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.Something about having his legs dangling over the edge was liberating.Maybe he would just slide in…one day…ending his need to think for all time.His father might have survived a fall into the molten lava, but he didn’t think he would.He had come to the conclusion a long time ago that it was his fault the case would never be solved.Dantes was the one that had broken the mirror, trapping the Spectre in a far off land.with the queen’s crown still in his possession.Too young to have been trusted with such enormous responsibility, he had recovered a fake crown.Although Dantes had traveled the length and breadth of Tasidar, he had been unable to locate the land where they trapped the thief.That place was either across the ocean or on an alternate plane.The only thing he knew was that it wasn’t on Tasidar.If it was, he’d have found it.Being a member of the Magisterium had been the high point of his life.It was the only place that he had ever belonged, even a little.Although most of the humans had never trusted him, a few had, as had many of the demi-humans and other races.His partnership with Ghorza had been the pinnacle of his career.Even though she was a little flighty, they worked well as a team; each drew from the other’s strengths.That time was over, though, and he doubted that he would ever be trusted with that level of responsibility again.None of the good races would ever trust him; most of them believed that he had intentionally helped the Spectre escape.After three years, it didn’t appear they had any intention of ending his probation, or they would have done so by now.Perhaps it was for the best.The devil side of his personality had been calling him for the last year.Forsake the gods of good and come over to the evil side, it said.He could do what he wanted.He could kill whoever he wanted, and he could torture people at will.There was a considerable appeal to that.his powers would rise unchecked, and he could be the devil his father had wanted him to be.Maybe someday he would even take his place in the triumvirate of devils that ruled the second level of hell.But that was not what he had promised his mother, and his word had to be good for something.It was the only link he still had to her.His father had destroyed everything else, not wanting Dantes to be ‘soft.’ He had even killed Dantes’ mother.Dantes walked in as it was happening and had stopped his father the only way he could.He had killed his father, driving one of his horns through his father’s heart.He was too late, though; his mother was only human and too far gone to be saved.Before she died, she made him swear to stay with the gods of good, and he had given his word to do so.The longer he sat looking down at the bubbling lava, the harder he found it was to remember her face.or his promise to her.Chapter 13Although they started out early the next morning, John and Ghorza were delayed leaving the city.They made it as far as the gate, but were stopped there as company after company of troops was directed through ahead of them.In every military parade John had seen growing up, the crowd cheered the soldiers on.Not only were the people not cheering the soldiers marching by, they gave every appearance of actively disliking them.He saw several of the passers-by spit in the direction of the troops.“What’s going on?” asked John.“Where are the troops going? Why aren’t the people cheering for them?”“You’ve come here at a bad time,” replied Ghorza.“Our country is at war.The armies of Salidar have come.”“From your tone, I’m guessing they didn’t come bearing gifts,” said John, “but I don’t know anything about it.Is Salidar your enemy?”“Don’t you know anything about this land?” asked Ghorza, frustration heavy in her voice.John shook his head, so she continued.“Our world has two continents.You are currently on the continent of Tasidar, which lies to the north; to the south of us lies Salidar, separated by an ocean.It is a land of evil.Trolls, ogres and orcs all roam freely there, which until recently was the best thing that could be said about it.All of those races roamed freely.They fought and they died in their petty territorial squabbles, and they stayed there.There was never a force to unify them, so they were never a threat to Tasidar.Every once in a while raiders would hit some of our southern towns and villages, but the raiders were always disorganized and easily driven off.”“Until recently?”“Yes,” Ghorza said, nodding her head.“Until recently.Something unified them.Now when the raiders hit our villages, they don’t leave anything behind except the dead bodies of the village men.The women and children they carry off, along with anything else that has value to them.They burn the rest.They are so well organized now that they disappear before help can arrive.They’ve even hit some of the larger towns.” She shook her head.“It’s bad.”“So they’re sending the troops out to defend the villages along the coast?”“No,” replied Ghorza.“That’s not the worst of it.After months of increasing instability, a few weeks ago there was a coup in Carpos, the kingdom to the east of here.The new government welcomed in a contingent from Salidar, and within days there were ogres manning the castle walls during the day and hill giants at night.Our ambassador and all of her staff were killed, as were all of the people from our nation inside Carpos’ borders.The fall of Carpos caught everyone here by surprise.Although we have a standing army, it was never intended to fight a land war against armies of ogres and giants.The navy was supposed to keep most of them from seeing our shores, and we counted on the armies of Carpos and the other countries to assist in fighting any of the Salidarians that made it to our shores.Not having Carpos’ support completely undermines our war plans; having Carpos actively bringing in more and more of our enemies makes a war unwinnable.”“So, who are these soldiers?” asked John, looking at the mounted cavalry that was now passing by.“These are mercenary troops,” replied Ghorza
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IndexCidney Swanson [Saving Mars Saving Mars (epub)
Christine Wood [Life Plan 01] A Life Plan Without You (epub)
Cheryl McIntyre [Infinitely Infinitely (epub)
Clair Delaney [Coral 01] Coral (epub)
Christine Cody [Bloodlands 01 Bloodlands (epub)
Christina Ross [Unleash Me, A Unleash Me, Vol 3 (epub)
Christine Flynn [The Hunt for Once Upon a Christmas Eve (epub
Christian Fletcher [The Left Left on the Brink (epub)
Christopher G Nuttall [Royal The Royal Sorceress (epub)
Ante Nicene Fathers Vol. 1; Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus