Death and Honor: Book 1 of 2 Read Online Free Page B

the power of the demon’s mental voice caused Eric to tense for a fight. He couldn’t win a fight with the demon. Even from a distance Eric suspected Slevas could destroy him with a thought. I require you to discover what happened to a caravan due to arrive in the city two days ago.
    “Of course, my lord. It may take some time as many caravans enter Lord’s Way every day.”
    The caravan belonged to the Tristar merchant house and it passed through a village called Three Streams over a week ago. I expect an update by midnight.
    The demon broke contact leaving Eric breathing hard and trembling. Every time he finished communicating with the demon he felt like a rookie after his first battle, trembling and sick to his stomach. It should have gotten easier, but no.
    Eric got up, unlocked the door, and left his office. The paperwork would have to wait. Bypassing the chaos of Watch headquarters’ main lobby Eric turned right and exited by the back door. Technically he was supposed to tell his second in command he left the building, but he didn’t want to and nobody cared anyway.
    Outside, Eric judged it to be approaching mid-morning. He had, perhaps, fourteen hours before he needed to report to his master. No time to fool around. Three Streams was north of the city so any caravan would check in at one of the two north end gates. Eric headed in that direction, setting a brisk pace.
    He walked through his city, barely noting the masses of people, buying, selling, arguing, and stealing. Lord’s Way was a merchant city, everybody always trying to get one over on a competitor. They were no better than the thieves whose names covered the pages on his desk, the difference being the merchants robbed people within the rules and the thieves didn’t.
    When he reached the north gate one the guards was busy inspecting a pair of wagons. Eric hung back and watched. While his underlings poked through the contents of the wagons one merchant slipped a small pouch to the Watch sergeant who made it disappear just as fast. Eric shook his head and smiled. He didn’t mind his men taking bribes for undervaluing the merchants’ cargo the only people more corrupt than the merchants were the politicians that collected the taxes on them.
    When the guards finished going through the motions Eric approached. At the sight of his lion embossed breastplate they snapped to attention. “Sergeant, I need a word.”
    The older man’s eyes widened and he looked around, hoping there might be another sergeant hiding somewhere that Eric wanted to talk to. Not surprising considering he’d accepted a bribe seconds before. Eric wondered if he feared losing his job or having to share the coin. “Sir?”
    “Give me your log book.”
    He dug through his satchel and produced a small note book. Eric snatched it out of his hand and scanned through the last two weeks of entries. Nothing from Tristar had passed through the gates. Eric returned the notebook. “Keep up the good work, sergeant.”
    “Yes, sir.” he saluted, a slack look of relief on his pathetic face.
    Eric left gate one and headed for gate two. A brief examination of their logbook showed the same as the first, nothing from Tristar in the last two weeks. The caravan hadn’t entered the city, he felt certain, so where the hell was it?
    He left the gates he headed toward the warehouse district, lucky for him it wasn’t far from north gate. Hundreds of warehouses sprawled through the district, some new and others old and sagging, most somewhere in between. Tristar’s was unremarkable, small, but well cared for it had the look of a well run, small company. The doors stood wide open and one man rifled through one of the scores of crates while the other wrote on a slate.
    “Excuse me,” Eric said.
    The two men looked at him, then at each other, and then started toward him. As they got closer it became clear that they were twins, red hair, green eyes, and both of them so thin that together they barely cast