Read Online Sands of Aggar: Amazons of Aggar Book 3 by Chris Anne Wolfe - Free Book Online
Authors: Chris Anne Wolfe
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watched two black-cloaked travelers pause before a run-down tavern. Circle members had been trickling into the town all day, coming in small parties to keep from arousing suspicion. Someone with moderate intelligence had to be leading them, but they couldn’t fool Adrian. She would know anyone from the Core on sight.
Adrian’s lips curled back in a snarl. Too many men had entered the town for the group to be a splinter of the Circle. She couldn’t tell if they planned to attack the village or just rest on their way to their next destination. She clenched her jaw. There was a time she could have just looked at them and known their intention, but not anymore. She let out a deep breath. It was the only time she ever regretted giving up her empathic abilities.
Adrian crouched down, sitting along the edge of the roof, careful to remain in the shadows. There were too many of them to attack directly and she couldn’t kill any of them publicly without drawing the attention of the others. She would have to be more subtle.
She pulled a small, wax paper bundle from a pouch at her waist. She unwrapped the paper, revealing a leaf-wrapped bundle, still soft from cooking earlier in the day. Without taking her eyes off the Circle’s men, she nibbled at the boko , the stuffing, now chilled, made of a few rabbits she’d snared and a collection of root vegetables she collected while traveling.
The scent of her food attracted a raven, who fluttered to the roof and sat along the edge beside her. Adrian instinctively ripped a hunk of her meal free and placed it on the roof before the bird. She watched him tear at the meat paste with mild interest, lingering on the way his feathers ruffled and spasmed with each motion. There was something about the way he moved that betrayed his hunger. He wasn’t particularly skinny or desperate, but there was a sense about him, an ache that made Adrian’s stomach rumble, hollow and empty.
A bottle broke on the street below and the bird arched up in surprise, catching Adrian’s eye. Adrian felt as if she’d been punched in the face, pain exploding behind her eyes and rippling down the muscles of her neck and spine. Her stomach rolled and burned, a mix of unstable, clashing magics warring for control over her heart and mind.
She scrambled backward, her palms scraping across rough tile and her leather boot sliding across shallow, standing water from recent storms. She forced her eyes closed, a gasp exploding from her chest as if coming up for air. She heard the bird flee, its wings wildly flipping through the air to get away from Adrian’s gaze.
She slowly opened her eyes again as her stomach started to settle. Her hands spasmed and trembled. She balled her hands into tight fists, waiting to regain control. She glanced down, catching her own reflection in a small pool of rain water, the light of the torches from the streets casting her face in deep shadow. Even in the darkness she could make out shocking, ice-blue eyes.
She immediately turned away, clenching her jaw tight in frustration, a flash of hot anger and guilt burning just under her skin. She’d been so shaken by the forced connection with the raven even her most intricate illusions had been shattered. She knew better than to catch an innocent eye. She’d been able to eradicate her Blue Sight urges in most humans, but every now and then she’d look into the eyes of a truly innocent beast and the magic would overcome her.
She held her hand palm up before her face and focused on creating a dark flame. Her palm tingled, but she couldn’t summon the destructive fire that normally came so naturally to her. She continued to focus with ruthless intensity, sweat sprouting across her brow, her muscles aching from the effort. Finally, a weak flame burst to life in her hand and the warmth, the connection she’d felt to the raven, disappeared.
She closed her hand, extinguishing the flame, and began working on a new illusion. Symbols and ruins
Adrian’s lips curled back in a snarl. Too many men had entered the town for the group to be a splinter of the Circle. She couldn’t tell if they planned to attack the village or just rest on their way to their next destination. She clenched her jaw. There was a time she could have just looked at them and known their intention, but not anymore. She let out a deep breath. It was the only time she ever regretted giving up her empathic abilities.
Adrian crouched down, sitting along the edge of the roof, careful to remain in the shadows. There were too many of them to attack directly and she couldn’t kill any of them publicly without drawing the attention of the others. She would have to be more subtle.
She pulled a small, wax paper bundle from a pouch at her waist. She unwrapped the paper, revealing a leaf-wrapped bundle, still soft from cooking earlier in the day. Without taking her eyes off the Circle’s men, she nibbled at the boko , the stuffing, now chilled, made of a few rabbits she’d snared and a collection of root vegetables she collected while traveling.
The scent of her food attracted a raven, who fluttered to the roof and sat along the edge beside her. Adrian instinctively ripped a hunk of her meal free and placed it on the roof before the bird. She watched him tear at the meat paste with mild interest, lingering on the way his feathers ruffled and spasmed with each motion. There was something about the way he moved that betrayed his hunger. He wasn’t particularly skinny or desperate, but there was a sense about him, an ache that made Adrian’s stomach rumble, hollow and empty.
A bottle broke on the street below and the bird arched up in surprise, catching Adrian’s eye. Adrian felt as if she’d been punched in the face, pain exploding behind her eyes and rippling down the muscles of her neck and spine. Her stomach rolled and burned, a mix of unstable, clashing magics warring for control over her heart and mind.
She scrambled backward, her palms scraping across rough tile and her leather boot sliding across shallow, standing water from recent storms. She forced her eyes closed, a gasp exploding from her chest as if coming up for air. She heard the bird flee, its wings wildly flipping through the air to get away from Adrian’s gaze.
She slowly opened her eyes again as her stomach started to settle. Her hands spasmed and trembled. She balled her hands into tight fists, waiting to regain control. She glanced down, catching her own reflection in a small pool of rain water, the light of the torches from the streets casting her face in deep shadow. Even in the darkness she could make out shocking, ice-blue eyes.
She immediately turned away, clenching her jaw tight in frustration, a flash of hot anger and guilt burning just under her skin. She’d been so shaken by the forced connection with the raven even her most intricate illusions had been shattered. She knew better than to catch an innocent eye. She’d been able to eradicate her Blue Sight urges in most humans, but every now and then she’d look into the eyes of a truly innocent beast and the magic would overcome her.
She held her hand palm up before her face and focused on creating a dark flame. Her palm tingled, but she couldn’t summon the destructive fire that normally came so naturally to her. She continued to focus with ruthless intensity, sweat sprouting across her brow, her muscles aching from the effort. Finally, a weak flame burst to life in her hand and the warmth, the connection she’d felt to the raven, disappeared.
She closed her hand, extinguishing the flame, and began working on a new illusion. Symbols and ruins
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