Matthew Maine—The Voidwalker Saga

“A hundred crown bounty, huh?” Lura said. She elbowed Tanzik in the side. “Impressive. Beats my record.” “That’s… a lot more than I expected,” Tanzik said as he pulled his hood over his head. “Treason and murder?” Allena asked. The worry crept into her voice despite her best efforts. “I promise, I never killed anyone. The man who captured me said the same thing—three dead soldiers in Bandhi’s Watch. But it didn’t make sense. Something’s wrong.” “What happened in Orbrozan?” “I hated how the Empire treated the people there. Was given an order I couldn’t comply with, so I walked away.” “You never said what order.” “No, I didn’t. But since you’ve all been so open about your past, I should be too. The Empress always made a big deal about how we’d respect the native traditions, but that’s not what happened. I and a few other soldiers were sent to stop one of their festivals in Bandhi’s Watch. Part of the celebration involved a show of weapons. I can’t say I understood what it meant, but it w...

“I don’t understand,” Tanzik said. “What do you mean you’re going to die?” “Just that. If I die, we have an in with the Rooks.” “Absolutely not. There’s been enough death, you’re not going to sacrifice yourself.” “And who said anything about sacrificing? If I can use my magic to make it look like I’m dead, that’ll get their leader’s attention.” “How about a show?” Lura asked. “We pretend to fight and I more or less figuratively stab you in the back.” “I don’t like how excited you sound about this,” Allena said hesitantly, holding her arms. “Someone from the Rooks is likely following us, they’ll see the whole thing.” “The guards would arrest you,” Tanzik said. “I’m not comfortable with this idea.” “You could tell the guards,” Allena suggested. “No,” Lura said. “Too risky, they might have someone planted in the guard. This has to be just us. Tanzik, I’ve avoided the guards before. Once I kill her I can flee.” “I don’t like how excited you are about this,” Allena said hesitantly. “Just le...