Rise of Legends (The Kin of Kings Book 2) Read Free

we can kill them before they strike again.” Peter’s deadpan tone stilled Cleve’s heart.
    “What happened?”
    Peter stared at Cleve and looked ready to retch. “How do you not know? Everyone’s talking about it.”
    “Just tell me.”
    Peter paled further at having to deliver the news. “There was another murder during the night. The same person who killed Nick killed another.”
    Cleve set down his spoon as a cold sweat came over him. He already knew what Peter was going to say.
    “It was one of ours, Cleve. One of our best.”
    Time seemed to slow as Peter spoke Alex’s name.
    Peter paused then, clearly waiting for Cleve to say something, but just keeping down his breakfast was difficult enough.
    Peter went on to tell Cleve how it had happened, something about Effie and Basen being with Alex and Basen casting portals as the reason behind the attack. But Cleve couldn’t quite understand or feel anything except a deep devastation that threatened to overwhelm him if he didn’t contain it.
    The Redfield bell dinged, but it did nothing to draw Cleve away from his inner battle. The ringing stopped after three loud chimes, signifying that everyone needed to meet at the stadium for an announcement.
    Peter stood and said, “I’m sure Terren will repeat what I just told you.”
     
     
    *****
     
     
    Cleve couldn’t find Reela or Effie at Redfield, but he was able to locate Steffen among the hundreds of long benches wrapping around the circular stadium. Steffen greeted him with his usual enthusiastic smile.
    “Good morning, Cleve.” He obviously hadn’t heard the horrible news.
    “What did you see when you left our house?” Cleve asked.
    Confusion took away Steffen’s smile. “What did I see?”
    “Where were Effie and Reela?”
    “I believe they were in Effie’s room with the door closed. Why?”
    Cleve couldn’t bring himself to say it. Fortunately, Terren stood in the center of the stadium and lifted his arms, showing it was time to begin. An uneasy silence fell over the crowd.
    “Last night, Basen Hiller went to the mages’ Group One training area and was accompanied by Effie Elegin and Alarex Baom,” Terren began.
    It had been so long since Cleve had heard Alex’s full name that it didn’t sound familiar. He glanced around the stadium to find sad, expectant faces.
    “Basen went there to practice creating portals,” Terren continued. “We have confirmed that he is able to make them.”
    There were no sounds of surprise, which seemed to confuse Terren. Then his face set back into the hard stare Cleve was used to. “You all must have heard this already.” Most everyone began to nod. “Then I will make the summary of the event brief to get to the important part. Alarex—or Alex, as he was known here—was killed while he, Basen, and Effie fought off a psychic attacker. We strongly believe this psychic is the same person who killed Nick. He or she apparently first thought it was Nick who’d created the portals in his room. However, it was Basen who made these portals, for he was unable to practice them in his own room because of limitations that we’re still investigating. Like the rest of us, Basen had no idea someone would kill to stop the making of these portals, so he is not to blame.”
    Terren cleared his throat and made a sweeping gesture at the thousands of students around him. “The blame goes to the one person here who killed Nick and Alex. We already have theories about who you are.” His voice rose as he continued to gesture at the audience. “You’re shorter than most men yet taller than most women. You’re stronger with psyche than our best psychics, yet you might be enrolled as a warrior, chemist, or mage. You’re in possession of black robes that completely conceal you, even your face.”
    Terren finally let down his hand. “There’s more we know about you, but I’ll stop there. This is your chance, whoever you are, to come before us and explain yourself. You will be