Read The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) for Free Online Page B

Percy's shoulder. "And what are those?"
    "Useful disguises," Ned told her. "And the column of light was an experiment. It seems we won't be able to fly to the stone as we planned."
    "Are there more undead in the city?" she wondered.
    Percy set the skins down beside crackling fire that made up the center of their camp. "Worse, the stone protects itself with that column of light. Undead creatures spring out and attack anything that gets near it."
    Ruth picked up one of the skins and turned it over in her hands. "So these will allow us to get closer?" she guessed.
    Pat took one and looked it over. "What are they?"
    "The corpses of six undead creatures," Ned told them.
    The girls yelped and dropped the skins onto the pile. Pat glared at him. "Couldn't you have told us that before we picked them up?"
    Percy laughed and draped one of the skins over himself. The head and arms settled on his respective parts, and the rib bones enclosed over his chest to hide his upper body. The only pieces missing were the chopped off legs. "If you want to help in the attack you're going to have to wear one," he pointed out.
    "And now would be a good time to attack," Ned spoke up.
    "After you attacked that stone? Isn't the stone still alert to danger?" Pat countered.
    Ned chuckled. "The stones and their underlings are as intelligent as rocks, and the undead who jumped from the stone at my decoy magic were being reabsorbed into the stone when we crested the hill," he replied.
    Ruth looked to the statues of her clan. "But what about my clan?" she asked them. "We can't leave them without a guard."
    "If we're successful this should take a short while," Ned reassured her.
    "And if we're not?" Pat countered.
    Ned slipped a skin over himself. "Well, there are six skins and seven of us. Who would like to play the part of the coward?" Fred's hand shot up, and Pat rolled her eyes. Ned smiled and pulled at his beard. "I suppose you have played a large enough part in this mission. You and Fluffy will remain among the rocks at the bottom of the hill and watch for signs of trouble. If you see anything before we reach the stone you're to whistle."
    Fred eagerly nodded and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Ruth gestured to their campsite. "I would rather remain here and protect my clan," she informed them.
    Fred's shoulders slumped, and Ned patted him on the back. "It seems you're to come with us after all," Ned chuckled.
    Fred and Pat both shuddered, but suited up along with Percy, Sins, Ned and Canto. The attack party hid their weapons against their bodies and crept down the hill, leaving Fluffy at the pile of rocks. They stopped at the final rock Fred had found in front of the wall opening, and Canto glanced at Ned. "Are ya sure these will fool the others?" he asked the castor.
    Ned shrugged. "In theory," he admitted.
    Canto's face fell. "Then perhaps one of us should go inside and test yer theory," he suggested.
    Ned looked to Fred. "Fred, are you-"
    "I'll go," Pat offered. They all glanced at her as though she were insane, and Canto frowned. She rolled her eyes. "The city is a wreck. If I find trouble I'm the one best able to climb and jump onto the roofs," she pointed out. A smirk slipped onto her face. "Unless we want the dwarf to hop through the city."
    Canto harrumphed and waved off her words. "Let the girl go."
    Pat pulled the undead skin snug over her thin frame and darted toward the opening. More undead had gathered at the hole, and she crept up to the small group. If they noticed her coming they didn't acknowledge it, but instead kept shuffling around the gap. Her companions held their breath when she slipped past them and into the city, but she quickly peeked back out and gestured for them to follow. They crept past the sentries and into the dead city. The devastation up close was even more heart-rending. Most of the houses were destroyed and personal treasures littered the streets. The dead shambled through searching for more victims to wet their