The Lightning Wastes (The Traveler's Gate Chronicles: Collection #3) Read Online Free Page A

recognize you,” the man croaked. “Enjoy your stay in the outpost.”
    With a shockingly loud voice, the woman bellowed for someone on the other side of the gate to let the strangers in.
    Leah let the light in her crown die and strode in, following a chuckling Helene, and followed by a silent Simon, who had taken the rear without being instructed. Perhaps he might grow into the bodyguard business after all; half of it was simply looming behind his employer, letting people know that he was there without saying a word. Granted, that would be easier for him if he were two feet taller, or if he had more of a reputation. Or if people even knew what a Valinhall Traveler was.
    But she saw some potential.
    Corthis, it turned out, was in the very back of the outpost, in a building that looked like a wooden amphitheater. He sat in a raised box above the stadium, which were packed with roaring Endross Travelers. And, for that matter, roaring Endross creatures. Snakes slithered among the feet of the stomping fans, deftly avoiding being crushed by their masters. Something that looked like a reptilian panther wove in and out of the shadows beneath the stadium supports, its coat occasionally crackling with blue sparks. Tiny storm drakes flashed in glittering swarms above the crowd.
    As Leah stepped inside, she got her first glimpse at why the Travelers were all cheering.
    The floor in the center of the stadium was bare, packed Endross sand. Two big men in torn leathers, presumably both Endross Travelers, circled each other in the ring. They were scratched, bleeding, and unarmed. One of them roared and charged like a bull, slamming his shoulder into his unprepared opponent’s middle. He didn’t stop there. He kept charging until he hit the short wall marking the edge of the floor. He slammed his opponent’s body into the wall, flipping the other man up and into the spectators on the other side.
    The watching Travelers loved that. They roared and stood, some of them literally glowing with excitement. Those few shone like bolts of lightning themselves.
    A gong rang out, echoing through the stadium, apparently announcing the end of the fight.
    After about five minutes of non-stop cheering, Corthis raised a hand. He had once been a truly enormous man, but now age was catching up to him. His hair and beard were as much gray as black, and Leah suspected that he hadn’t had his huge gut for long. But his arms were as wide around as Simon’s waist and thick with muscle.
    “Men and women of the Wastes!” Corthis announced, his voice ringing like a town crier’s. “We have a royal visitor!”
    A few people laughed, a handful even booed, but most stayed silent. Everyone in the stadium, even the bleeding man on the floor, turned to look at Leah.
    Well, her parents had prepared her for nothing if not speaking in public. “I would speak with you, Corthis, if you represent these people. May I approach?”
    Without waiting for a response, she walked toward the stairs leading up to Corthis’ box.
    “Anything for my queen!” he shouted, and a dozen spectators laughed. Leah walked up into the box, her guide and her bodyguard following.
    Up close, Corthis seemed to fill the entire box. Between his loud voice, his expansive gestures, and his physical size, he had a sense of presence that made him almost overwhelming. Also, he had a huge snake wrapped around the head of his chair, and he was leaning against it like a pillow. That was the sort of disturbing detail that she was sure he used to throw people off track.
    “So, Your Highness, what can I do for you?” he asked smoothly, as soon as she entered the box. She did not let herself be rushed. Instead, she pulled up a chair, angling it so that she could look him in the eye.
    “I suspect you know,” she said. “The Endross Travelers have settled here instead of seeing to their duties in the kingdom. We have an Incarnation running around loose, and none of your Travelers to help contain