Read Online Chartile: Prophecy by Cassandra Morgan - Free Book Online Page A

and
continued.
    “ The Black Diamonds are a
society of men who have been cast out by their families, or have
joined in secret for want of greater privilege. They have been
trying for years to get a man on the Council. They want to manage
their own finances. They want to choose their own marriages.” He
frowned, allowing a scowl to wrinkle his brow. “All they do is
want. They have spent too much time among the elves with their
society of equality. They have no respect for
tradition.”
    “ You sound like you’re a
dwarf, Dimitri,” Leo interrupted in an attempt to break the
argument. He could see Jayson had opened his mouth to speak again,
but shut it quickly and folded his arms when Leo
intervened.
    “ My mother was the head
retainer and liaison for the Empress before me. She fell in love
with a brother of the Empress, and died giving birth to me because
the healers would not remove her orenite cuffs. The Empress was
very fond of my mother, and since the Empress is not permitted
marriage or children of her own, she raised me. I recently took my
birth mother’s place as head retainer and liaison.”
    “ Wait, so you’re half
human and half royal dwarf? How does that work?” asked
Jack.
    “ And you’re awfully tall
for a dwarf,” said Jayson raising an eyebrow.
    Dimitri sighed. He rubbed his temples with
his free hand, and the boys could see the circles forming under his
eyes.
    “ The positions of
Princess, Queen and Empress are appointed positions, no different
than anyone on the Council. This is why we need Piper. There is a
stalemate in— well, it’s very complicated.” He yawned and stroked
Piper’s hair absentmindedly. “It is late. Let us rest. You will
learn plenty when we arrive at the fortress tomorrow.”
    The boys sat awake for some time, musing
over the thoughts of everything they had just learned. When they
had first arrived, Chartile seemed smaller, less complicated than
home. Now, life was starting to become more complex in ways they
could not understand. Magic existed, but was prohibited. Dwarves
were a matriarchal society, and Piper was someone important that
the dwarves needed to settle a political matter of state. Piper,
who once seemed little more than a sisterly figure in this strange
land, was becoming more and more interesting by the day.

Chapter Six
    At Fortress
Kelsii
    Jayson woke with a start. He had drifted
off, thinking of the “dangers worse than bumbling mountain trolls.”
His experience of being carried off by a troll his first day in
Chartile had set him on edge whenever darkness came. He wasn’t sure
what had roused him, though he shouldn’t have been sleeping anyway.
He had traded shifts with Jack only minutes ago. Or had it been
hours? There was a rustling just outside the cave entrance. He must
have been sleeping longer than he thought, for the fire had reduced
to glowing embers. Something moved again, this time closer to the
cave entrance. There wasn’t much time to rebuild the fire, but he
could hardly see to shoot with his bow.
    Jayson moved as slowly and quietly as he
could, adding a log to the fire. He fanned the flames with one hand
and reached for his bow with the other. The sound was more like
scuttling this time, and was closer and faster. He thought he saw
the glint of glowing red eyes, but dismissed it as a trick of the
darkness.
    It all happened at once. A massive,
leathery-winged creature flew into the cave, its wings fanning out
what little fire had just sprung to life. Jayson cried out and shot
the beast with the single arrow he had managed to grab before
falling spread eagle across the floor and his friends. The arrow
missed its main target, but caught in the animal’s wing. It
screamed, and everyone was on their feet now, scrambling in the
dark for their weapons.
    The creature pulled the arrow from its wing
with almost human hands and rounded on Jayson. He had lost most of
his arrows when he had fallen. His hands shook as he fitted on to
his bow