Read Online The Dragon's Test (Book 3) by Sam Ferguson - Free Book Online

dagger from him just before he started convulsing. “This next part might be a bit jarring,” she said as she placed the dagger on the table. “Everyone out,” she said. All of the guests filed out of the room in an orderly line, ignoring Eldrik as he fell into a fit of seizures on the floor.
    “I will go and entertain our guests,” Merriam said.
    Hairen nodded. “Silvi, you wait here with Eldrik. If he lives through the night, then we will introduce him tomorrow morning as the new head of our order.”
    Silvi stepped forward and looked down to Eldrik. “No matter how many times you see it, it is never easy to watch.”
    “If we are to succeed, we need him to be more than a mere warlock,” Hairen said.
    “But can we control a shadowfiend?” Merriam asked.
    “He will listen to me,” Silvi said with a sly smile.
    “Yes, your charms have been most effective,” Hairen said. “Let’s just make sure we keep his mother from finding out.”
    “Leave her to me,” Merriam said. “I can take a few of our guests and pay her a visit.”
    “No,” Hairen said quickly. “You don’t know what she is capable of. She was dangerous before, but now she has nothing left to live for. To strike at her openly is suicide.”
    “We can’t let her live,” Merriam said. “Sooner or later she will find out what you have done.”
    “Perhaps,” Hairen said. “But for now she has no reason to suspect we would do anything with Eldrik. As far as she knows the boy is still in Drakei Glazei.”
    “She won’t have an easy time getting in there now with the recent incident at the senate chamber,” Silvi put in.
    “Come,” Hairen said to Merriam. “Let’s go entertain our guests.”
     
    *****
     
    Hairen gently scooped a bit of water into her hand and brought it up to her face. The cool liquid helped wash away the rest of her fatigue from the late night. It was morning now. Time to check on the boy.
    She pulled a brown wool over cloak from off a hook on her wall and wrapped it around her shoulders. Lately she found the mornings to be particularly cold in the coven. Whether it was from her age or perhaps a shift in the climate below the surface, she couldn’t be certain. Either way, she needed the cloak to keep the chill out of her bones.
    Hairen opened her door and walked down the corridor toward the banquet hall.
    “It is time then?” Merriam asked as Hairen rounded a corner, nearly bumping into her.
    “It is,” Hairen said. Everything was silent, except for the occasional snore that echoed through the halls.
    “All of the guests stayed up late, and now they sleep heavily,” Merriam noted.
    “That is good,” Hairen said. “Where is Silvi?”
    “She waits for us at the banquet hall.”
    Hairen raised her brow and looked down her nose at Merriam. “How long has she been there?”
    Merriam shrugged. “Several hours, I suppose.”
    The two of them quickened their pace. They found Silvi seated cross-legged on the floor near the entrance to the banquet hall. Her head was tilted back against the wall and her mouth was slack. Hairen could just hear Silvi’s rhythmic breathing. The old witch walked over and nudged the young, raven-haired witch with her foot.
    Silvi’s eyes shot open and she jumped up to her feet. “I apologize,” she said. “I must have dozed off.”
    Hairen shrugged and motioned for Silvi to stand next to Merriam. “I will go in alone.” The old witch walked into the banquet hall, pausing at the entrance and peering inside. The room was dark. None of the torches burned inside. Hairen held out her palm and conjured a white orb of light to illuminate her path. She stepped into the room slowly.
    “You have come to mock me,” a voice hissed from the dark.
    Hairen’s heart skipped a beat. This was not the voice of the boy she had left lying on the floor last night. There was power here now. A dark power. Goosebumps ran along her forearms and she drew the cloak in tighter around herself. “I have