Read Online The Castrofax by Jenna Van Vleet - Free Book Online

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that detailed how well the room was guarded or if by Mage or ward.
It simply stated that it was guarded, so he came prepared
for both. The muffle-pattern kept the echo of his boots from
bouncing around the halls, and as he strained his ears he heard
only his rhythmic breathing. He was convinced it was so loud it
would wake the Head Mage.
    Something tapped up ahead, echoing twice down
the halls, and Nolen stopped, his heart catching in his throat. He
drew gray strings of Air from his chest and slowly wove them into a
pattern to sense if air constantly pushed and pulled from a breath.
He moved the invisible pattern carefully, hearing his heart beat in
his chest as he waited for the alarm to sound his arrival. A dozen
yards away, he felt the pattern shiver, and he blinked rapidly as
he swallowed back his nerves. He was a Prince of Anatoly and would
not let this overpower his self-control.
    As much as he could tell, two souls breathed
nearby, one steady and the other shallow. Nolen trained enough in
his Element to know what the breath of a sleeping person felt like.
At least one slumbered.
    Under the cover of the muffle-pattern, he
inched along the wall and held his breath. Surely, surely any moment the man would hear or feel his energy and sound the
alarm. The closer Nolen stepped, the louder every step and breath
seemed, but the man did not move. The Prince laid a rod pattern of
Air into his hand while keeping the other free to lay any
last-minute attack. He was not a strong Mage by old standards, and
holding a third pattern would put him at his limit. At this stage
it was win or be exposed, and he was not about to lose. Nolen never
lost at anything.
    “Mallin, wake up,” a man with a husky voice
whispered. Nolen stopped and calmed his racing heart. “I heard
something. Can you feel movement nearby?”
    A Spirit Mage. Nolen firmed his resolve.
Since Spirit Mages could feel the energy of people around them, it
was nearly impossible to sneak up on one. It was now or never.
    The breathing souls were tucked into a hall
shaped in a “T”. Releasing his breath, Nolen spun to face them. He
surveyed the scene in a half-second, spying two men: one standing
against a wall, and the other seated not far away. Both dressed in
black to blend with the stone. ‘Fire Mage,’ Nolen thought as
he brought the rod of Air up and snapped the Mage’s head back. His
teeth clicked as he hit the wall hard, crumpling to the ground with
half a red pattern formed in his hands.
    The other man, the sleeping Spirit Mage,
flung a web of loose threads at Nolen’s chest as he scrambled to
his feet. Spirit patterns were notoriously difficult to escape, and
Nolen bent back at an awkward angle narrowly avoiding the
glittering white pattern. Regaining his balance, he brought the rod
down on the man’s head as he released another Spirit pattern. It
struck Nolen in the leg, but by the time it made contact, the
Spirit Mage was down. The pattern burned into Nolen’s leg, singeing
cross-hatched lines. His trousers flaked away at the thigh, and he
slapped them to stop the smolder before realizing that was not the
best way to handle a burn wound. He barked out a cry, but suddenly
snapped his lips shut. There could still be Mages down here waiting
for an attack.
    The Spirit Mage had seen his face. With a
pinch of reluctance, Nolen knew he had to kill the men to save his
skin. ‘There is no going back.’ Grizzly business, but Nolen
would see them dead before him .
    His hand came away from his thigh with lines
of blood, but he had no way of healing himself and so pressed
forward. Lifting the naked candle, he searched for the door he
needed. There was no mistaking it now; he was most assuredly in the
right place.
    He found the door at the end of the dark,
forgotten hall. It was made of a sturdy metal and indeed locked,
but Nolen felt the keyhole with his Air Element and found it was a
simple lock. With enough pressure, he pushed the lock loose, and