Wrath of the Forgotten: Descendants of the Fall Book II by Hodges, Aaron (good english books to read .txt) 📗

have belonged to Cara. But there was no sign of a breakage in the steel. Someone had unlocked them, had freed the Goddess. What did that mean?

He passed a quick eye over the campsite, seeking signs of disturbance, for some indication that Cara had fought her way to freedom. There was nothing. Finally he shook his head and handed the shackles to the queen’s man.

“What do you make of this?” he asked, eyeing Yasin closely.

He turned the shackles in his hands, but the night’s gloom hid whatever reaction his eyes might have revealed.

“So your little Goddess got loose,” Yasin said finally. A smile tugged at his lips as he glanced around the campsite. “No bodies though. I wonder how Nguyen’s soldiers regained control of Her Divinity.”

Romaine raised an eyebrow. From what he’d seen of Cara in action, he doubted any number of human soldiers would be able to contain her. But at least the shackles finally confirmed once and for all that the Archivist had taken Cara against her will. He clenched his fist at the thought of the hateful woman. Erika would pay for what she’d done.

True to Yasin’s word, they pushed hard through the rest of the night, pausing only to pull fresh food from their packs. Weighed down by his injuries, Romaine found himself dropping to the back of the line once more, though Lorene kept him company. His mind continued to return to the chains he’d found, to the Goddess and Erika and the king’s soldiers. Was Cara still a prisoner, or had she somehow gained the Archivist’s trust?

But there would be no answers, not until they finally caught their adversaries. Only then would the truth be revealed.

Throughout the night, Romaine found no more hint of their quarry’s passage, though Yasin still seemed confident in his ability to track Erika and the Gemaho soldiers. Only as the first hint of light appeared on the distant horizon did the man begin to slow. Reaching the top of another slope, he squinted, scanning the rocky ground ahead before finally choosing a direction.

Romaine paused as he reached the spot where Yasin had hesitated, feigning the need to catch his breath—though after the slope they’d just traversed, it wasn’t much of an act. Ahead, the others continued along a ridge where the way was gentler, while Lorene came to a stop nearby, a grin breaking through the unkept beard that had appeared on his face over the last weeks.

“Getting old, Romaine?” he asked.

Grunting, Romaine ignored the jibe, his eyes turning instead to the east. Looking back across the plains of Gemaho, he was again reminded of the strangeness of where he found himself. Flat land, perfect for farming, stretched out as far as the eye could see, to that distant rising sun.

Even the sight of the sun on the eastern horizon was a novel sensation. In Calafe, the sun’s glow appeared behind the Mountains of the Gods hours before it broke their twisted peaks, leaving the land in shadow for much of the dawn. But here the light was already racing across the land towards them, casting back the last of the dark. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the trail…

…and caught a glint of something amidst the rocks. He frowned, hesitating in place, even as Lorene started to move off. The forbidden mountains rose ahead of them, capped by glacial peaks, but it was not those mountains that had drawn his attention.

Stepping from the trail, he knelt beside a boulder. A small X marked the rock, glowing with some phosphorescence in the shadow. But even as he leaned closer, there was a flash as the sun finally reached them, and the X vanished.

“You alright, Romaine?” Lorene called back to him.

Romaine remained kneeling for a moment, staring at the spot where the X had disappeared. Blood thumped in his ears as he turned the discovery over in his mind. It might have been created by some natural phenomenon, an algae or fungus that grew here in the mountains, yet…then surely it would have been elsewhere?

No, it had been no natural marking. This was the same spot where Yasin had hesitated, as though looking for something. Something to mark the way for them, perhaps?

Swallowing, Romaine returned to his feet and waved a hand to Lorene that he was okay. Ahead, the light of the rising sun had reached Yasin and the others, who appeared to be downing packs and setting camp for the day.

The sight confirmed Romaine’s suspicions. Someone was leaving markers for them to follow, ones that could only be seen in darkness. They couldn’t continue now, for Yasin would not be able to track their quarry. There was a spy in Erika’s party.

20

The Soldier

Stepping from the darkness of the basilica, Lukys squinted as the sudden brilliance of sunlight greeted his freedom. After so long beneath the ground it was all but blinding. Within moments, tears were streaming down his face. He embraced them.

A warm breeze touched his cheeks. Though winter had hardly just past, it was warmer in the south and the taste of spring was already in the air.

Finally his vision began to clear and he found himself staring across the plaza, empty now, his companions long since taken to their new…homes? He glanced sidelong at Sophia, wondering what had become of his friends, where he was to be taken now. Another day had passed before the Matriarch had granted his freedom and Lukys had spent much of that time wondering at his decision, whether he’d made the right choice. His acceptance had come quickly after the long silence—though of course, he hadn’t truly sworn himself to Sophia.

Had he?

Sophia said nothing, only stood watching him, a look of concern creasing her forehead, as though even now she worried what he might do.

But Lukys had made his decision, down there in the darkness. He had resolved to trust the strange Tangata with her earnest expression, and that was what he would do. For better or