Read The Twilight Herald: Book Two Of The Twilight Reign for Free Online

the balance of alignment they’re useless -worse than useless -because whatever is read that way will be horribly skewed.’
    ‘What about the cross?’ Isak asked as he ran the dead white fingers of his left hand over the disc’s polished surface. The snake symbol of Nartis was engraved in the centre and surrounded by an unfamiliar script Isak assumed was the huntsman’s prayer. As Morghien gave an approving nod, Isak realised his magic-marked hand would probably improve Nartis’ own coin.
    ‘The cross is our board, divided into quarters: the heavens and the land above, fire and water below. I have owned this augury chain for many years now, and I know its moods well enough. The position of each coin in relation to the board and each other once the blanks have been removed should provide an answer to the question in your mind when you cast the coins.’
    ‘The blanks? Ah, only one side is engraved,’ Isak said, turning the Nartis coin over. ‘What about the Lady’s Coin, though? That one’s blank on both sides.’
    ‘That one is rather special,’ Morghien agreed. ‘The obsidian side indicates that a path is already taken and Fate herself cannot change a matter. Here, Fate acts as the idea of chance, or suggesting an opportunity to take. When the black side comes up on this particular chain, however, on my chain, I suspect it represents Azaer.’
    The word hung in the air between them as Isak stared down at the tiny reflection of Alterr, the greater moon, on the coin’s polished surface. Though he knew little about Azaer - or the shadow, as King Emin called it -he was certain it had been watching him over the last few months. The night normally held no terrors for Isak, who had been walking the Land with only the moons for company all his life, but several times recently he’d felt an unaccountable fear, and found himself fleeing to the light. Even King Emin had been unable to tell him why the shadow did what it did. Isak did not want to be caught up in Azaer’s plans.
    Without wasting any further time, Morghien unhooked the clasp holding the chain closed and held the stack of coins above the board. The Mortal was on the bottom. They fell with a clatter onto the stone as the hunter’s moon came out from behind a cloud to cast its tinted light over the stone board.
    As Morghien leaned close over them, his hand poised to remove the blanks, a hiss escaped his lips.
    Isak looked down himself, and realised that even he could read what the board was saying only too well: just inside the quarter Morghien had called the heavens lay the Mortal, almost entirely covered by the obsidian side of the Lady’s Coin.
    ‘Azaer did not want you to meet Fedei again, and so I lose another dear friend,’ whispered Morghien to the night, and he bowed his head in grief.

CHAPTER 2
    The next day was cooler and overcast, with wide furrowed clouds that darkened towards the horizon and threatened rain. They made for the forest road, riding mostly in silence as every member of the party listened hard for the crash of branches and drum of following hooves. Having abandoned the river, they headed directly north, skirting the borderland between Tor Milist and the lands claimed by the Farlan. Their destination now was the suzerainty of Saroc, a longer journey, but one that avoided the most obvious route home.
    One glance at a map made it abundantly clear where the danger lay: on the river that took them up the border between Nerlos and the suzerainty of Tildek, seat of the inordinately powerful Certinse family. Suzerain Tildek and his nephew, the Duke of Lomin, would be overjoyed to catch Lord Isak with only a small force of guards before the young heir could reach Tirah and assert his claim. Their only dilemma would be deciding between themselves as to which of them should become king.
    Riding on the fringe of the group, Morghien sat awkwardly atop one of the spare horses, his eyes fixed on the lead Ghost. As there was nothing he could