Read The Way of the Black Beast for Free Online

stockier than the rest and wearing a breastplate (really a piece of metal with the faded words THE BEST DRINK painted sideways), broke ranks and whispered to Fawbry. Fawbry's face dropped as he shook his head. The griffle pushed Fawbry toward the ground. The other griffles stayed silent and Tufts scurried to hide amongst the ranks.
    Fawbry protested once more, but the griffle growled and pointed off to a red-brick building. Fawbry nodded as if it hurt his heart. Satisfied, the griffle returned to his place in line as Fawbry stood and brushed off his robe.
    "Go away. Tell Nolan I'm not interested," he said, and Malja swore she heard pleading in his voice.
    "I can't go without you."
    Fawbry's shoulders drooped as he let out a dismayed breath. Two griffles emerged from the red-brick building, leading two men and a woman — all three were bound and wore square cloths covering their faces, each secured with coarse twine. They were lowered to their knees.
    A sickly quiet overtook the square. As if to shut out the world, Fawbry closed his eyes. The griffle who appeared to be in charge, Drink, stepped out once more and walked toward the condemned. The soft clicking of his armor echoed across the open square. He slid out his sword.
    Too far away to strike, Malja could think of only one thing to do. She shouted. "Hey. Moron. Oh my, look. The squat griffle is going to be tough killing defenseless people."
    Drink watched her. She couldn't be sure he understood her words, but he clearly comprehended her tone. "Poor baby. Did I make you feel sad?"
    Some of those in line snickered. The stocky griffle snarled at them. They quieted down. With a snort as if to say, "Watch this," he broke into a full-on charge at Malja.
    She stood ready with giddiness. Drink closed in and swung his sword. Malja met the clumsy attack, locking his blade in Viper's crescent. As he strained to free it, Malja kicked his kneecap. She heard the bone crunch. He fell to the street, his sword clattered next to him, and Malja sliced open his belly.
    "Is that it?" she asked to the stunned enemy on the mound.
    Tufts climbed Fawbry's robe and shivered on his back. Fawbry's eyes shared the same fear. One of Fawbry's griffle guards stepped forward. With a stoic face, he raised his blade and brought it down on the chains that kept the oxters at bay.
    "No," Fawbry said, panic edging into his voice, but nobody listened.
    It took the guard four sparking hits, but the chains broke. Like dogs let out of a kennel, the two beasts stampeded towards Malja.
    She could never withstand such a blow, so holding her ground was not an option. Instead, she brandished Viper, let out a fierce battle cry, and charged. She had hoped to startle them. Such a move might have confused a human, but the raging animals stayed their course. As they neared Malja, they lowered their snouts, positioning their horns at deadly angles.
    Malja sprinted on, the adrenaline rush boosting her speed. She could feel the thunderous vibrations of the beasts trampling the ground. She heard the griffles cheer and holler from the safety of their rubble mound. She focused on the oxters' legs. Timing would be crucial. She blocked out all distractions as she closed in. The moment had come.
    Malja slid low.
    One oxter had lifted its head, expecting her to vault upward. The other had barreled forward. Neither anticipated her sliding underneath.
    Malja's assault suit eased the friction with the street, letting her slide as if on ice. She resisted the urge to cut the oxters open from below. She couldn't risk one of the enormous beasts collapsing and clipping her in the head as it fell. She popped to her feet behind them and dashed to the right.
    The oxters spun, croaked their anger, regrouped, and observed her while hissing and displaying their yellow-black teeth. She moved fast, trying to keep one oxter between her and the other at all times. This way she only had a single opponent to deal with directly, and the other oxter had