Mercenary Enrollment Light Read Novels & Stories

I walked until I reached the very edge, where the glass tapered into a point no wider than a sword’s blade. I looked down. The black fog was swirling at the base of the cliffs, reaching up with smoky, oily fingers. I could see the glint of silver armor in the depths of the mist—the Mercenaries were positioning their siphons. They were waiting for the moment the "Threshold" ceremony began. They wanted to catch the resonance. I turned back to the Pack.

Lucas said that as he waved to his people, "Shoot them into sleeves." As he said that, and before his people raised the guns in their hands. Six or seven shadows rushed out like ghosts. Within a blink, all of them had been knocked down on the ground. These people were the Divine Mercenaries hiding in the dark. Those people, including Saber, had all reached eighth level of Overt Power and were all experienced. Those ordinary people were no more than a piece of cake for them. Lucas and his fellows had been knocked out before they could see it clearly.

Their weapons gleamed in the firelight as they surrounded the camp. "Well, well," scoffed one of them. "It appears that there are some intruders here." Lucan stepped forward and raised his hands in a gesture of accommodation. "We're not here to cause trouble. We’re just passing through.” The leader of the group laughed. “Passing through Vorellis? That’s a death wish.” Kaden gripped his blade more tightly. "We will fight if necessary, even though we don't want to." The mercenaries advanced, their intent clear. Lena felt her heart race as the first blade clashed with Kaden’s. Erin joined the fray, her agility and precision proving invaluable.

“ I know they can be a lot but you don't have to act strong around me.” I take another sip the cold thing swinging down my throat. “Just having a hard time.” She smiles. “There are going to be a lot of those while you are here.” “I don't think I'm going to be here for long.” Her eyebrows furrow. “Are you going somewhere?” “Yeah, I'm leaving.” “Cassian will let you do that?” I nod my hand on my chest. “Why won't he?” “When you become a member of B-T-13 you can never leave,” she says, the words making chills run down my spine.

“Before the Houses demand blood, we will hear testimony. These mercenaries infiltrated our wards and spilled blood on the academy grounds. They did not act alone.” A ripple of unease passed through the crowd. I felt Caelum tense at my side, Lucien shift closer, Elias’s hand brush mine where no one could see. One of the mercenaries lifted his chin, lip split, but smile sharp. “You want truth?” he rasped. “Fine. We were hired. Paid in blood coin and dragonsteel.” His gaze swept the room before landing on three men I recognized instantly, though I had never stood so close to them. Alaric Hawthorne. Lord Gerrard Nerezza. Archmage Callum Everley.

And now his shadow reaches again, through Alaric, through mercenaries, through cowards willing to trade loyalty for coin. The candle gutters, wax pooling thick at the base, but I still don’t make a move to get up. My desk is littered with discarded notes. Lists of supplies, numbers of warriors, tallies of weapons. None of it matters. Strategy against mercenaries is like fighting smoke. You can cut it apart a hundred times, and still it seeps through the cracks. I stare at the map until my eyes blur, making the ink bleeds. Hollowrock glows faintly in my mind, a single ember in a field of ash. Vaughn has stayed loyal. He says he won’t bend.

I rambled on. “You have the same auras but yours is brighter. Every ruler of the Underworld has to be an heir of the Light.” I understood nothing from what Mismaia told me. I know it’s probably a serious matter but I just can’t wrap my head around it. I was just cooking mini donuts and waffles like a second ago. I get minimum wage and she’s telling me I’m practically like royalty. “I wanna believe you. This is just not normal for me.” She held my hand. I swiped it away. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s usually busy, but I think it is more busy today." “Why?” He hesitated, then said, “We are recruiting.” I frowned. “Recruiting?” “With the recent attacks on surrounding packs, we don't have enough warriors and we need more warriors,” he explained. “Stronger ones that can help defend the pack” I looked around and saw people lined up in front of a long wooden table and three man say there attending to them. “There are a lot of people wanting to join,” I said, noticing the long line.

This quiet, unsettling smile. “You’ve got the look,” he muttered. I blinked. “What look?” “The dark in your eyes,” he said. “You’ve got it, malchik. Don’t try to hide it. I’ve seen it since day one.” I swallowed. He lit another cigarette. Didn’t offer me one this time. “You ever think about working for us?” he asked, like he was just asking about the weather. “After school’s out. You got guts. You took a beating and didn’t say a word. That’s rare. Twenty-year-olds don’t have that kind of loyalty anymore.”