Delver Magic: Book 06 - Pure Choice Read Free Page A

would object.
    "I want you to use your
senses to locate every rogue within the walls. Once you pinpoint them, I'll
have archers dispatch them as quickly as possible. You can..."
    Ryson didn't let him continue.
    "No, I won't find them so you
can kill them."
    Sy made one last effort.
    "They're already inside the walls...
on the streets. They're dangerous and they're here to kill our citizens."
    "We can handle it without
killing them. The people have already been warned. No one is going to get
killed tonight."
    Eyeing the delver with
frustration, Sy realized further argument was not only futile, but a waste of
critical time.
    "Fine, we don't kill them.
We'll capture them. I'll send guards to different points of the town with iron
chain nets. Rogues are strong, but they can't rip through iron. You hunt them
down. Keep that sword of yours out in the open. I want the tower guards to keep
track of your progress. When you pinpoint a rogue, stop and wave the sword
three times over your head. The tower guards will signal your position to my
soldiers, and they'll take it from there."
    "Maybe you should just let me
take care of it. I can lead them out of the town. I would just need your guards
to open a gate once..."
    It was Sy's turn to cut off the
delver.
    "No. You won't let me
dispatch them, as I should—and I'll live with that—but I'm not going to let you
lead some kind of parade through town. I'm also not going to open the gates at
night. There are more rogues outside the wall. We net those that are already
inside, secure them so they can't get loose, and I'll have them released very far down river tomorrow."
    "I have your word you won't
have them killed?"
    "You have my word." Sy
frowned. He didn't feel it was necessary to affirm his order. He meant what he
said, and the delver asking for some kind of confirmation added to his annoyance.
He was already compromising with the delver—adding risk he did not think was
necessary—and Ryson's apparent lack of faith was a jab he did not need... or
like. He wouldn't waste time debating the issue at that moment, but he also
decided that wouldn't be the end of the conversation.
    "You and I are going to have
to have a talk."
    "Tomorrow," Ryson
offered.
    "That'll be fine."
    Ryson was sorry the tone had
become so unfriendly. He wished he could have cleared the air before he left,
but he had rogues to find.
    Turning about with a flash of
grace, Ryson quickly exited the barracks with Sergeant Klusac and Sy following
close behind. The delver pulled the Sword of Decree from the sheath on his
back.
    The blade glowed brightly as it
magnified and reflected the surrounding light. Even with a night sky blanketed
in clouds, the land was never completely dark. Light always managed to find its
way through the land of Uton
and the Sword of Decree enhanced that light with its enchantment.
    "Not as bright as it would
glow in the day," Ryson admitted, "but in this darkness, I doubt the
tower guards will have any trouble seeing me."
    "We think there's only three," Sy reminded the delver, "but
there could be more. Find them all, and do it quickly."
    Ryson nodded and sped off toward
the northern section of town.
    "I still can't get over how
fast he can move," Klusac blurted out as he watched the glowing sword
become a streaking flash through the night.
    "It is amazing," Sy allowed. Then the captain offered a relevant
consideration, for his benefit as well as Klusac's. "Maybe if he wasn't so
blasted fast he'd understand why the rest of us are a bit more willing to
remove these threats completely rather than playing around with them,
especially at night. I wouldn't want
to go running after rogues alone, but then again, I can't move like he
does."
    Klusac didn't verbally agree with
the sentiment, didn't want to simply admit his own fears, but he knew he
wouldn't want to chase river rogues hiding throughout the town in the dead of
night, either. Rather than dwell on his own misgivings, the sergeant turned