Dark One Rising. Leandra Martin

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ now, but not fully; she held back as many tears as she could. This was her last stand and did not want to go out with weakness.

      “So be it then, father. I will be gone before morning.”

      “If that is your choice, then I will abide by it, but know this, if you do so, you will never again be able to see or speak to your family, even Kevaan. As far as I’m concerned, from the moment you walk out the door, you are invisible. You no longer exist. I never had a daughter. But I don’t think you would do that to yourself, or to your brother.”

      She turned on her heel and ran from the room. When she was gone, Randor slumped down to the bench, his knees too weak to hold him up any longer. He placed his head in his hands and wept.

      CHAPTER 4

      On the other side of the kingdom, in a dark basement, a man worked diligently on an incantation of great importance. He had been taught by his previous master how to call upon the Dark One and, like he had done before, called upon him now for help.

      The liquid in the large open pit bubbled and roiled, sending up thick acrid smelling steam into the air, which pervaded the room. After minutes of repeating the words in his head, he spoke, calling on the Dark One to answer his plea.

      “Oh, mighty Lord, I call you from the depths of your slumbering place, to show yourself to me and fulfill my request. I’m here to do your will, but difficult times are upon us, and I need your guidance and wisdom.”

      He waited for what seemed to him like eternity, then finally the liquid boiled higher and a face appeared in the gray haze. The face was hideous and not easily looked upon, but Fallon had seen him before, and the image was no longer disturbing.

      “Why have you awoken me from my slumber and called me here?”

      “The time has come, My Master. It’s time for me to start my campaign to power. It’s time to solidify my place in this kingdom, my place as ruler over all. The woman from the prophecy is growing stronger. The sword of the elves has sung. I have made my move with her father. Now is the time for me to move forward with my plan.”

      “What is it you need from me?”

      “I need more bargaining power in order to get the people of this kingdom to bend to my will. The Kings: Randor and Dainard, will be difficult to manipulate unless I have something to guarantee my success. My power has grown strong, but I need more resources at my disposal.”

      “Indeed you have grown in power. I can feel the energy flowing through you. You are right, the people of this kingdom are not easily swayed, and the leaders are formidable. You need something to bargain with. Very well, I will send my servant to help you, a powerful being to control the minds of your adversaries. A being that can take many forms. You humans call him a wraith, but this wraith is special. All humans know about wraiths will prove wrong, and he will be the extra push you need. We call him…” The Dark One said his name, which was undecipherable to the human ear, then enlisted a human name, one that would be easily translated in man’s tongue. “But you will call him Jaron.”

      The steam danced in the air, and flashes of light were seen from the pit in the floor. The sounds were eerie, and then a ribbon of smoke emerged from the pit. It had a human form, but shriveled and deformed, and when it took its solid shape, Fallon had to turn his head away.

      The creature looked as if he had burned in fire, skin scaly and black. His eyes which were not present right away, then gave off a red glow in the darkness. His hands were wrinkled and long fingered, with yellow nails, and there was no hair on any part of its body. It was neither male nor female in distinction, and it stood hunched over and stooped.

      Fallon finally found the courage to turn toward the creature, needing to see for himself the image it would take when needed. Fallon felt himself shiver before the horrible disfigured creature, then watched as it transformed into a human.

      As quickly as it had emerged from the pit, it morphed into a man, tall and lean, with a raw power that emanated from its skin.

      Jaron bowed to his master and said, “I am here to serve you in any way you require. Our master has sent me here to do your bidding.” It wasn’t entirely true. The Dark One did not answer to man, but he needed Fallon to carry out the ultimate plan. If placing Jaron in service would help Fallon obtain the goal, he would sacrifice pride for the time being and allow things to unfold. Soon, Fallon would not be needed either, and the Dark One would finally rule over this world once and for all.

      “I need help getting obstacles softened in order to get them to do what is necessary for my rule. I need you to bend the minds of the strongest so that I can present my plan and put it into practice, without high ideals interfering. This world will be mine, and I can only do it with the old rulers out of my way. I need you to help me start a war.”

      “I am here to serve. Tell me what you want from me, and it will be done.” He bowed.

      “Good, very good.” Fallon smiled evilly. Soon, everything would belong to him. Soon, the world would know a new leader, a new power.

      ***

      Melenthia went straight to her room and slammed and locked the door behind her. She tore off her dress and threw it across the room. She flopped onto the bed and buried her head in her pillow, crying so loudly now she thought for sure someone would hear her. In just a few minutes, her make-up was running down her face and staining the silk case that covered the down filled pillow. Her thin shift that she had been wearing under her dress was getting wrinkled. She crawled under her covers and curled up in a ball. She couldn’t believe her father had done this to her. She knew that he was frustrated, and maybe she did push him too far, but she hated being pawed at and having men whisper lewd remarks in her ear. She shuddered again remembering Fallon’s comments. She didn’t like the nobles or who she was when she was with them. She wanted a man to love her for herself, all of her. She knew that riding horses like a man, and dueling with swords, grated on her father’s nerves. He had hoped that she would be demure and petite, but that just wasn’t who she was. She had always known she was odd, always had the feeling everywhere she went that she was different, but as a youngster, it never bothered her. As she grew and endured the looks and the whispers by the other girls in court, she knew that she was not a proper girl. Kevaan taught her things that he shouldn’t have, but those things came so easily to her. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Everyone told her how lovely she was, how much she reminded them of her mother, but it didn’t seem to matter. As soon as she showed a little bit of her private side, people snubbed her. Only the people of the kingdom loved her for her real self, respected her and came to her when there was a problem. They loved and respected her father and Kevaan too, but she just seemed to have a natural rapport that her father and brother didn’t have. She understood them. She knew how to deal with people, real people, not the fake demeanors that plagued the court.

      She had known that eventually her father would put his foot down, but she never thought he’d resort to something so awful. She never thought he hated her that much. She always knew Kevaan was his pride and joy. He was the son after all, but she thought that he still loved her enough to just be patient a bit longer. She should have known he’d lose his temper, but this? And Kevaan, her brother, the only man in her life she loved with all her heart, had betrayed her. He knew and he didn’t tell her. He had said that he wouldn’t because it was father who should be the one to break the bad news, but she was angry at him anyway. He probably did nothing to try and talk father out of it. He was probably fed up with her lack of choices too. He should have told her, softened the blow, made her try to understand. He should have told her he would help her, that he would talk father out of it somehow. But no, СКАЧАТЬ