Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull

Author:Brandon Mull [Mull, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, General, Children: Grades 4-6, Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, & Magic, Action & Adventure, Children's Books, Body, Family, Mind & Spirit, Siblings, Magick Studies, Family - Siblings, Good and Evil, Brothers and Sisters, Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Fantasy, Grandparents
ISBN: 9781416986034
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2009-03-24T07:00:00+00:00

And then a voice spoke, deeper than any voice Seth had ever imagined, slow and labored, as if on the brink of death.

"You… do… not… fear… me?"

Seth squinted at the web-shrouded shape in the corner. "Of course I do," he said, stepping closer. "But my friends said you wanted to speak with me."

The figure stirred, making the cobwebs ripple and dust plume into the air. "You… do not… feel… fear… as you did… in… the grove?" The speaker sounded sad and tired.

"With the revenant? How do you know about that? I don't feel fear like I did there. The fear there was uncontrollable."

The figure shifted again. One of the largest sheets of cobweb tore, billowing lazily. The rumbling voice gained a little strength. "Your grandsire… is in the grip of such fear now. Take… his light… and come closer."252Seth walked over to Grandpa, who had yet to move. Seth poked him gently in the ribs, but got only a slight twitch as a reaction. Why was Grandpa so incapacitated? Was Graulas directing magic specifically at him? A devious part of Seth's mind wished that Grandpa would remain like this, so he wouldn't get in trouble if they made it out alive. Seth yanked the flashlight from his grasp.

"Will Grandpa be all right?" Seth asked.

"He will."

"You're Graulas?"

"I am. Come closer."

Picking his way through the decaying debris, Seth drew nearer to the demon. With one thick, gnarled hand, the demon was peeling away cobwebs. Dust fumed up from his clothes. Gagging, Seth covered his nose and mouth against the putrid stench. Although the demon was sitting on the floor and hunched to one side, Seth came no higher than his bloated shoulder.

Seth took an involuntary step back when the flashlight illuminated the demon's face. His skin was like the head of a turkey, red and folded and droopy, as if horribly infected. He was bald, and he had no visible ears. A pair of curled ram horns projected from the sides of his broad skull, and a milky film clouded his cold, black eyes.

"Would you believe… I was once… one of the six… most feared… and respected… demons… in the world?" he asked, his breathing labored. His entire body rocked with the effort of each wheezing inhalation.

"Sure," Seth said.253The demon shook his saggy head, folds of red flesh swaying. "Do not patronize me."

"I'm not. I believe you."

Graulas coughed. Webs flapped and dust swirled. "Nothing… has caught my interest… in hundreds of years," he growled wearily. He closed his eyes. His breathing slowed, and his voice became steadier. "I came to this pitiful zoo to die, Seth, but dying comes slowly for my kind, so very slowly. Hunger cannot conquer me. Disease is no match. I slumber, but I do not rest."

"Why did you come here to die?" Seth asked.

"To embrace my fate. I have known true greatness, Seth. To fall from greatness, from the dizziest heights to the deepest depths, knowing one might have prevented it, certain one will never reclaim what one has lost, cripples the will.

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