“He is mine! You have no right. He does not belong in…”
“Yours?” interrupted Anteriolus. “Not any longer, he has made his choice.”
“This goes against our agreement,” argued the goddess.
“No, he changed it. Why don’t you stop being so self-righteous for a change? Do you really think I would take him to Hell? I’m doing him a favor. I will see him reborn, but in the next life he won’t be forced to suffer your tender torment. He will have power, and every delight the mortal world can offer to those who rule in my name! It’s long past time he is freed from your pointless cycle of never-ending martyrdom.”
“That cycle is all that protects the precious world you are constantly seeking to dominate! It was his choice to accept the burden…” began the sun goddess.
“And it was his choice to change his allegiance!” finished Anteriolus. “My son deserves better!”
“He is my son too!” she said bitterly. “I won’t let you do this.”
“You have no choice this time,” replied the Prince of Hell.
Delwyn’s voice changed its tone then, becoming sly, “Perhaps you have forgotten something?”
“How did you get that?” asked the devil. “That doesn’t belong to you.”
“The servant of the Beast left it lying on the ground when I slew him,” said Delwyn.
“You aren’t allowed to claim things in the mortal realm, not without a bargain.”
“I didn’t travel there of my own will,” replied the goddess. “I was summoned in my own body. I was free to do as I wished once the ritual was broken. Now your key is mine.”
Anteriolus laughed, “Now who is threatening the end of the world? You would risk everything to get him back?”
“I would.”
“You’re insane.”
The goddess responded immediately, “You’re one to talk.”
“Very well, I will agree to an exchange, on one condition,” offered Anteriolus.
“Which is?”
“Revive him. Let him finish this life before sending him on to the next. He deserves a respite from your games,” said the Prince of Hell.
“You surprise me,” replied the goddess. “I thought you sacrificed all of your compassion and mercy when you created the prison. Did you hold something back?”
“I still have pride in my offspring,” said the devil. “And you’re one to talk. Your jealousy over him practically reeks of selfishness. Perhaps you did not give as much as you said either?”
***
“Thomas.”
He opened his eyes at the voice, and found Sarah staring down at him with a serious expression. “I thought I heard you talking,” he told her.
“I wondered if you heard,” she replied, glancing away momentarily. “The memory will fade soon.” The ceiling of the chapel was gone and the sun was eclipsed by her face, it filtered through her hair and wrapped him in a blanket of rose-gold light.
“If you’re my…,” he paused for a second, “…my mother, how—why him? Isn’t he your enemy?”
“The gods are not as simple as theology describes, nor are we unchanging. Anteriolus was not always evil, and I was not always good. To create the prison, the key, and you, we each sacrificed parts of ourselves, becoming as you see us now. I gave my selfishness and greed, while he gave his compassion and mercy, but even now we are not entirely devoid of the things we originally divested ourselves of, you have seen and heard that for yourself.”
Thomas processed that for a while before asking, “Then what am I?”
She smiled, “Just a man, in this life at least; you have been both men and women in your past lives. You are what is left of the being we created to challenge the beast and bind him in our prison.”
“Why did he make a key?” said Thomas. “It seems like a foolish thing to do.”
She shook her head, “Every cage has a door. A key had to be made. Eventually we will fail, and the Beast will be released again. The prison will be destroyed, and you will be restored to what you were when we first made you, but the world would not survive the war that would follow, and it is possible we would lose next time.
“The chalice is another part of it,” added Delwyn. “It is necessary to empower the key, as you have seen. It will have to be remade, that will be a task for your remaining days.”
He thought about it for a moment, “What if I don’t? I can understand why it and the key were initially created, but if it is gone now, it would be safer to leave things as they are. Then the Beast could never be freed.”
“Without the chalice, the prison will crumble, slowly but surely. Perhaps not in this lifetime, but within a few generations, the Beast would be free. Creating it anew will restore the binding that keeps it locked away,” explained the goddess.
“How will I make such a thing?”
“That you will have to learn for yourself, but it will take everything you have, everything you are. The final step will require you to surrender your life.”
Thomas sighed, looking at the devastation around him. The chapel had been blasted and scoured clean by whatever Delwyn had done when she had been released. It seemed a perfect match for the dark news she had just delivered. “So, I have to die after all…” For some reason that thought conjured an image in his mind, Islana. Nothing was ever fair.
The goddess leaned forward and kissed his forehead, “Someday, but it can wait for as long as you wish. Live, Thomas, grow old. The final step doesn’t have to be taken until you are ready for it.”
He felt her power taking hold, and his eyes grew heavy, sleep would soon overtake him, but he fought against it. “Sleep, Thomas, things will be better when you awaken,” she told him.
“But, you said I would forget. How will I know what to do?”
“The answers will find you, with time, and your heart will always remember—when your mind rests and sleep brings us together again.”
***
He awoke in a dimly lit room. Light filtered in from a high window, and he found himself wrapped in warm blankets. Thomas wasn’t sure where he was, but the style of the woodwork made him think he might be back in the temple in Port Weston.
Thomas closed his eyes again. He hadn’t wanted to wake up. He had been having a beautiful dream, the sort that left him wistful and sad as it faded from his waking mind. I found my mother, I wasn’t an orphan anymore. He could almost see her, feel her presence, but the misty happiness of his dream was rapidly vanishing, leaving behind an aching loneliness.
Please, don’t go, but it was too late. It had just been a dream, and he was still just an orphan, a man without roots or family. Thomas sat up in the bed and felt hot tears spill down his cheeks.
The door clicked as it opened, and he wiped his face rapidly with the blankets, embarrassed that someone might find him crying over something as silly as a dream.
“Thomas?” Islana stood in the doorway clad in a simple woolen robe. That was enough to confirm his suspicion; she would never be wearing something so casual if they weren’t at home.
Home, he thought, I suppose that’s what this is. He had never really considered it before. “How is your shoulder?” he asked, hoping she hadn’t noticed him rubbing his eyes a moment before.
She frowned, “It’s fine. There isn’t even a scar. If I didn’t have such a vivid memory of receiving the wound I would think I had imagined it. That’s not what bothers me the most, though.”
He smiled, “What could bother you more than that?”
“The man that healed me, and how he was paid for it.”
“Oh,” he said simply, not sure how to answer. His memories of the time afterward were already gone, but there were a few things he knew. “You don’t have to worry; I’m not a servant of Hell. She bargained to get me back.”
“Father Whitmire told us,” said Islana.
Thomas raised his brows in surprise.
“She spoke with him afterward. That wasn’t what bothered me.”
“What then?”
“You sold your soul for me, Thomas. You didn’t know you would get it back. No one should do something like that,” she explained. After a second she asked, “Was he really…?”
“The Prince of Hell?”
“Yes.”
Thomas nodded, “I don’t remember everything well, but I don’t think he was as terrible as you might think. I got the impression he and Delwyn were old friends.”
“That’s not the point, anyway,” she replied. “You didn’t know she would save you. I’m not worth that, no one is.”
He laughed, “A simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.”
She glared at him, “I’m not thanking you! You nearly damned yourself! How do you think I would have felt if you hadn’t come back?”
Thomas stared up at the window. She was right, of course. “I didn’t do it for you,” he lied. “I did it for Our Lady. You shouldn’t blame yourself.” It wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t a complete lie.
The bed moved, and he looked back to see that she had sat down on the edge of the bed. For a moment, he was acutely aware of the fact that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. He pulled the blankets a little farther up self-consciously.
Islana decided to change the subject, “When they found you there was blood everywhere, and there was a tear in your mail, front and back. What happened?”
He did remember that part very clearly, and for a second he felt again the searing pain as the blade tore through him. “The bonds holding her, holding the goddess, they could only be broken by heart’s blood, just as Anteriolus told us. I fought with an orc, but I wasn’t good enough to beat him. Getting between his blade and the Lady was the only way I could stop him.”
“Getting stabbed through the heart is the absolute dumbest way to save someone,” she chided, a wry smile on her face. “Next time you should introduce me to your orc friends instead.”
Thomas chuckled for a moment before stopping to study her face. He could tell she had been worrying for days, but despite the circles under her eyes he found himself captivated once more. Without thought he leaned toward her—until she lifted her hand to gently push him back.
Embarrassed, he felt his face flushing, “I’m sorry, I thought…”
“Don’t toy with me, Thomas. I couldn’t take that.”
“Well, before, when we were facing the balor…,” he began.
Islana shook her head, “That was me. I already know I’m serious, besides I was feeling selfish. And we’re not about to fight some horrible demon right now.”
At last he understood. Catching her arm before she could rise and distance herself, he answered, “I’ve never been anything but serious about you, Islana. At one point I was too serious, about you, and my duty, but that isn’t the case anymore.”
She stared back at him, challenging him with her eyes, “What’s changed?”
“I think we’ve earned the right to our own happiness,” he told her honestly. “In fact, while I don’t remember it, I think they might have told me that directly.”
“Finally,” she sighed, and then she leaned in, closing her eyes.
The moment stretched out over the space of several dozen heartbeats before Thomas reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers. “Will you marry me?”
The words startled Islana, and she jerked back. One leg was caught on the bed and the other in no position to support her sudden motion, and she wound up toppling unceremoniously to the floor at the bedside. “What the hell, Thomas!? You can’t just leap out at someone with a question like that!” Flustered, she gathered her legs under her and stood, taking a few steps away to gain some perspective.
Unwilling to let another mistake derail their relationship, Thomas leapt up from the bed, catching her hands between his own, “Don’t run away. Maybe it’s too soon to ask that—you’re right. What about another picnic?” He added the last while giving her what he hoped was his most charming smile.
Islana went stiff as he latched onto her hands, her face turning slowly red, and her eyes darting briefly downward.
Thomas began to blush as well when a draft of air reminded him that he still wasn’t wearing anything, but he refused to let go until she had answered him. Clenching his jaw, he gave her a determined look.
“If I say yes, will you put some clothes on?”
He nodded.
“Yes then.” She had recovered from her shock and was beginning to grin at his embarrassment.
Thomas let go of her hands and began to cast about for something to cover himself with. He started to pull one of the coverlets from the bed when he spotted a linen shift draped over the footboard. Reaching for it he glanced back at her, “You could cover your eyes, or turn around at least.”
“Who am I to turn away from the vision that the gods have so freely offered me?” she laughed boldly.
Once he had the shift on she walked to the door, “I’ll wait outside while you finish dressing.”
Thomas smirked, “What’s the point? You’ve already spoiled my good reputation. Now I’ll never be able to get married.”
“Maybe I’ll take pity on you,” laughed Islana as she opened the door, but her laugh stopped cold when she discovered Delia standing just outside with one hand to her ear. Grom leaned against the wall on the other side of the hallway.
There was a twinkle in the ranger’s eyes as she looked up slightly at the taller woman, “I have to hand it to you, you don’t waste any time.” She glanced past the paladin to where she could see Thomas struggling to pull his hose on.
Grom chimed in, “I’m pretty sure it was innocent. I din’t hear any yowlin’.”
Islana put a hand over her face. It was still early, and she could already see how the rest of her day was going to turn out.
Coming in 2017
Demonhome
Matthew Illeniel seeks the source of the intruders into his world, traveling across dimensions to find answers. He must unravel the mystery of the She’Har’s great enemy but the bigger challenge may lie in discovering the secrets of humanity itself.
For more information about the Mageborn series check out the author’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MagebornAuthor
or visit the website:
http://www.magebornbooks.com/
I hope you enjoyed my story! I would like to introduce you to Aleron Kong, The Father of American LitRPG. If you liked it you should really check out The Land by Aleron Kong. In his own words it’s like “Warcraft, DnD and Sword Art Online had a sexy baby!”
He has over FIVE THOUSAND positive reviews on Goodreads. They can’t all be crazy lol. His writing is definitely laugh out loud funny, but he has also created a detailed world that makes you love him and hate him at the end of each book. Just click here or on the picture. Stay wonderful!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Michael G. Manning, Thomas
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends