Read Online Steel and Sorrow by Joshua P. Simon - Free Book Online Page B

Krytien was alright, but a shake of the head from Kroke made him think better of it.
    Once again no one fills me in on what’s going on.
    They came to a halt.
    As if on cue, a boy appeared seemingly out of nowhere, sporting bone-white robes. “You can follow me. We’ve been expecting you,” he said, and began walking without waiting for a response. Bathed in starlight, his form took on that of an apparition and if it wasn’t for the high-pitched squeak to his voice, Drake would have thought the boy had lived and died on the island ages ago.
    “How many colors do you sorcerers have for yourselves?” asked Kroke. “Do the women wear pink?”
    “The boy’s not a mage,” said Krytien. “White means that he‘s still working to master the most basic of concepts. He hasn’t even performed his first real spell yet.”
    Krytien didn’t elaborate and ignored the joke about the pink. The mage kicked his horse forward in pursuit of the ghost-like figure while muttering a string of hushed profanity. Drake couldn’t make it all out, but what little he heard would have made Raker proud.
    Something about arrogant little upstarts?
    Rounding the front of the massive building, more of the compound became visible. Complex structures connected buildings through stone pathways on the ground and covered catwalks several stories above.
    The boy showed them where to set their horses up in the stable. He let out a huff, apparently dissatisfied by their speed. “You need to hurry. The High Mages do not like to be kept waiting.” He started toward a set of double doors across an open courtyard, opposite the stables.
    “I think somebody forgot to teach him the basic concept of courtesy,” said Drake.
    The comment earned him a rare grunt from Kroke, but Krytien stared off at the boy through narrowed eyes, breathing through his nose in a heavy rhythm.
    So much for trying to lighten the mood.
    As he thought over what the boy said, something struck him as odd. “Krytien, what did he mean by High Mages? I thought there weren’t any left.”
    “There aren’t.” Krytien stalked after the boy, shoulders bunched.
    Kroke looked at Drake with a cocked head. “Well, now you did it.”
    “Did what?”
    “You just made a bad situation a whole lot worse, like rubbing salt into a wound.”
    “But I just repeated what the boy said.”
    Kroke didn’t say more, following after Krytien. Drake set off after them, fuming. “I hate the way they do this,” he muttered. “All the old hands. They all assume that you know what they’re talking about.”
    * * *
    The cocky boy swung the great double doors inward. Krytien stepped into a room with high ceilings flanked by twin staircases that greeted the mage like open arms. A bronze statue stood on the floor in the center of the two staircases. The figure held an open book in one hand while his other extended outward as if lecturing a silent audience. Though Krytien had never met the man, he had heard enough about his physical description to recognize the likeness of High Mage Amcaro.
    And I guess this is the closest I’ll ever come to fulfilling my dreams of meeting the man.
    Paintings of mages dressed in dark red robes adorned the walls of the room.
    All the High Mages of Cadonia since its beginning.
    A throat cleared and Krytien saw the boy standing near another cracked doorway, gesturing for him to follow. “Somebody ought to put that boy over their knee,” he grumbled.
    With Drake and Kroke at his heels, Krytien walked into a smaller room. A large oaken table dominated the space surrounded by plush chairs of purple cloth and gold trim. Near the back wall a gaggle of mages congregated, wearing various colors of robes, denoting their skill in sorcery.
    Sure enough, four had adorned themselves in the dark red of a High Mage. Krytien felt his blood boil.
    The young boy cleared his throat again. The mages turned with an air of contempt. One chanced a smirk as he made his way toward Krytien. The