The Sin War Box Set: Birthright, Scales of the Serpent, and The Veiled Prophet by Richard A. Knaak Page A

Crudely etched into the wooden markers over each of the graves was the sign of that victim’s calling. Brother Mikelius sniffed at the one signifying the Triune, then proceeded to the other. The two guards wielding shovels followed at his heels.
    The Master Inquisitor went down on one knee before the marker. He ran a gloved finger over the symbol on the marker, then, muttering under his breath what Serenthia supposed was a prayer, set his hand on the top of the mound.
    And almost immediately thereafter, pulled it back as if scorpions had suddenly sprouted out of the dirt in great numbers.
    His countenance more grim than ever, Brother Mikelius leaned forward again, then removed from around his neck a chain that his robe had hidden. At the end of the chain was a golden medallion in the shape of a sunburst. The centerpiece was a clear gemstone that glistened even despite the cloud cover.
    The cleric held the medallion over the spot in question, muttered for a moment more, then drew back, once again seemingly aghast.
    Eyes blazing, Brother Mikelius turned on the two. “Who has done this? Who dares this sacrilege?”
    Achilios looked at her, but she had no explanation for him. The Master Inquisitor stood straight, then pointed at the grave. “You! By your garments and that bow, I gather you to be a huntsman!”
    “That I am.”
    “Then, you have a practiced eye. Use it! Come close and tell me what you see!”
    Achilios reluctantly obeyed. Under the watchful glances of the Inquisitor guards, he stepped up to the mound.
    “Look close,” demanded Brother Mikelius.
    As Serenthia watched, Achilios knelt just as the Master Inquisitor had. He even ran his hand gently over the same location touched by the former.
    And, just as Brother Mikelius had done, the hunter could not help momentarily jerking his hand back.
    This was all the robed figure evidently needed to verify his suspicions. “Yes, you see it, also, do you not, huntsman?”
    Cyrus’s daughter started forward, but a breastplated guard easily blocked her way. She watched in utter confusion as Achilios slowly rose to face the Master Inquisitor.
    “Perhaps…a small animal, Holiness. Seram is, after all, surrounded by woods for—”
    “This was done by no animal,” Brother Mikelius fairly hissed.
    A suspicion concerning what they spoke about flashed through Serenthia’s thoughts, causing her to gasp. Brother Mikelius turned his glare her direction.
    “Who was it?” he demanded, as if she knew the answer. “Who has done this?”
    “Holiness,” Serenthia managed. “I don’t understand—”
    Achilios sought to intercede. “She couldn’t—”
    He would have none of either protest. The Master Inquisitor’s arm cut the air sharply as his imperious eyes looked down at both. “I will say this succinctly and clearly only one more time!” The guards suddenly shifted position, surrounding the pair as if they were criminals. “Who has desecrated the grave and body of our murdered brother?”

F OUR
    Mendeln’s head throbbed horribly and not for the first time since his brother had been wrongly accused of the deaths of the missionaries. Uldyssian’s brother leaned against a tree in the woods deep to the north, one hand against his temple as he tried to fight down the pain.
    But worse than even the pounding was that this was the third time now that he had blacked out for a period of time. The last he recalled, he had been on his way from the farm to see his brother.
    Putting his fingers to the bridge of his nose, the younger son of Diomedes squeezed his eyes shut. He hoped that the action might relieve some of the pressure—
    The image of a robed man screaming filled his head.
    With a grunt, Mendeln stumbled from the tree trunk. He looked around, certain that what he had seen was taking place before him at that very moment.
    But the woods were empty. Mendeln gradually realized that, while the man’s mouth had been open, no sound had come from it. Mendeln recalled