Read Online Army of the Goddess: A Bona Dea Novel (Stormflies Book 2) by Elizabeth N. Love - Free Book Online Page B
Book: Army of the Goddess: A Bona Dea Novel (Stormflies Book 2) by Elizabeth N. Love
Read Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth N. Love
Ads: Link
us.”
Miri scowled, her jaw flexing as she tried to decide what he accused her of. Her frustration required a release valve. With pinched lips, she stated, “I know what reality is, Mikel. Reality is the gaping wound I help dress every day. Reality is the lingering threat that someday soon, people are going to start acting out of their minds because they are controlled by something evil. I understand what's coming. But I won't wallow in it every day until then. If this is all the life I have left, I'm going to enjoy some of it. We only have what time is given to us.”
“Fine,” he said brusquely and looked out into the distance. He didn't want to talk about it anymore.
She was attracted to Mikel, and this fact alone caused her to set aside some of his quirky attitudes in order to get closer to him. Sometimes, however, she just wanted to throw her hands up and walk away.
“Well, I'm going to get lunch. You should come inside,” Mikel said, pushing himself back to his feet after a few minutes of brooding. After brushing loose bits of grass debris from his uniform pants, he thrust out a hand to help her to her feet.
“No, thank you. I still have some time. I'm going to sit in the sun.” She hoped her tone expressed her inability to be swayed. She stared resolutely into the distance.
“Fine,” was his last disappointed word before he crunched his way through the grass uphill.
+++
23 rd Unimont
“Commander,” Ben captured his superior's attention with the strain in his voice. Ty Narone recognized an extreme level of emotion atypical of his lieutenant's demeanor.
“Yes, Ben,” Ty acknowledged as he hung a step back from his newest training class of recruits. He was preparing to offer two of them a way off and still save face. They simply did not meet his rigid standards.
“A—a report on the abductions.” Catching his breath, Ben nearly choked on the following words. “The body of an infant was found approximately twenty meters west of the paved road, buried in a shallow grave. The missing persons list shows an infant with her mother, Amanda Joiner. Neither has been accounted for and both were slated to be on that bus.”
With a tight jaw, Ty allowed himself a silent moment to curse the heavens and the Stormflies for their brutality. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Acknowledged. Have the next-of-kin been informed?”
“No, sir. The Healers will be taking care of that.”
The psychic experts were better suited to the task. Ty granted them that difficult task.
“Thank you. I will inform the HOC and the Matriarch of the matter,” Ty stated, accepting in hand a written copy of the detailed report.
Physically relieved, Ben silently snapped a bow and departed.
Narone dreaded speaking the words aloud. Ever since he was a child, he believed that nothing was true unless it was spoken aloud; and, in times of crisis, he had purposefully kept himself from vocally acknowledging certain events in hopes that they simply would no longer be fact. Despite an academic understanding of why this practice was completely false, occasions arose when childhood fallacies attempted to shroud him from facts too dreadful to bear.
No one so young deserved to die for any reason, but at times natural events precluded life. Natural events were accepted. These Stormflies, however, deserved every lick of vengeance that Ty and the rest of humankind wished to inflict upon them, and he planned on making this opinion known at every opportunity. Members of the Council had stalled too long on choosing a suitable approach to the problem. The delays only ensured the Stormflies would have the upper hand when battle arrived.
The recruits would have to wait. Ty returned control of the class to the on-duty trainer and exited the training ground on a bee-line for the People's Hall.
Ty found the Head-of-Council and the Protectress already in conference with each other, arguing over a set of dog-eared papers. Each had written copious
Miri scowled, her jaw flexing as she tried to decide what he accused her of. Her frustration required a release valve. With pinched lips, she stated, “I know what reality is, Mikel. Reality is the gaping wound I help dress every day. Reality is the lingering threat that someday soon, people are going to start acting out of their minds because they are controlled by something evil. I understand what's coming. But I won't wallow in it every day until then. If this is all the life I have left, I'm going to enjoy some of it. We only have what time is given to us.”
“Fine,” he said brusquely and looked out into the distance. He didn't want to talk about it anymore.
She was attracted to Mikel, and this fact alone caused her to set aside some of his quirky attitudes in order to get closer to him. Sometimes, however, she just wanted to throw her hands up and walk away.
“Well, I'm going to get lunch. You should come inside,” Mikel said, pushing himself back to his feet after a few minutes of brooding. After brushing loose bits of grass debris from his uniform pants, he thrust out a hand to help her to her feet.
“No, thank you. I still have some time. I'm going to sit in the sun.” She hoped her tone expressed her inability to be swayed. She stared resolutely into the distance.
“Fine,” was his last disappointed word before he crunched his way through the grass uphill.
+++
23 rd Unimont
“Commander,” Ben captured his superior's attention with the strain in his voice. Ty Narone recognized an extreme level of emotion atypical of his lieutenant's demeanor.
“Yes, Ben,” Ty acknowledged as he hung a step back from his newest training class of recruits. He was preparing to offer two of them a way off and still save face. They simply did not meet his rigid standards.
“A—a report on the abductions.” Catching his breath, Ben nearly choked on the following words. “The body of an infant was found approximately twenty meters west of the paved road, buried in a shallow grave. The missing persons list shows an infant with her mother, Amanda Joiner. Neither has been accounted for and both were slated to be on that bus.”
With a tight jaw, Ty allowed himself a silent moment to curse the heavens and the Stormflies for their brutality. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Acknowledged. Have the next-of-kin been informed?”
“No, sir. The Healers will be taking care of that.”
The psychic experts were better suited to the task. Ty granted them that difficult task.
“Thank you. I will inform the HOC and the Matriarch of the matter,” Ty stated, accepting in hand a written copy of the detailed report.
Physically relieved, Ben silently snapped a bow and departed.
Narone dreaded speaking the words aloud. Ever since he was a child, he believed that nothing was true unless it was spoken aloud; and, in times of crisis, he had purposefully kept himself from vocally acknowledging certain events in hopes that they simply would no longer be fact. Despite an academic understanding of why this practice was completely false, occasions arose when childhood fallacies attempted to shroud him from facts too dreadful to bear.
No one so young deserved to die for any reason, but at times natural events precluded life. Natural events were accepted. These Stormflies, however, deserved every lick of vengeance that Ty and the rest of humankind wished to inflict upon them, and he planned on making this opinion known at every opportunity. Members of the Council had stalled too long on choosing a suitable approach to the problem. The delays only ensured the Stormflies would have the upper hand when battle arrived.
The recruits would have to wait. Ty returned control of the class to the on-duty trainer and exited the training ground on a bee-line for the People's Hall.
Ty found the Head-of-Council and the Protectress already in conference with each other, arguing over a set of dog-eared papers. Each had written copious
Similar Books
