Stealing Sorcery Read Online Free Page A

window. The footsteps were going opposite directions, meaning that whoever had infiltrated the house had done so through the path they were following, and then retreated through Kae’s window and returned to their starting point.
    The path they chose was hardly concealed, Lydia realized. They had to have opened a door, crossed several well-traveled rooms, gone up a flight of stairs, and opened Kae’s door – all without being noticed. Could the assailant have had access to some sort of invisibility spell, like what Jonan uses?
    She briefly considered the possibility that Jonan was the killer, but that was ridiculous. He wasn’t even in the city, and he had no motive.
    The path moved deeper into the grounds outside House Theas, leading into a large forested area. The trees were thick enough that she could barely see any buildings in the distance. For the first time, Lydia felt a pang of concern that they might actually stumble upon the killer – it had been well over an hour since the attack, but it was plausible that the assailant was still nearby.
    Lydia shifted her belt to allow for an easy draw of her saber. Her own protective sorcery was already in place, but she paused to extend a hand to Aladir. When he accepted her hand, she spoke familiar words. “Dominion of Protection, fold against his skin.”
    Her partner nodded in appreciation, withdrawing his hand, and Lydia looked to Nakane next.
    “I am already shielded.” The dark haired woman raised a hand to display a ring similar to the one her brother had worn, confirming one of Lydia’s earlier suspicions. The knowledge sorceress nodded, returning to the hunt.
    Aladir’s breath grew heavier as they walked. After a few minutes, Lydia glanced over her shoulder, finding Nakane assisting the Rethri paladin with walking. In spite of the girl’s brusque words, her face was showing a hint of obvious concern.
    It took several more minutes before the path terminated, and her sorcerous sight was not necessary when they found their destination. A hexagon lined with tiny script had been carved into a large grey stone, and atop the stone was a yellow crystal sphere, shimmering with inner light.
    Dominion essence of poison , Lydia realized, and a very powerful source of it. The sphere was the size of her fist, which would have been impressive enough for a dominion that was generally in a solid state. The Dominion of Poison was gaseous, and manipulating that much essence into a solid would be a tremendously difficult process.
    Nakane brushed past Lydia, examining the tiny lettering. “A summoning ritual,” she said immediately, turning back to Lydia. “And also an exit portal. Is this the end of the glowing region?”
    Lydia nodded.
    “I suspected as much. So, someone came here, summoned an entity tied to the Dominion of Poison – and then commanded it to kill my brother. They left a return path through the same location the creature was summoned from.” Nakane’s lips tightened and she turned her head, examining the area.
    Lydia stepped closer, dismissing her spell and examining the script. The lettering was difficult to read, but it had been scribed by a professional hand. The quality of the lettering wasn’t important to the efficacy of the ritual – in fact, the words weren’t relevant at all – but words were a useful tool for focusing, and the quality of the lettering could be a useful clue to the culprit.
    Visage of venom, herein lies your prison and your escape. With your essence you are bound; complete your task and you shall be free.
    After a moment of examination, Lydia reached up adjusted her spectacles. “You could be right, Lady Theas, but nothing here explicitly states that the creature is from the Dominion of Poison. In fact, I doubt it was – natives of other dominions rarely have access to sorcery aside from the plane they are native to. Whatever was summoned was both powerful enough at poison sorcery to leave a trail, and talented enough at