Meta Gods War 3 by B. Miles (the ebook reader txt) 📕

came at the man, naked as the day, and punched him in the throat. The man was surprised and clearly hadn’t expected much of a fight. He brought his sword up, but Felin slammed into him from the side.

“Fucker!” she said, her voice a hoarse scream.

The girls in the other room woke with a start.

“Felin, get off him,” Cam shouted as the man struggled.

He got a glimpse of their attacker. Stout, older, scraggly gray beard. He wore a black cloak pulled tight around a threadbare, patchwork tunic, stitched over so many times that it looked like a brown mass of spare cloth.

And pinned to his chest was the sign of the Wardens.

He raised his sword as Felin danced away from him. His clumsy swipe hit nothing but air, and as he moved to attack Felin again, Cam pushed his Urspell into place.

Flames, roiling dark blue and orange, shot from his outstretched palm and slammed into their attacker from the side. He screamed as the flames consumed him, hot enough to make Felin stumble away. He dropped to the floor as Cam released the magic, jaw clenched at the Need that washed over him.

The body writhed, released a hoarse groan, then fell still as the smell of burning flesh, cooked hair, and melted cloth filled the room.

“What’s going on?” Miuri said, appearing in the doorway. She was naked and held her curved sword in one hand.

Felin’s lips curled back. “Assassin,” she said.

“Assassin?” Miuri looked around then strode to the main door. Cam followed her and watched as she stepped into the hall, looked around, then slammed their door shut. “How did an assassin get in here? We locked that door.”

“He was a Warden,” Cam said.

Galla appeared in the bedroom door, a blanket wrapped around her body. Her eyes were wide as she looked from Cam, to Felin, to Miuri, then finally at the body still smoldering on the floor.

“Warden?” she asked. “How? That can’t be possible.”

“It’s possible,” Felin said. “I saw the sign. Cam saw it, too.”

“I saw it,” Cam said. “Without a doubt, that was a Warden.”

“Are you sure he was attacking us?” Galla asked. “The Wardens would never harm a resident of the Mansion. That goes against everything they stand for. Getting involved in politics would be… would be…” She trailed off, shaking her head, eyes wide with uncertainty.

“It would be what?” Cam asked. “Impossible?”

“Unheard of,” Galla said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Felin said. “The Warden attacked. We both saw it.”

“Tell me what happened,” Galla demanded. “Start from the beginning.”

Key came out, half dressed, and tossed Cam his trousers. He pulled them on as he explained what happened, waking up to Felin staring at the door, the man coming into their room with his weapon bared.

“I heard the door open,” Felin said. “I was half asleep and it jolted me up. I didn’t really understand it at first, since we’re supposed to have the only key.”

“But we don’t have the only key, do we?” Key asked, buttoning her tunic. “The Wardens come into our room every day. They drop off wood, replenish our foodstuffs, clean the fireplace.”

“True,” Galla said. “The Wardens can get into any room. Which is why they’ve stayed neutral for thousands of years.”

“They’re not neutral anymore,” Miuri said, pulling on her clothes.

As they dressed, Felin walked Galla through what happened two more times as the Warden’s corpse smoked and smoldered on the ground.

Cam stared at the door, his body tense, his mind spinning. Miuri leaned against his shoulder.

“You knew this was a possibility,” she said, keeping her tone low.

“I know,” he said. “But not this fast.”

“Remorn wasn’t going to give up so easily.”

“But on his own daughter’s wedding night?” Cam made a face and nearly spit on the floor. “That’s low, Miuri.”

She spread out her hands. “She’s not his daughter anymore.”

He opened his mouth then shut it again, shaking his head. “You’re probably right about that, but it doesn’t change anything. Sending an assassin on the night of her wedding is the act of a true coward, and I’m going to make sure the council knows it.”

“Think they’ll believe you?” she asked.

“Galla has half of them in her pocket,” he said. “And the other half are in the army. I suspect they won’t put up much of a fight.”

“Who does Remorn still control?”

“Dore,” Cam said. “The head Warden. A few of the Generals, some of the army staff. And I think some of the Elders are less loyal than Galla would like.”

“Then we’ll still have to be careful,” Miuri said.

Cam put a hand on her shoulder then trailed his fingers off as he walked over to the body. Felin, Galla, and Key were crouched over it, staring at the half-cindered cloak. Cam wedged his foot underneath it and kicked, rolling it over.

Half the man’s face and chest fell away in a pile of ash, bile, blood, and intestines. Galla turned away and retched. Miuri came over and put an arm over her shoulders, moving her from the corpse, as Cam crouched down to inspect it.

“Face is mostly gone,” Key said.

“But not all of it,” Cam said. “We can salvage some of this cloak.”

“Warden symbol is wrecked,” Felin said, letting out a frustrated growl as she poked at the pin with her finger. It was twisted and melted beyond recognition.

“We’ll make due,” he said, standing. “Fel, would you mind getting me my sword?”

“For what?” Key asked, frowning up at him.

He stared down at the corpse, at the man that had been sent to kill him on his own wedding night, a present from his father-in-law.

“I have a message to send,” he said, and flexed his fingers.

5

The council met the next morning, packed into the square set of tables that made up the bulk of the room. The Elders were all present along with half the army’s officer corp. Haesar and Gwedi sat in the far corner, and the Elf Lord inclined his head when Cam caught his eye.

Cam sat down in his customary seat and dropped a black velvet