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

“Did you have a better plan?”

The warrior smirked. “I prefer not to go barrelling into a fight blind, Calafe,” he replied with a smirk. “First I’m going to scout their camp and see what we’re up against.”

“And risk stumbling into one of their scouts in the dark?” Romaine argued.

Yasin stepped in close and narrowed his eyes. “What’s your rush, man?” he asked softly. “Are you so eager to rescue your precious Goddess? These are Nguyen’s soldiers we’re talking about. He might not have our queen’s nuance, but the man’s not a fool. I won’t throw my men’s lives away by rushing into a trap, though I’m starting to see what went wrong with those sorry Perfugians you led into Calafe.”

Romaine almost struck the man. Red flashed across his vision and he dropped a hand to the hilt of his sword. Yasin didn’t react. Dark eyes regarded Romaine and a smile touched the warrior’s lips. There was no hint of fear in his posture, no concern for the man he faced, though Romaine towered over him.

Swallowing his anger, Romaine shook his head. “You’re right,” he admitted finally. “Scouting won’t hurt—if we’re careful. I’ll come with you—”

“No,” Yasin cut him off. “You and your friend will stay here.”

Romaine stared at the man for a long moment. “Yasin, I know the mountains,” he argued, trying to keep an even temper. “In the dark, on these slopes, even a single rock knocked loose could ruin everything.”

“Then I guess I’d better not knock over any rocks,” Yasin said. Dismissing Romaine with a wave, he turned to his followers. “Set the camp. I’ll be back within the hour.”

He disappeared in the direction of the valley. Romaine watched him go, still smouldering. If the man alerted Erika and her soldiers to their presence it would ruin everything. They had the Gemaho outnumbered, but their quarry could even that advantage if they had time to reach defensible terrain.

“You know, I’m beginning to think he doesn’t like us,” Lorene commented as the other men began unpacking their sleeping rolls.

Romaine grunted. “There’s something more to this,” he said, then glanced in the direction of Yasin’s followers. They were out of earshot now, engaged in their own conversations. He looked back at Lorene. “I think he has a spy in the Gemaho camp.”

Lorene raised his eyebrows. “And how do you know that?”

“They’ve been leaving markers for us,” Romaine replied. “That’s why Yasin was only able to track them at night.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me this earlier?” Lorene scowled, gesturing in the direction Yasin had taken. “Here I was beginning to think the man must have some secret magic!” He hesitated. “You think he’s gone to meet his contact then?”

“Could be,” Romaine mused. “Though that would risk alerting the others.” He shook his head. “The excuse he gave doesn’t make any sense either—if this was all a trap set by Nguyen, surely the spy would have warned us.”

Lorene sighed. “You know, I’m beginning to miss the days when all I had to worry about were superhuman creatures thirsty for my blood. Simpler times, you know?”

Romaine rolled his eyes. “No one forced you to come.”

“Yeah, I’m seriously beginning to question my past self’s decision-making abilities.” He paused, then shrugged. “Ah well. We going after him then?”

A grin crossed Romaine’s lips as he glanced at the others. Just like the past few days when they’d set camp, Yasin’s men paid them no attention. He gave a short nod and silently the two of them slipped away into the darkness. Together they crept back to where they’d spied on the Gemaho.

“How do we find him?” Lorene whispered as they paused at the edge of the valley.

“Not sure,” Romaine replied, looking down at the burning fire.

He felt a sudden urge to ignore Yasin entirely and head for those flames, to draw his sword and rush the camp, to free Cara from whatever bondage Erika had placed her under. His fist tightened on the hilt of his sword and he drew in a breath. Pain dug at his chest, less now but still there. No, he couldn’t rescue Cara alone. But he could at least find out what Yasin was up to.

Exhaling, he started down into the valley, heart beating hard against his ribs. In the darkness, they had to take extra care of the uneven ground, but over the past few nights both had come to perfect the art of stealth. The earth was steep, but there were sections where sheer rock rather than gravel allowed them to move without sound, though having only one hand made it difficult for Romaine to grip the stone.

The light below grew brighter as they continued down the slope, but Romaine had a feeling Yasin would not go too close to the camp. There had to be a reason he was out here. Maybe Lorene was right and he was meeting with their spy. Romaine was still trying to work out the why.

Straining his ears, Romaine caught the first murmur of voices from ahead. The Gemaho were still awake despite the late hour and the cold, though with a fire to warm them they would be far more comfortable than the queen’s men.

“What was that?” Lorene whispered, reaching out to catch Romaine by the arm.

Romaine frowned, but before he could reply, he caught another set of whispers—from their left this time. Away from the Gemaho camp, farther up the valley. Following his instincts, Romaine diverted towards the sound. As they moved, the sound of the camp fell away, but the other whispers rose and Romaine slowed, struggling to make out the words over the soft whistling of the wind.

Finally a flicker of movement came from ahead, revealed by the growing moon. Romaine froze, lifting a hand for Lorene to do the same, before crouching and slinking forward into the shelter of a nearby boulder.

“…didn’t tell me she was a God!” an unfamiliar voice hissed in the night.

“Enough,” Yasin replied. “You already wasted enough