Read Online The First Kaiaru by David Alastair Hayden - Free Book Online Page A

remember to thank the fetch for including Awasa. Assuming Lu Bei didn’t overdo it and cause problems. Which, now that he thought of it, was likely, since he and Awasa had never gotten along with one another.
    Bathed in the warmth of the crackling fire and cooled by a breeze, both girls—leanly-muscled Iniru and curvy Kurine—snuggled up with Turesobei. The servant played a bright love song on the zither. The full moon shined down from above. The scent of woodsmoke merged with that of the night-blooming jasmine and honeysuckle hanging from the nearby trellis. Bowls of tea, sweet cakes, and wine were crammed onto the tables beside them. Everyone was happy, laughing and chatting with one another.
    Iniru leaned in. He looked intently into her golden eyes, surrounded by downy, red-brown fur. She kissed him deeply. Warmth spread throughout his chest into his gut and along his neck and face. By his side, Kurine tensed up, but she didn’t release his arm. Iniru drew away, traced a finger along his cheek, then shoved him—gently—toward Kurine.
    Scared, excited, and mystified, he half-turned. Kurine’s emerald eyes and a nervous smile met him. She brushed her golden mane back, exposing the white fur of her neckline. Iniru squished her fingers tightly in-between his. She trembled, ever so slightly. So did he.
    Kurine blushed. Was she waiting for him to make a move? He inched his face toward her, then hesitated. She surged in and kissed him just as deeply as Iniru had. The warmth within Turesobei tripled.
    This moment…surrounded by friends and beauty…with both girls he loved sharing him…it was perfect.
    Too perfect.
    I’m so going to die tomorrow.

Chapter Eleven
    “ M aster!” Lu Bei patted him on the arm. “Master, it’s an emergency!”
    He swatted at the fetch. “Go away.”
    “It’s important, Master. I swear.”
    The girl in the bed with him rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Lu, what’s wrong?”
    Groaning, he shoved her away. “Leave us…” he couldn’t remember her name “…girl. Go now.”
    Naked and frightened, she scurried out of his room. She didn’t even look familiar. Oh well.
    “What is it this time?”
    “A thief,” Lu Bei said.
    “Again? You don’t need me to deal with a thief. Summon Motekeru.”
    “A thief broke into your vault, Master.”
    He was on his feet instantly. “What did they take?”
    “All I saw missing were…” Lu Bei frowned in worry “…were the kavaru of the Council of Nine.”
    He threw on a robe and grabbed his sword Yomifano. “How long?”
    “An hour at most. When the second guard patrol showed for duty, they found the first shift neutralized.”
    He raced out into the hallway. “Why didn’t my alarm wards sound? How did they make it past my defenses? And what about my demon guardians?”
    “Master, I don’t know how, but they didn’t set off any of the alarms, and they opened the vault with ease. As for your demon guardians, they have been banished back to the nether reaches. Motekeru is in pursuit of the thief, along with a dozen of your finest.”
    “Did he get a look at him?”
    Lu Bei shook his head. “Motekeru is doing a wide sweep looking for…anything. Before I came to alert you, I did a quick flyover, but I couldn’t detect a kenja trail of any type.”
    He paused and let out a deep breath. “You might as well recall the search. Only one person could break in here and exit without leaving a trace. And they will never find her .”
    “Nalsyrra, Master? But why would she ask you to stop the Council and then steal the stones? She could have done it all herself.”
    “Why does she do anything?”
    “That’s true, Master,” Lu Bei said, nodding. “She is inscrutable.”
    “We can only hope she won’t do something equally terrible with those kavaru.”
    “I think she was sincere when she said the Kaiaru race should not be restarted,” the fetch said.
    “She always seems sincere.”
    He walked back into his room, put Yomifano on its