BooksBarbecue
Back The Lost Books
Chapters (132)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. CHOSEN: LOST BOOK 1
  3. BEGINNINGS
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. INFIDEL: LOST BOOK 2
  35. BEGINNINGS
  36. ONE
  37. TWO
  38. THREE
  39. FOUR
  40. FIVE
  41. SIX
  42. SEVEN
  43. EIGHT
  44. NINE
  45. TEN
  46. ELEVEN
  47. TWELVE
  48. THIRTEEN
  49. FOURTEEN
  50. FIFTEEN
  51. SIXTEEN
  52. SEVENTEEN
  53. EIGHTEEN
  54. NINETEEN
  55. TWENTY
  56. TWENTY-ONE
  57. TWENTY-TWO
  58. TWENTY-THREE
  59. TWENTY-FOUR
  60. TWENTY-FIVE
  61. TWENTY-SIX
  62. TWENTY-SEVEN
  63. RENEGADE: LOST BOOK 3
  64. BEGINNINGS
  65. ONE
  66. TWO
  67. THREE
  68. FOUR
  69. FIVE
  70. SIX
  71. SEVEN
  72. EIGHT
  73. NINE
  74. TEN
  75. ELEVEN
  76. TWELVE
  77. THIRTEEN
  78. FOURTEEN
  79. FIFTEEN
  80. SIXTEEN
  81. SEVENTEEN
  82. EIGHTEEN
  83. NINETEEN
  84. TWENTY
  85. TWENTY-ONE
  86. TWENTY-TWO
  87. TWENTY-THREE
  88. TWENTY-FOUR
  89. TWENTY-FIVE
  90. TWENTY-SIX
  91. TWENTY-SEVEN
  92. TWENTY-EIGHT
  93. TWENTY-NINE
  94. THIRTY
  95. THIRTY-ONE
  96. THIRTY-TWO
  97. THIRTY-THREE
  98. THIRTY-FOUR
  99. THIRTY-FIVE
  100. THIRTY-SIX
  101. THIRTY-SEVEN
  102. CHAOS: LOST BOOK 4
  103. BEGINNINGS
  104. ONE
  105. TWO
  106. THREE
  107. FOUR
  108. FIVE
  109. SIX
  110. SEVEN
  111. EIGHT
  112. NINE
  113. TEN
  114. ELEVEN
  115. TWELVE
  116. THIRTEEN
  117. FOURTEEN
  118. FIFTEEN
  119. SIXTEEN
  120. SEVENTEEN
  121. EIGHTEEN
  122. NINETEEN
  123. TWENTY
  124. TWENTY-ONE
  125. TWENTY-TWO
  126. TWENTY-THREE
  127. TWENTY-FOUR
  128. TWENTY-FIVE
  129. TWENTY-SIX
  130. TWENTY-SEVEN
  131. TWENTY-EIGHT
  132. TWENTY-NINE

Darsal stepped up. “Easy, Silvie. I know you’ve been through a tough night—”

“Tough? We came within a bat’s hide of having our heads taken from our bodies!”

“You satisfied your lust for killing a few beasts, didn’t you?”

“I saw more death than I care to remember.”

“Thanks to your—”

“Quiet!” Johnis yelled, standing. “Leave me! All of you.”

“Please, Billos, you should use some tact,” Darsal chided. “This is a fine start to our vow to find the books. Fine, Johnis, we’ll give you space, but if the bat we just saw wasn’t reminder enough, the books are our priority.”

“Speaking of which, where are the books?” Billos asked.

“Safe,” Johnis said. “Now, please—”

“Safe where?”

“He said, safe,” Silvie said.

Billos eyed her and backed off. “We should use them to find the other black forests. As soon as this blows over.”

Strange to hear Billos so concerned with resuming the mission for the books, Silvie thought. Johnis might have been justified in wanting to hide the books from him.

Darsal walked up to Johnis and offered him a supportive grin. “If it helps, you have my sympathies. I know your heart is gold, Johnis. And I admire your love for your mother.”

“Me too,” Billos said. “We’ll leave you. But collect your thoughts, Scrapper. This isn’t over.”

They left Silvie and Johnis alone together.

“You too, Silvie,” Johnis said.

She felt a dagger in her chest. “Johnis . . .”

He looked at her with sad eyes. “I owe you my life, Silvie. And I will pay up, I promise. But my head’s falling apart here. I have to figure out what happened.”

“We know what happened.” She walked up to him and lifted his hand. “You’re a lover, not a fighter, that’s what happened. Although once you got the hang of it, you swung that sword pretty well.”

Her attempt to lighten the mood failed.

She let her grin soften and continued. “Stick to loving and you’ll be fine.” She kissed the back of his hand.

Then against her better judgment, she left him standing alone in the clearing, knowing she could not leave him again. Not now, not ever.

TEN

TEN

Johnis lay on the rock and wept.

He wept for the fighters who’d died. He wept for Thomas, whom he’d betrayed. He wept for Silvie, who had stood by his side when she knew better. He wept for his sister, Kiella, and his father, Ramos, who still didn’t know the truth about Rosa.

And he wept for his mother.

But none of his weeping brought relief. Only more weeping. If the Roush depended on him to find the books, then all was hopeless, because his mind and heart were lost on his mother. Rachelle was right; his heart was fractured, and try as he might, he couldn’t mend it.