Commandment

Commandment Read Free

Book: Commandment Read Free
Author: Daryl Chestney
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her an umbrella. Lakif had been so discombobulated that she hadn’t even noted that her guard was carrying two umbrellas.
    The two hustled through the plaza as it swelled with pedestrians. Lakif hoisted the umbrella so low that its peak basically rested on her crown. The slanted sides worked wonders in shielding her face from casual view. Although it wasn’t raining, the ruse wouldn’t necessarily betray them as suspicious. Many other pedestrians adopted the same strategy, as umbrellas were regularly deployed to protect from the erinyes’ raining excrement.
    The two blended in seamlessly with the mass rush toward the station. From what she could discern from the corners of her eyes, all the commuters were identically garbed. En route, she noticed that Torkoth dropped the Cauldron keys down a snowy grating.
    “We just lost our security deposit!” She hissed. Residual cryptide still frosted her senses.
    “We couldn’t very well deliver them to the bailey warden,” Torkoth whispered. “He must be the one with loose lips!”
    The short trip was bittersweet for the Acaanan. With each step the threat of Ebon Myre receded, and the promise of the sorely missed Goblin Knight loomed that much closer. But the price of that comfort was levied with each painful pace that wracked her ailing ankle. The swelling hadn’t diminished at all with the day’s reprieve.
    The two reached the Seventh Circle inconspicuously. They were but two grains on a beach of gray sand. Torkoth led the Acaanan through the front entrance. She kept her eyes firmly planted on his boots as he led her directly across the main hall and up the grand stairs. Evidently he had bought two tickets in advance, a wise foresight. She took in nothing of the edifice’s exquisite architecture including the giant statue. But she now felt extremely uncomfortable. To maintain her umbrella within the station was a glaring red flag. She bit her lip and slithered through the ticket counter behind her companion.
    They loitered at the distant end of the boarding platform while waiting for the next train to safety. Their position was intentionally chosen as it was the only place on the platform exposed to the wind. Anyone observing them would assume she kept the umbrella hoisted to keep the bitter wind off her cheeks.
    As they waited, the mist clouding her mind steadily thinned. For the first time, she noticed that the Half-man was actually alone.
    “What happened to the girl?” she asked.
    “Sarah? I know where to find her when I return.”
    Lakif blinked with surprise. She wanted to glean her partner’s expression but kept her head buried in the umbrella’s corrugated cone. As Torkoth had shed his umbrella, he was apparently keeping a watchful eye peeled—for trouble.
    “You’re coming back?”
    “I have unfinished business here,” he added curtly.
    Lakif chewed on the revelation. It was obvious that the Half-man had bonded with the gamine. But how far was he willing to take this? Would he adopt the girl when he returned?
    A nerve-tearing screech jolted her back from supposition. The Leviathan was chugging to a stop. The construct’s caterwaul had never sounded so welcome.
    As was always the case, the return voyage to the Third Circle Station sped by faster than the first trip. While every minute was as asphyxiating and insufferable, the Acaanan wasn’t nearly as perturbed as before. Her mind dwelled not on stank breath or crammed bodies, but on the miraculous treasure hidden in her inner pocket. The city speeding past wasn’t merely whirring scenery but fleeting images of a grand future that was hers to conquer.
    But at present, the Rare Earth Stone was as useful to her as it was to the abbot. Now she must launch into the second leg of her goal. A trip to the Vulcan was finally in order.
    Lakif was mildly surprised when her partner coaxed her from the train. As she hadn’t been praying for each stop, she failed to recognize the appointed station. Of course they

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