Read A Dagger of the Mind (The Imperial Metals) for Free Online Page A

cups. The servants scattered out of the room as Vye landed on him. His grip loosened when they touched down, and she used her momentum to backflip off his body, landing on her knees with her fists closed around his skull.
    So she unleashed her will on Helios’ brain. Crackling energy spouted forth from her fingers, forcing the intruder to scream at the relentless pain.
    But Vye didn’t have enough time to finish the job. Selene came running into the dining hall. Vye sent Helios airborne at his partner in crime. And while Selene caught him in midair and landed him upright, Vye still had enough time to flee out of the opposite end of the hall.
    Vye scurried up the stairwell, heading for the catwalk. She had been hit with a dozen overpowered death hexes, parried away by shocking bolts of energy, grappled with a draining grip, and been thrown through the dining hall doors . She had landed a solid hit against one of her opponents, but all she could think of was her fight against Argos...
    It was the last day of the Argosian War. Vye and Count Michael had followed the Turin general to the Lunapera, his home. It was the most brutal fight she had ever experienced, even coming on the tail of three other fights with Argos’ pupils and an encounter with a dragon. Michael died. Vye only defeated Argos by reaching into a dark recess of her mind.
    But she could tell, fighting Helios and Selene that these two were each as powerful as Argos, at least. And now there was only one of her, and two of them. She didn’t think she could survive this fight.
    She reached the parapet. The Guards could immediately tell that something was amiss.
    “Countess?” one of the guards shouted.
    “Sound the alarm!” Vye yelled. “Evacuate the castle. Now!”
    The Guards of the Castle Hartstone were not cowards. They would have fought to the death alongside Countess Vye if she had asked. But Vye had made it very clear to them. The last time a battalion of castle guards took on one of the magic-users, forty of them died in less than ten minutes. There were powers in the world against which they would be useless.
    So Vye had left an order with her guards, “If I tell you to evacuate the Castle, your job is to make sure everybody gets out safely. No acts of bravery. No asking questions. Get. The Fuck. Out.”
    And so the guards did just that. In another Castle, questions of chivalry and courage would run rampant. But when the Countess tells you to clear out of the way, you run. Fast.
    The bells sounded, echoing around the courtyard. And Vye barely had a chance to catch her breath before Selene emerged from the stairwell. And immediately the spells started flying. Sparks and lights and booms shattering across the catwalk, sending clouds of dust across the suspended passage.
    Vye only spent as much energy as she absolutely had to, deflecting Selene’s attacks. Vye knew this was the distraction. The other one would be there, coming from a different direction, and Vye didn’t want to get caught off guard.
    She scanned the other entrances, bobbing and weaving around Selene’s spells. As long as Vye kept from taking a hit, she would be prepared for the ambush. But nobody was emerging from any of the other entrances to the parapet. Where was he?
    Helios answered the question by soaring into the air in the middle of the courtyard. Vye spotted him out of the corner of her eye, just in time. He fired a bolt of lightning at her, but she deflected it, sending the energy blasting into the North Tower. Bricks crumbled off the structure, rolling down the smooth surface, bursting on the ground below.
    Vye drew her sword again, chucking it at the airborne villain. It spun like a boomerang, hacking into his side and drawing blood. He tumbled out of the air. Selene tried to take advantage of the opening, firing another death spell at Vye...
    Vye dodged out of the way, but the impact of the green light against the parapet sent her tumbling over the side of the walkway,