Read Spiritwalker 3: Cold Steel for Free Online

space.”
    “I am not a hog!”
    “Of course you’re not a hog, Rory,” I said soothingly, before I pounced for the kill.
     “But don’t make me call you a lecherous seducer. Didn’t I tell you not to touch Luce?
     She’s too young and very innocent.”
    “Not as innocent as you think she is!” He sat up, crossing his arms as he frowned.
     “I am not like that unpleasant fire mage, James Drake. I would never pet any person
     without their full and willing consent—”
    My throat tightened. “How do you know about my relationship with James Drake?”
    “I lived with General Camjiata and his staff for three days before you came to retrieve
     me. Remember?”
    “Did James Drake
say things
to you? About me?”
    “Goodness, Cat. Your skin is all blotchy.” He patted my flushed cheek. “And warm!”
    “I see what you’re doing. You’re changing the subject. Luce is too young for you.”
    “Both you and Luce are old enough to breed.” He sniffed severaltimes. “You’re not pregnant. In fact, you’re fertile right now. It’s very convenient
     for me that human women are only fertile part of the time. That makes it easy for
     me to—”
    “Rory! This is not a subject you and I are going to discuss.”
    “You started the discussion.” He ran a hand along his chin and lips like a cat about
     to start licking its paw in a self-congratulatory fashion. Yet just as quickly, his
     smirk faded. “As your brother, I ought to warn you. James Drake is a dangerous man.”
    “I can handle James Drake. It’s our sire I’m worried about. What are his weaknesses?
     How can I defeat him?”
    “You can’t defeat him. We’re bound to him because we are his children.”
    A tap shifted the door. I grabbed the hilt of my sword.
    “Cat?” It was Kofi.
    I let him in. Kofi’s plain jacket and trousers in the practical Expedition style and
     his powerful build marked him as a hardworking laborer, but the crisp confidence in
     his tone revealed him as a successful radical, a member of the new provisional Assembly
     in Expedition.
    “This is a rare commotion, Cat. Now that we Expeditioners have the chance to rule
     we own selves, we don’ like to feel the Taino can tell us what to do. But yee running
     have made the situation worse. Yee shall have to sail immediately for Europa.”
    “I haven’t money to pay for our passage.”
    “So Kayleigh told me. Expedition owe yee a favor for saving us from the Taino invasion.
     I shall escort yee to West Quay at dawn. There yee shall board a Phoenician ship called
     the
White Horse
, bound for Gadir. The tide turn mid-morning. Then yee shall be out of reach.”
    “Thank you.” My legs gave way as an avalanche of relief crashed over me.
    “Don’ thank me. Commissioner Sanogo arranged it.” He sighed. “I admit I had hoped
     yee and Vai might settle in Expedition. There is plenty for him to do here. And I
     reckon the wardens of Expedition should like to hire a gal with the peculiar talents
     yee possess.”
    “I would like to try that sort of work.”
    “Warden’s work ’twould suit yee, for I reckon yee’s not suited for a quiet life.”
    “I can live a quiet life!”
    Kofi laughed. “Yee should last a month, no more, before yee got restless and found
     some trouble to get into. I reckon Vai love yee for it, and for the knack yee have
     of getting out of it. If anyone can fetch him back from the spirit world, yee’s the
     one to do it.”
    We talked a little longer about the logistics of our departure. After Kofi left, Rory
     and I settled on the cots. I pinched out the wick but could not sleep for fretting
     about Bee.
    “Are you trying not to cry?” Rory whispered.
    I sniffled. “I didn’t mean to get into trouble before Bee came back tomorrow. What
     if I never see her again?”
    “If it will help calm you, I can comb your hair, or lick your hands and face.”
    “Lick my hands and face?”
    “It’s very comforting, I’ll have you know!”
    I managed a