Read Online Bricrui (The Forgotten: Book 2) by Laura R Cole - Free Book Online Page B

walls.”
    Sir Ruawn gave her another intense look,
searching her face. Then he sighed. “You are right, of course. But
I am not wont to waste my soldiers’ lives purposelessly. We will
proceed with caution, treating this as a hostile environment. We
will not rush in and do anything rash, will we?”
    By ‘we’, Natalya understood he meant her. He
didn’t want her overreacting if she saw her sister turned into a
monster and do something foolish like running to her and getting
herself killed. She lifted her chin.
    “No, we will not. I’ve been riding
with these Knights for weeks now and do not want to see anyone hurt
playing hero.” She paused a moment in thought. “Are you going to
tell them what we may be up against?”
    Sir Ruawn sighed again, sounding genuinely
distressed, and answered. “I believe they all already know. Rumors
spread very quickly in the palace. And beyond.”
    Natalya caught a hint of something unsaid in
his words, but didn’t press the matter. The important thing to her
at this moment was breaking a hole through the wall that could be
keeping her from her sister. She could not think of her sister
being one of those things, but imagining her stuck in a castle with
them was even worse.
    Sir Ruawn took forever, by Natalya’s
calculations, to determine where best to blow a hole through the
wall. To Natalya it was all the same, one way or another they were
blasting their way in, who cared if it was ten feet this way or
that? But she respected Sir Ruawn and his judgment, so she kept her
complaints to herself.
    When he had selected the perfect spot, he
withdrew a powdery substance from his pack. He mixed this with
another, stirring the concoction together in a wooden bowl until
the resulting mixture was a gooey consistency. He smeared this
along the wall seemingly haphazardly, contrary to his previous
precision, and stood back to admire his handiwork.
    He ordered Natalya and the Knights to take
cover behind something, and he backed away himself. When everyone
reported that they were clear, he readied a spell and sent it
shooting from his palm towards the smeared stones.
    Natalya readied herself for the blast,
mindful, like all the Knights were, of the possibility of the horde
of monsters that might come streaming through the opening once
their way was clear.
    The spell connected with the
powder-turned-goo and Natalya was immediately deafened by the
resulting explosion. She threw herself to the ground and covered
her head with her arms. Rocks and debris sprayed out around them,
clattering to the ground. With the booming sound still echoing in
her head, she stood and helped the Knight next to her to his
feet.
    Natalya glanced around quickly to make sure
everyone was alright before turning her attention back to the wall.
All eyes were glued to the spot where the explosion had no doubt
blown a hole straight through as Sir Ruawn had promised, though one
was not yet visible through the dust and smoke.
    The sounds of swords being drawn and battle
stances taken – the clanking of metal on metal – met her ears as
they regained their hearing.
    Natalya followed suit, drawing her
weapons.
    They all watched tensely as the smoke cleared
from the hole in the wall…

CHAPTER 4
    Layna opened her mind to the power and
scanned the palace. Something caught her mind’s eye and she zoned
in on it. Someone was spying on them! She quickly threw a detaining
spell around the probe and redirected her attention at the area. It
was a focus point for scrying, making it easier for the person to
find the spot. And it was focused in…
    Phoenix’s nursery!
    Layna hurried to her daughter’s room and
scooped the child into her arms. Amelia looked at her
worriedly.
    “Is everything all right?” she stood quickly
and scurried over to Layna’s side.
    “I just found evidence of someone scrying in
here,” she told her, her eyes inspecting the room.
    “What?” Amelia exclaimed in alarm, her gaze
flying to the air around