Read Online The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) by Julius St. Clair - Free Book Online Page B

kicked off the full Quietus over her head and she jumped to her feet. Summoning her long sword back into her hand, she charged the beast, clashing with its scythes. Catherine coughed and tried to catch her breath when she felt a presence beside her. She looked up to see the beady eyes of an old friend.
    “Hello, Princess,” Kyran said as he kneeled beside her. “We meet again.”
    “Kyran, put a stop to this.”
    “This is what we must do. You have seen James’ power firsthand.”
    “If the Delilah didn’t put these thoughts into your head, would you be pursuing this? Would you hunt James down? Even after all we’ve been through?”
    “Our friendship and our common experiences don’t mean we get an instant pass. If anything, by stopping him, I am doing him a favor. I volunteered for this assignment because I would be gentle. The Delilah would not.”
    “So you’re Delilah now?”
    “I am.”
    Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise. “But why?”
    “Because they possess the drive and vision that we always lacked. They seek harmony, even through questionable means.”
    “But we did the same in Allay.”
    “No, we performed horrible things in the name of silence, not peace. There is a difference. Peace must mean that all the people, and all the races except for the insane are in harmony.”
    “And who are the insane?”
    “The ones that threaten our existence as a whole,” he said, looking up to make sure Chloe didn’t need assistance. He bent back down to Catherine’s ear. “It’s time to start thinking bigger.”
    “Funny, coming from you,” she said, swiping at his legs with her hand. He stepped back just in time and she stood up strong. “All you can see is Chloe.”
    “And you, James.”
    “You know that’s not true. I’ve always fought for the greater good.”
    “Then why are you playing house in a rundown cabin with displaced children?”
    Catherine’s mouth opened but nothing came out. She frowned and crossed her arms as Kyran’s eyes smiled. Catherine unfolded her arms and unsheathed her eidolon from her hip. Kyran’s body became rigid as he followed her hands, which slowly spun the blade in a circular motion.
    “If you won’t listen to reason, I will have to stop you,” he said.
    “I know,” Catherine replied. “As will I.”
    “So be it,” he said, gliding backwards once more. She ran forward, but it was as if he was already far off in the distance. He disappeared from her sight. Catherine leapt to one of the thick tree branches and crouched low, looking for where Kyran could be hiding. There were no sounds but the clash of eidolon against scythe in the distance. James had indeed gotten stronger and so did Chloe, but they were both still friends, and so neither was willing to abandon their care for one another yet. It seemed that the battle would be decided between Catherine and Kyran.
    He won’t hesitate, Catherine thought to herself.
    She closed her eyes and let her eidolon sift through the threads of the environment, dissecting every tree, bush, movement and atom. Not even Kyran could hide for long, and if he was watching, he would know what she was doing. He would have no choice but to strike, and that would be her chance to catch him off guard.
    But he didn’t come after her.
    And even more surprising, she found his location. The eidolon picked up his scent and a trace amount of his DNA.
    “What are you up to?” Catherine whispered to herself as she leapt down from the branch and hit the leaves running. The crunching sound under her feet was large amongst the silence but she kept her focus zeroed in on Kyran who was hiding behind a thin tree. His bony shoulders were visible long before she arrived there. She came at him from the side, cocking her eidolon back and swinging hard as if she intended to chop down the tree altogether with him.
    He didn’t move.
    And her eidolon went straight through the tree, and his jacket along with it.
    She narrowed her eyes at the