Freedom's Apprentice

Chapter One

 
There was a crumbled spot in the wall around Elpisia. Kyros sent slaves to fix it every year or two, but for some reason-unstable ground, a vulnerability to wind-it was always crumbling there again within a few months. When I was a child and wanted to get in or out of town without being hassled by the guards at the gate, I scrambled over at that spot. Half a year earlier, I had examined that point in the wall while tracking an escaped slave.

Now, I was back, on the other side. I was climbing into Elpisia under cover of night to free one of the slaves that I had once taken back to slavery.

I found handholds easily enough, and scrambled over. Some gravel had made its way into my boot, so I pulled it off and shook it out. Then I wound a scarf around my face and pulled up the hood of my coat. It wasn't cold enough for snow yet, but there was a damp wind tonight. I put my mittens ... read full excerpt from Freedom's Apprentic ebook