Read Online Savage Prophet: A Yancy Lazarus Novel (Episode 4) by James A. Hunter - Free Book Online

bonfire.
    I ducked my head and bolted for the impromptu back door. Drukiski gave a squawk as I grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her through the jagged opening and into a small clearing of trimmed grass behind the guest cottage. I kept moving until we were well clear of the building, then halted long enough to get my bearings, the burning building casting a sooty orange glow over the landscape around us.
    I didn’t see any obvious bad guys—no one twirling a mustache or cackling manically as they watched the cottage go up in a blaze—but I did see a shitload of crazy-pants chaos. A host of fires dotted Moorchester, and the sounds of men and women shouting carried in the night.
    “Do you think it’s some sort of invasion?” Drukiski asked, mouth pressed damn near to my ear.
    I shook my head. “Could be, maybe, but I don’t think so,” I whispered back. “This attack can’t be a coincidence. Black Jack warned me—he told me there’s still a traitor in the ranks somewhere and that they wouldn’t be happy about having me poking around. I’m the target. Gotta be. And this”—I waved at the spattering of flames spreading throughout the village—“this is a distraction.
    “Sleight of hand. Make sure everyone’s looking that way, so no one pays attention while this douchewaffle kills us and snags the case dossier. Smart. Practical. Efficient. That’s the way I’d do it.” I faltered, staring at various clouds of smoke trailing into the sky. “We need to get gone, quick as we can, before the asshole behind this shitshow figures out his assassination didn’t pan out.” I rounded on her. “I need you to think. You know this place better than I do—what’s the quickest way out?”
    Drukiski pursed her lips, eyes flickering back and forth almost as though she were reading a book invisible to the world. After a long beat, she nodded. “Well, considering the level of damage, I’m sure Fist Leader Quinn will have the town on lockdown. The wards will be active and I’ll bet he’s triggered the dome. All standard operating procedure.”
    The dome was exactly what it sounded like: an invisible, impenetrable force field which encompassed Moorchester, enfolding it in a field of pure Vis, powered by the immense ley lines and telluric currents below. A backup emergency precaution, capable of withstanding a nuclear blast while also ensuring no one could enter or leave until the dome was disarmed. And the only way to disarm it was via the emergency defense control room buried deep beneath the chapel overlooking the village.
    That’s where all the high-level Guild officers would be.
    Which meant that was a place we needed to avoid like a VA hospital run by braindead zombies. Or, as I call it, the VA hospital.
    There were two sally gates, though—hidden, emergency exits which could be used to evacuate the compound if the need ever arose.
    “And before you ask,” she continued, seeming to read my mind, “there’ll be guards posted at the egress points.”
    “How many guards we talkin’ about?” I asked.
    She rubbed her hands together, lips puckered in a grimace. “Too many, even for you. If the platoon leaders follow the tactics manual, which they should, there’ll be a squad apiece per gate. Twelve Judges at each emergency exit. They’ll be on high alert and they’ll have strict orders about who has access. And the short list of who has unrestricted access is awfully, awfully short. At this point, unless the arch-mage personally walks us through, we’re stuck.”
    The distant warbling cry of a Gwyllgi carried even over the crackle of fire and the distant shouts of men and women struggling to bring some semblance of order to the pandemonium engulfing the sleepy town. Another howl answered the first, followed by a third, not far off in the distance. Gooseflesh broke out along my arms and legs, the hairs on the back of my neck rising to attention. Those were the coordinated cries of a hunting