Ghosts of the Erlyn (Catalyst Book 3) by C.J. Aaron (books like beach read .TXT) 📕

from the front door of the barracks. The sentries standing guard saluted as he exited. He watched as the captain barked out orders to a group of guards standing at attention. With a final salute he wheeled to the south, heading down the avenue in Ryl’s direction.

Ryl remained in the shadows watching as the captain walked briskly past. Disguised as a beggar, he garnered no extra attention from Le’Dral, though he was certain the roving eyes of the experienced soldier catalogued his presence. Though not overwhelming, beggars, paupers and the generally less fortunate of society were frequent visitors in all wards of the city.

Giving the captain plenty of space, Ryl rose, ambling slowly through the darkening shadows, surreptitiously following him further into the city. The path the captain traveled forced him from the beaten track of the rapidly crowding main avenues. Ryl stumbled slowly, maintaining a wide berth from the observant captain. It wasn’t long before he noted his mark enter a tavern, set secluded in a back alley well off the main avenue. A faded wooden sign hung motionless above the door; the painted details had been long lost to the elements.

A small patio outside the door featured several tables; every seat was occupied. The raucous clamber spilled out as the captain opened the door. The brief glimpse of the inside as well as the noise that poured out convinced Ryl that there would be no chance for a discrete meeting with the captain there.

How long would the captain remain inside? Ryl was content to wait. The hour was still early enough though the darkness of the early evening was rapidly descending over the city. There was still ample time for him to wait before he needed to return to Andr. Together, they would slip quietly from the city in the still of the night, meeting their companions with the wagons along the northern avenue before dawn.

They would ride on the city just after first light.

Ryl hadn’t long to wait before the captain again emerged from the tavern. The volume of people on the streets had now made a clandestine meeting in the open nearly impossible. Though there were few choices left.

An idea dawned on Ryl. Under the shadow of his hood, his lips curled into a grin. Leaving the captain, he hastened back through the city bound for the barracks at the foot of the gate. He weaved through the back alleys as he steadily made his way toward the main avenue leading to the gate.

Ryl poked his head out from the shadows as he reached the intersection. Though there was still light in the sky, the lanterns that lined the street had been lit, casting the area in an unnatural glow. On the opposite side of the street, slightly downhill from his location, a narrow gap opened between the buildings. He could see that the light from the lanterns would dissipate rapidly once inside. The area beyond was cloaked in an overwhelming darkness.

There were scattered groups moving along the street. The celebration had already reached an intoxicating level with some. A boisterous group stumbled by his location as he slowly hobbled from the concealment of the shadows. He noted a pair of men across the street, surveying the products displayed inside a store window.

Something about the duo looked immediately out of place to Ryl. They both wore similar nondescript articles of clothing. Their eyes, while using the cover of the goods inside the shop window, too frequently scrutinized the faces of the traffic moving about on the avenue. There was no interest in the wares behind the glass.

They were waiting. They were watching for someone.

Ryl studied the pair as they continued to show feigned interest in the store’s goods. He noted the eyes of one go wide with recognition as they landed on something down the lower reaches of the avenue. The man tapped his partner on the shoulder whispering into his ear. His hand slipped nonchalantly under the folds of his cloak.

Ryl followed their eyes down the avenue, cataloguing the faces of the citizens milling about. His heart skipped a beat as he noted the target of their attention. Approaching rapidly from the south, Captain Le’Dral walked with measured gait back toward the barracks.

Ryl chided himself for his careless oversight. The route the captain originally forged to the tavern was intentionally circuitous. It was no surprise that with the current animosity between the fundamentally differing opinions that prevailed, his routes would vary. The comments from Cavlin’s failed assassins rang through his ears.

The captain and his cronies are as good as dead.

There was no doubt that his movements were being watched. His predictability would be a fatal oversight.

The path that the captain walked unintentionally placed him closer to Ryl’s side of the avenue. The dutifully watchful eyes of the captain were surprisingly absent. His casual gaze was lazy, as if he was lost deep in thought. The pair on the other side of the alley, a few dozen meters to the north, began slowly walking back into the street, angling toward the approaching captain.

Ryl acted on impulse; stumbling out into the avenue. He’d waited long enough until his movements would seem random, coincidental. He staggered out from the shadows. The haggard and hunched pose he’d adopted made him look frail and weak. He noted the surprise on the captain’s face as he braced for impact.

Le’Dral had done his best to stop, pulling up partially as they collided. Ryl lowered his shoulder, spinning the captain around. He turned his head back to look at the man as he hastened to put distance between the two of them. From the expression on Le’Dral’s face, he was shocked by the force of the contact.

“Mind your surroundings, Captain,” Ryl whispered.

The pair on the other side of the street staggered their steps at the unexpected impact between the seemingly innocent beggar and the captain. Ryl capitalized on their momentary indecision, forcing out a brief wave of warning over the unexpecting captain. Out