing his limbs like a savage animal. The links piled in a heap by the traitor’s hands, enough for him to stand and walk around the cell; however, the man didn’t look as if he could move much at all. He sat with his battered head resting against the wall at an awkward angle. It surprised Nolan how many more injuries the man had acquired since just last night. Most of his face was cut, bruised, or swollen. And judging by his stuttered breathing, not all of his injuries were visible.
    The traitor, Emery Cadogan, shifted his head. Nolan took a step back, a shudder traveling down his spine; the traitor’s blindfold was gone.
    As if he had heard Nolan’s thoughts, Emery searched the ground, his chains clattering. Finally, he picked up a dirty rag that had been his blindfold.
    “I hope we can speak without pretenses,” Emery said. He eyed Kael while fingering the cloth. “It’s been a long time, Lieutenant. Six years, I believe. Oh, but wait … You’re the general now, aren’t you? I suppose your heroics the night I escaped helped in your early