Read Forged In Death, Book 1 of The Death Wizard Chronicles for Free Online

we will save the noble ones and be on our way.”
    Torg continued to focus on Mala. “I offer myself to you without further resistance. You and I will leave this place. While your soldiers sleep, the Asēkhas will remove the noble ones and take them to a safe place. I give you my word that your soldiers will not be harmed. We both win.”
    Perhaps wary of a trap, Mala did not immediately respond. But then he shrugged, as if unconcerned by anything that might threaten him. “Very well, Torgon . But order your rats not to follow.”
    Torg rose unsteadily to his feet. He turned to Kusala, Sōbhana, and the other Asēkhas and gazed from face to face. Mala loomed noisily behind him like a tower of malice.
    The disbelief on the faces of his warriors was easily recognizable, and Torg understood why. They could not see inside his mind and know his thoughts. How could they possibly understand what drove him now?
    He knew more about Invictus than he’d let on to anyone. He could sense the extent of the sorcerer’s power like a wildfire obscured by the crest of a hill. All others could see only smoke, but Torg could feel the fire’s heat.
    Despite his relative youth and inexperience, Invictus had become the greatest threat the land had ever known. Ordinary means could not defeat him. Torg believed that in order to combat Invictus he would need to perform an act of virtue that would help to even the scales between good and evil. A selfless act on a stage of such magnitude would set larger forces into motion. To save the noble ones Torg was willing to sacrifice his own freedom. He did so, however, with an even grander vision. This war would be fought not just on the physical battlefield, but in an arena invisible to all but the wise.
    “The soldiers will sleep for at least a day,” Torg said to the Asēkhas. “While they are helpless, transport the noble ones to our place of safe keeping. I will depart with Mala and permit him to bear me to Invictus.”
    “Lord, this is impossible,” Kusala said. “If you—”
    Blue light fired from Torg’s staff, pounding Kusala in the chest and knocking him off his feet. The other Asēkhas gasped.
    “Do not interrupt ,” Torg said, slamming Obhasa down hard enough to crack the marble at his feet. “Listen carefully, all of you. I will leave with Mala. You must not follow, not a single one of you. Carry the noble ones to safety and return to the defense of Anna. Do not harm any of Mala’s soldiers. If you are ambushed after I am gone, then you are free to kill any and all—and come after me, if you still can. Otherwise stay away from me, and alert all other Tugars to do the same. If and when this situation changes, I will make it known.”
    “Listen to your master, little cockroaches,” Mala teased. “He, at least, has a shred of wisdom. And don’t worry. I will take good care of him.”
    Kusala struggled to breathe but managed to regain his feet. “As you command, my king. It will be as you say.”
    “Yes, it will be as I say. If Mala honors his side of the bargain and allows you to remove the noble ones without interference, then you must not give chase. Any who follow will die at my hands. This, I foretell.” Then he swung slowly back toward the monster. “As for you, Mala, if your minions attempt some treachery in Dibbu-Loka after you and I have departed, you will regret it.”
    “Your threats are empty,” the Chain Man said. “But they are also needless. Once you and I are gone, nothing will happen to these pathetic breath-watchers unless you break your vow and try to escape. I care less for them than I do for your rats. You, I care for least of all. But Invictus wishes to speak to you face to face. I do not comprehend it, but I always follow orders from my king. So I’ll deliver you to him as promised.”

3
     
    The arid land that lay just beyond the northern walls of the holy city fell steeply and was riddled with spiny rocks and hidden clefts. Mala chose this path