Read Defender of the Empire 2: Facades Online
Authors: Catherine Beery
Defender of the Empire 2: Facades (21 page)
Thank you for reading Facades. Here is a sneak peak at Chaos
Enjoy!
RYLYNN, A SINGLE PERSON IS COMING THIS WAY Kylesst informed me. I stepped into the thick leaves around me and sank down into a crouch. The move brought me closer to the rich, loamy smelling earth. I hoped that I wasn’t damaging any of the plants, but that was a mild concern as a soft light stretched into my view. It was very dim as it sheened the edges of waxy leaves in orange-gold.
Soon a young woman, older than me by a few years but still young, came around the bend. She was dressed in a white robe with little white slippers adorning her feet. Her hands clutched a tiny, gently glowing light sphere. Her hands covered as much of the orb as they could, only letting a little light out into the world. But in that light with the aid of night vision I could clearly see the worry and fear in her eyes. The light also teased out reddish highlights in the dark hair framing her face. A glittering pale gold choker collar with three pink opals clung to her throat. My hand went to my own throat. I, personally, would hate to wear something like that. I’d feel like I couldn’t breathe.
The woman got to the pond’s edge and sank to her knees. Her head bowed and her shoulders shook. It didn’t take a genius to know she was crying. I looked down the path she had come and didn’t see anyone else. With her back to me I could keep going, but – there was something in her sorrow that pulled at me. Though she was sobbing softly it still sounded as if she felt completely alone and terrified of everything around her. That she had been that way for some time now and this was the one moment she could let it show. It was private and yet I couldn’t turn away. She needed to know she was not alone.
Carefully I stepped out of my hiding spot and paced toward her. Each footstep was slow and easy so as not to make a sound. Perhaps sneaking up on her was a bad idea, but I didn’t want to announce my presence to everyone. As I got closer I could hear that she was whispering through her strangling sobs. “Please, please, I can’t stay here… I can’t… It was hard before, but now that monster is here. Please Lord, I can’t have a child here. Please… please help me…”
My heart felt like it was breaking and I knelt on the ground a little distance from her. In a soft whisper I said, “Don’t panic, but you sound like you need help.”
She startled, but thankfully she didn’t scream. Instead she turned toward me. One hand buried the orb into the folds of her night robe, which didn’t shield the light much, but it did free her hand to cover the chocker at her neck. “Who are you?” She asked breathlessly.
“My name is Rylynn. Who are you?”
“Cassianna, Cassi for short.” She replied automatically. “How did you get here?”
I shrugged. “What are you afraid of?”
Her eyes narrowed at my non-answer and question. Then she glanced around nervously. “Look, I know you said your name, but I can’t trust anyone here.” Cassi said eventually looking down and frowning at her ineffective strategy for covering the orb. She took it out of the folds of her robe and shoved it into a pocket that must have been lined with something of more substance than the rest of the robe. Startling her must have made her forget about that pocket.
“I’m not from Kinair at all.” I replied. I wasn’t going to tell her yet how I had gotten into the garden. For all I knew she was just playing me and was really an enemy. I had personal experience with that. “You mentioned a monster earlier. What did you mean?”
Her shoulders sagged again. “I meant a monster. The monster who made this pretty façade over a hell’s mouth.” Cassi whispered with anger tinged with fear. She looked at me with an intensity that made me lean away a little. “You said you were not from this world. I’ve seen the way that man looked at me - he wants to use my baby for something…” Cassi shivered, “please, you have to get me out of here!”
I bit my lip. The journals, the flight plan, and the dreams all pointed to Kinair. And I felt that I knew who Cassi was talking about. “Cassi, do you know who the man is?”
She shook her head. “Not his name. Everyone only refers to him as Master or Keeper of The Heart of Souls.” She shivered again. “Please say you will get me away from here!” she begged.
I trembled slightly. Cassi had heard about the Heart. Maybe she even knew where I could find it. But I had to get her out of here first. As close as I might be to it, she was at her wits end and in more danger than I think even she realized. “I’ll help you.” I told her. “I’ll get you out of here. And, maybe, you can help me.”
Other books by Catherine Beery
Defender of the Empire
The Ways of Mages
(with Andrew Beery)
The Ways of Mages, #1 -Revised July 2012
The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds, #2 - Aug 2012
The Ways of Mages: Starfire, #3 January 2013
The Ways of Mages: Three Swords, #4 - 2013
Books by Andrew Beery
The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles
Liberation, #5 – 2014 (Summer/Fall)
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