Read Online Asunder by David Gaider - Free Book Online Page A

exchange even now. They were waiting for him. He could see it in their eyes. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
                "The First Enchanter is doing nothing," she said, just loudly enough for the man to overhear. Edmonde stood not far away, gazing listlessly out a window. He'd spoken to no one, and his only reaction to Adrian's statement was to close his eyes with a pained expression. Rhys felt badly for the man and the position this entire affair had placed him in. Couldn't she see that? Rhys raised a hand to urge her to keep her voice down, but she knocked it out of the way. "The other senior enchanters are no better. You can do something, Rhys. Take charge!"
                It was always the same demand. Adrian was headstrong and thus made enemies. Rhys was more charming, she said, and thus better liked. He could get her point across to those who wouldn't listen, despite his protests that this would put him in the same position as she was in. "That's not going to help," he told her.
                She sighed bitterly, her shoulders sagging. It was just one more time he'd disappointed her, after all. Adrian had been his friend for a long time— in fact, for a while they'd been more than friends, as much more as their life within the confines of the Circle would allow. But he would never be the leader she expected him to be, and so friendship was all they were left with.
                "At least tell everyone about the murders," she muttered. "You know they're dying of curiosity, and I didn't even get that far with the Seeker. Pompous, arrogant bastard that he is."
                Rhys hesitated. The murders were the very last thing he wanted to talk about. It turned out that he didn't need to make a decision regarding that anyhow, as a moment later several guards entered the commons and ordered everyone to retire to their chambers. He wasn't surprised. In normal circumstances Rhys and Adrian would be in the dungeons by now, along with anyone else who'd so much as greeted Jeannot in passing. Thankfully, the templars weren't interested in provoking the mages further.
                Adrian, of course, felt no compulsion to return the favor. Rhys saw outrage flash in her eyes, and waited for the inevitable scene to follow. Thankfully, the First Enchanter chose that moment to intervene. Edmonde turned from his window and quietly suggested everyone do as the guards asked. Tomorrow would be another day. That took the wind out of Adrian's sails, and slowly everyone in the commons dispersed.
                Rhys was relieved. This might give him the chance he was waiting for.
                He spent the next several hours in his chambers, staring up at the ceiling from his cot. Occasionally he heard the footsteps of guards passing his door. It was fortunate that senior enchanters got their own rooms. As spartan as they were, they allowed privacy the dormitories didn't. One could sneak out of a dormitory easily enough— apprentices did it all the time— but not without being seen by others sharing the room. Where Rhys needed to go, he had to be absolutely certain nobody else knew about it.
                By the middle of the night, an utter stillness had crept over the tower. There had been no footsteps for well over an hour. It's now or never, he told himself. Slowly, he sat up in the darkness, listening intently for the slightest shuffle outside that might indicate a sentry. Nothing.
                Feeling around blindly, Rhys found his staff leaning against the wall. The wood felt warm to his touch, awakening from its slumber. The crystalline orb greeted him with a soft glow that filled the room, but Rhys darkened it again with a wave of his hand. Light was the last thing he needed.
                Then he jumped. Something in the room had moved, just as the light went out. Steeling himself, he willed the staff to glow once