Free Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952) by Benedict Jacka Page A

Council further cause to dislike me, and nearly been killed twice. Not a great day’s work.
    But it hadn’t been for nothing. I’ve always believed in the power of knowledge. Any problem can be solved if you understand it well enough, and somewhere in what I’d learnt today was the key to this whole mess. I just needed to figure it out.
    Once I was back in my bedroom, all I wanted was to sleep, but I had more work to do. I hung my mist cloak in the wardrobe, giving it a pat and watching as its colours rippled slightly at the touch of my hand. Then I fetched the cube from where I’d left it and set it down on my desk. Cinder had been willing to kill me for this, which meant I needed to know what it did. It was going to be a long night.

chapter 4
    T he caverns were cold and still, and footsteps echoed in the distance. In the centre of the room was a stone bier, and laid out upon it was a body dressed in the white gown of a sacrifice. Her red hair was the only colour in the darkness, and her eyes were closed.
    I tried to run to the girl lying on the stone, but my limbs felt heavy and slow. I didn’t dare call out for fear of being heard. When at last I reached her, my hands seemed shadowy. I couldn’t tell if it was her skin that was cold, or my own.
    Then suddenly I realised that the footsteps had stopped. I froze, listening. When the laugh came it was right behind me, and I felt a surge of terror as the flames began.
    I came awake with a gasp, my heart hammering in my chest. I lifted my head and winced as pain stabbed from my neck. I opened my eyes a crack, closed them again at the gritty feeling, and as I came fully awake realised I was slumped over my desk. The grey light of an overcast morning was coming in through the window, making me squint and starting up the beginnings of a headache.
    I don’t sleep well. I never did, even as a child, but thethings that happened in Richard’s mansion made it worse. Usually the nightmares are pain and fear, but it had been a long time since I’d remembered Shireen. Seeing her again, even in a dream, made my heart clench. Watching someone die is bad, but knowing that they have to be dead yet never being sure is worse. Instead of one clean cut it allows you to keep a tiny sliver of hope that fades only gradually, bit by bit, as the years slip by. It’s cruel.
    I tucked my head into my hands and breathed steadily, letting my heartbeat slow. As I did, I ran through my mental exercises, pushing the memories away. I’d just finished when the phone rang. The screen read
Caller ID Unknown
. I let the phone ring eleven times, then on the twelfth hit the Talk button and put the phone to my ear. “Lyle, you have thirty seconds to explain what’s so important you needed to wake me up.”
    “Alex? It’s Lyle.”
    “Gosh, Lyle, thanks. There’s no way I could have figured that out on my own by, oh I don’t know, seeing the future.”
    “There’s no reason to be so rude.”
    “Reason number one: because I hate you. I’d add more, but you’ve only got fifteen seconds left.”
    “There’s something we need you—”
    “Heard it.” I leant back.
    “We’d be prepared to—”
    “Heard that too. Five seconds.”
    “Wait! It’s urgent that you—”
    “Bye, Lyle. Don’t call back.”
    “There was an organised attack on the Precursor relic last night,” Lyle said, his voice crisp. “The Council met for an emergency session this morning.”
    All of a sudden I was wide awake. Adrenaline will do that to you. “Okay,” I said at last, once it was clear Lyle was waiting for a response.
    “The Council has decided secrecy is no longer a issue.”
    “Okay.”
    “This brings us to you. You understand?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, at least you’ve finally got a civil tongue in your head,” Lyle said dryly. “I’m glad you’ve grasped the gravity of the situation.”
    Gravity was an understatement. If the Council thought I was part of Cinder’s group, I