The Path of Giants by B.T. Narro (best novels to read .txt) 📕

most grown men. He looked as if he had been eating well and keeping up with his sword training, a good shape to his shoulders and chest.

“Oh, you’re back!” he told Aliana with what sounded to be feigned excitement. “That’s just great…more hunting down thieves.” But his eyes went wide when he finally noticed me at the back of the group. “Jon!” he said with genuine excitement. “By the gods, you’re finally here! Oh, and Kataleya,” he quickly added. “Wait, is something going on?” He then seemed to notice most of us staring at the mug of ale in his hand. “Oh this? This is nothing.” He put it on the counter nearby.

“Come on,” Aliana scolded as she started down the short hallway in front of us. A curtain was draped across the end, blocking our view.

Michael watched her go, then picked up his mug and gulped down the last of its contents. After a wipe of his sleeve, he joined me toward the back of the group.

“Jon, how have you been!”

We shared a quick embrace with a couple of slaps to each other’s backs. “Good, and yourself?”

“Very good. Well, very bored. So, Reuben and Charlie, did Jon heal you guys up nicely?”

“Yes, he did,” Charlie answered. “Why were you drinking? Have all the thieves been captured?”

Michael laughed scornfully. “Hell, no. They seem to be multiplying. It probably has something to do with the absence of you guys. Jon, it’s been a long time!”

“Aye, it’s really good to see you. What’s it been like here?”

“I can’t complain. What am I talking about? Of course I can. I don’t think we’re ever getting out of this city. Oh, and Gourfist seemed to come alive for a short time. So there’s that.”

“Jon fought him back!” Charlie said. “You should have seen him.”

“What?” Michael stopped as we were following the girls down the hall. He faced me. “That’s true?”

“It is,” Reuben answered for me. “He took two spears, jumped off the castle wall, and stood up to Gourfist long enough for Souriff to arrive. Then she took Gourfist off in a chase.”

Michael didn’t seem to believe it as he waited for me to answer.

“I had some help,” I said modestly. “The king’s archers, and Aliana with them. And Hadley was right there in the fray with me near the end.” I pointed at her walking ahead of us. She was behind Aliana and Kataleya but stopped as she clearly heard us talking about her. She gave one look back, then turned around again and disappeared behind the curtain.

“That girl helped fight Gourfist?” Michael asked, his tone commenting on her appearance.

“She’s a witch, a dteria user! Even if she doesn’t look it,” Reuben answered with some disdain. I gave him a hard stare. He let out a sigh when he noticed it, then continued. “But she did help, and I do think she’s loyal. At least she’s loyal to Jon and herself. I can’t say she’ll stand up for the rest of us.”

“I think she would,” Charlie said. “She’s very brave. I never would have gotten that close to Gourfist. She blinded him with a curse using his own feather.”

“I think she also used the blood of Valinox,” I said, remembering her pouring out the vial.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Michael said with his hands up. “How the hell did she have the blood of Valinox?”

“Because she bit him on his neck earlier, sucked out some of his blood, then spat it into a vial,” I answered.

I knew I should elaborate, but I was getting too much amusement out of Michael’s bewildered look. Also, what I was about to say next would ruin the fun.

“He attacked me with Eden. We were returning to the castle at the end of my trip when she drove a dagger into my back.”

Michael shared a few choice words about Eden, but then he interrupted himself. “Wait, so you and this witch fought off Valinox and Eden?”

“We did.”

“Where was Kataleya?”

“There’s so much we have to catch up on,” I realized aloud. “Should we follow the others?”

“Well, no, because they’re going down into the basement and Leon’s there. He’s going to put us to work. We’ve had a bit of a break recently—a needed one. I’m not ready for it to end. Besides, Leon’s even worse here than in the castle. I’m pretty sure he hates the city more than I do. He can be such a turd some—”

I cleared my throat loudly as I saw Leon parting the curtain. I was certain he had heard most of what Michael was saying.

“Michael, get over here!” yelled Leon.

“Oh damn.” Michael squeezed through the rest of us to be at the back. “You guys go first.”

It was just a short walk down the hallway. Michael made a motion as if he was ushering us.

“Look who I found,” he said. “They wanted to stay and have a drink, but I told them—”

“Cut the shit.” Leon pointed at the downward staircase as he held the curtain open. “Go. And keep your mouth shut, Michael. There’s a lot to discuss.”

I had gone down these stairs once before when Jennava had taken me into the basement of this place and told me of our enemies coming from Rohaer. The basement now, however, was very different than I remembered, much more hospitable. There were a number of lamps in the bright room as well as an assortment of chairs and tables. I didn’t remember there being so many shelves along the walls, all packed with various things like books, herbs, scrolls, and even a couple of small weapons like falchions and stilettos. It was nice to see Jennava, as I met her smiling countenance with my gaze, but it was even nicer to see Remi as she approached me with a huge grin.

She looked a little different. I didn’t know what it was, exactly, but she seemed older. She had small, dark eyes that reflected her reserved personality. She had an elegant nose, long and thin, a delicate centerpiece