Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 156907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)
However, what Thom said next proved there could.
“All the men who do the blessed work at the Ritual Ground have disappeared,” Thom declared.
“All of them?” Fenn asked.
“All. They, with Jell, have vanished.”
“But, not long ago, we felt a tremor,” Fenn said.
“It has been shared with me by sorcerers it was not of the Beast,” Thom informed him.
The Beast?
The Beast?
“So, the Beast has gone unstirred for months?” Fenn demanded. “Again?” he went on as if this was catastrophic.
“Yes. And we’ve suffered a number of blows, my friend,” Thom stated. “Thus, we must restructure our strategy. This, I have discussed with the Society, and we have done.”
There it was again.
What Faunus had mentioned.
The Society.
But, what Society?
Who were they and what had all this to do with the Beast?
They could not possibly be referring to the Beast of yore. The creature that assailed the earth, nearly wiping out humankind.
They could not possibly wish to stir that Beast.
For what good would come of surfacing such a creature?
“We had hoped to weaken the realms, establish a firm foothold of leaders and followers, and use him when we had him with us, under our control, to finish cowing them should they protest the righteous worship of the true gods. Now, we will have to use him to bring down the royal houses, eliminate the royal lines, and then we shall install our brothers in their castles, tear down their temples, and build up our own.”
They did.
They intended to stir that Beast but not for good.
To complete The Rising.
From what Tedrey knew, from what all knew from the last earthly tenure of the Beast, it was unconquerable.
Mars was mighty, Cassius was clever, True was steadfast, and Aramus commanded the seas.
But they would stand no chance against the Beast.
Lorenz must know this.
Mars must know this.
They all needed to know this.
Which meant Tedrey needed to find his way free, find his way back, and share this.
“We must make haste to the ritual grounds and resume the sacrifices,” Thom stated.
By the gods.
With every word uttered, it simply became worse.
Sacrifices?
He did not wish to hope (but he did) that they were speaking of sheep.
He, however, had a feeling, with their determination, and what Tedrey knew about the Beast, that they were not.
“One each night until we lure him to the surface,” Thom finished.
Gods.
“I have your first,” Fenn told him, sweeping an arm to where Tedrey lay, silent and watching.
“This is the traitor?” Thom queried, beginning to walk in Tedrey’s direction.
Tedrey did not move, not even to shift his regard from Thom.
They had not gagged him, for he had not fought them or given any indication he was going to try to escape.
He hoped, if he remained passive and resigned to his fate, they would not send word to harm Nyx or Lorenz or Faunus or anyone he held in his heart.
So with them, he would remain.
But now, he could not.
Thom stood above him and stared down at Tedrey.
“Most handsome,” he murmured. “I understand your fascination with him.”
“I am fascinated no more,” Fenn spat, glaring at Tedrey.
Thom crouched beside where he lay.
“I think we shall keep you special,” he whispered to Tedrey. “When the Beast finally surfaces, he will be most hungry. You will slake his craving.”
Tedrey stared into Thom’s eyes and said not a word.
He did not wish to slake the Beast’s craving, obviously.
But that was not why it was imperative he found his way away from this band and made his swift return home.
He had to warn them.
He had to warn them all.
114
The Hope
Princess Elena
Night Heights Mountain Range
AIREN
In the dilapidated, abandoned cottage my sisters had cleaned, the roof and chimney they had made makeshift repairs to in order for them to serve their purpose, I sat on a rickety stool next to the narrow bed that swung low on its moorings, making it appear like a cozy hammock.
However, with my mother’s thin, frail body ensconced in it, cozy seemed almost a profane word to use to describe it.
She had her eyes closed, but I knew she was not asleep.
“I would have you talk with me, in the time I have for you to talk with me, if you have the strength to do so,” I requested softly.
Her eyes opened and focused steadily on me.
Her gaze might have been steady, but her voice was as thin as her body, and the sound of it clawed at my ears.
“I lie here thinking of all the things I would wish to say to you, at the same time praying to the goddess that I have already shared all the things you need to know.”
I reached for her hand, curling my fingers around, and she did not pull away.
This did not rend my heart. She had not been overtly affectionate throughout my life, but if we were alone, she could find ways to be thus.