Pillars Of Grace - The God Pillars Trilogy - Book 1

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Daras trailed behind Miraveh and the Hunter, muttering to himself, shaking his head, making wild gestures in the air, as though arguing with someone. More than once, he looked back towards where Jukunashar sat, far, far in the distance. The portal had transported them well beyond the isthmus and they now travelled within the Southern Lands, though the thief did not appear happy to have returned to his homeland.

"Are you going to sulk forever?" Turning in her saddle, keeping a tight hold upon the length of rope attached to Brothimir's saddle, she scowled back at Daras. "They're Witches! What did you expect?"

"The whole time! They knew!" Reluctant, Daras kicked his horse faster, catching up to Miraveh. "And they let me continue to think I was performing one of my more spectacular heists! I feel denied of glory. My reputation would lay in tatters should this ever emerge."

Daras' pride in his abilities had taken a knock. Miraveh could have caught him before he broke the Hunter from his cell, before he secreted him through the Coven House to the waiting Miraveh, but she had her own tasks to perform. The mail shirt, now repaired, fit as well as ever and she had to pick that up and get the horses ready before Sialira appeared.

Miraveh didn't doubt that Sialira would not have allowed Miraveh to leave without her. Or, worse, she would have argued the idea of staying within Jukunashar to await the next appearance of Yusuvur. The mere thought of seeing the elder Witch again turned Miraveh's stomach. She still felt the need to travel far away from the woman, but she now had doubts that anywhere in the world was far enough to evade her.

"Then you'll simply have to never tell anyone. I know how difficult that will be for you. You do so like to boast about your skills." She almost laughed as Daras bowed his head, pouting. "I won't tell anyone. I'm not so certain about him. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"If you demand I remain silent, I will. As you well know." The Hunter, Brothimir, had said little upon leaving Jukunashar, even as Miraveh had told him she intended freeing him. "Though I wouldn't say anything anyway. It would not help my people in defeating the Witches."

Miraveh had made certain that the dragon had transported them far away from the portal through which the folk of Jukunashar could travel. She had not wanted the Hunter to remember where it was and how he and his fellow Hunters could use it to attack the city. As soon as they had left the portal, Miraveh had seen Brothimir take note of their surroundings. He knew where they had emerged and, had they come through the permanent portal, that location would have become burned into his memory.

Not that Miraveh thought the Hunters O' The Dark stood any chance against the dragon, but she suspected many people, many Witches, could die before the dragon routed the killers of all things magic. She cared little for Witches, herself, but she did not want any to die for the misplaced sense of revenge the Hunters held so tight to their chests.

"You owe me a heist, Miraveh. A act of thievery that will resonate through the ages." Daras paid little attention to the Hunter. He neither liked or hated the man. The Hunters had never hurt him or his kin. "There is a diamond the size of a man's head within the citadel of Jat Musūr. That is a prize and the citadel is only ... ooh ... no more than a hundred miles from here, at the edge of the Desert of Stars."

"And I'm sure you will steal it right from beneath their noses." Miraveh looked in the direction that Daras pointed, uncertain whether the citadel of Jat Musūr was that way or not. "I, however, have other things to do."

"She intends releasing you from her service." Brothimir gave Daras a lop-sided, tight-lipped smile. "I know what she seeks and, after the faces you and those Witches pulled when she attacked me, she doesn't think you will support her actions."