Read Hush (Dragon Apocalypse) for Free Online Page A

said Infidel.
    Infidel departed, limping on the leg that had taken the machete blow. I was nervous about her passing through town noticeably wounded, with visible cuts on her face. This isn’t a good town to show weakness. But, once she was outside, she’d no doubt use the Gloryhammer to fly to the Freewind . Not exactly stealthy, but the skies of Commonground were a lot safer than the gangplanks.
    Since I knew where to find Infidel, I lingered behind. I had a hunch I wanted to follow up on. I moved my face before the Black Swan’s vacant eyes.
    “You can see me,” I said.
    Then, slowly, the hollow sockets began to fill with translucent fog, knitting itself into ghostly orbs, which burned with a soft glow. The fog flowed over the iron cheeks and lips, growing denser, until I found myself staring at the face of a young woman rather than the mechanical mockery of one. The woman had thick black eyebrows and an angular nose a bit too large for her face. The iron lips didn’t move; the bellows stayed silent. Yet, as the woman’s ghost lips parted, a voice in my mind said, “I’m... aware of you.”
    “I thought you might be. Your barbs seemed a little gratuitous if you didn’t think I was around to suffer. Why didn’t you tell Infidel I was here?”
    “I don’t wish to encourage her memory of you. The sooner she forgets you, the sooner she’ll be free to master her own destiny.”
    “She’s free now.”
    “No. She’s undertaking a dangerous quest to fulfill a promise you made. It’s an unnecessary risk, and a pointless distraction.”
    “Distraction from what?”
    “The dragon apocalypse! Have you failed to pay attention at all?”
    “Greatshadow isn’t angry at humanity. Infidel showed him mercy when he was at his weakest. He’s promised not to seek revenge.”
    “And yet, again and again, I’ve lived through the day in which the primal dragons rise against humanity. I’ll never be able to erase the memory of blizzards blasting even the southernmost islands, the sea rising to swallow whole cities, and mountains crumbling like sand castles as the earth shakes off mankind like an annoying flea.”
    “Tragic. But why must Infidel be the one who stops this?”
    The Black Swan sighed. “Infidel’s former power was derived from dragon blood flowing through her veins. She alone possessed the sheer physical might to perform the heroic undertakings required to spare mankind. Behind the scenes, I arranged that she would come to Commonground so that I might oversee her training. But instead of becoming a focused, highly skilled warrior under my command, she met you and was seduced by your slovenly ways. Now, she’s an undisciplined brawler, although, stripped of her powers, she’ll not remain one for long. Unfortunately, in the timelines where I had you killed, Infidel is corrupted by her rage and assassinated by the Church of the Book long before her powers mature to the point that she can slay Greatshadow.”
    “Well, she has no powers now,” I said. “You’ll need some new pawn for your game.”
    “True. Which is why I’m placing my hope in Sorrow.” She motioned to the sculptress still shaping her thighs. “Unlike Infidel, her talents are meshed with a driving ambition and a grand vision. As Princess Innocent Brightmoon, Infidel’s childhood was too sheltered and pampered to allow her to grow into a serious adult. Sorrow has been tempered by tragedy from an early age. She has a heart full of hatred and bitterness that spurs her ever onward toward her goals of revenge.”
    “She seems nice enough.”
    “I assure you, nice is a word seldom used to describe Sorrow. And, unlike Infidel, she loathes men; foolish love will never distract her from her greater destiny.”
    I shrugged. “What you do with this woman is of no concern to me. I want you to leave Infidel alone. If you don’t....” I let the thought trail off. I felt like I should be inserting a threat, but couldn’t really think of