King of Souls by Matthew Ballard

Author:Matthew Ballard [Ballard, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 22838202
Publisher: Six Strong Publishing
Published: 2014-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

Ripool

A charging black stallion galloped along the stronghold’s outer wall. Devery Tyrell sat atop its saddle shouting commands to every warrior within earshot. Spirit shields sprang to life covering twenty soldiers nearest Bawold’s sealed gates. Tracers of blue energy followed in Devery’s wake coming from energy leaking from his open palms.

Tara stood inside Bawold’s tallest guard tower. Her gaze locked on the soul knight who could ruin decades of careful planning. She needed to secure Ripool and the bounty of rich souls inside its walls, and she needed to act fast. General Demos and his elite soldiers would play an intricate role in securing Meranthia. They couldn’t sit in the ice-locked sea any longer without sinking.

Devery’s stallion skittered to a halt before an ashen faced Captain Redford. Steam curled from the stout captain’s slackened jaw. He stared motionless at the stronghold’s closed gates.

Devery glared down at the captain and shouted harsh inaudible words. He pointed toward the navy ships preparing to set sail at the shipyard docks. Captain Redford ignored Devery and the dozens of soldiers scrambling for cover.

Tara moved to the tower’s opposite side and surveyed the battle for control inside Bawold’s fortress.

A half-dozen dark soldiers descended on two over-matched guards near the southeastern tower. Auras of dark mist radiated from her pets and enveloped the guards seeping into their noses and throats.

The first guard screamed his sword clattering to the cobblestones while the second collapsed to his knees and wept. The dark soldier’s black aura turned even the bravest soldiers into simpering cowards.

Tara felt nothing as her pets went about their business. She’d extended her hand in partnership to Elan’s centuries ago, and he’d rejected her outright. These people would suffer his foolishness.

A dark soldier’s blade flashed then slid into the guard’s chest skewering him like a ripe tomato. Tara’s pet twisted his blade before yanking it free of the guard’s body, and his precious soul fled his lifeless body.

Black mist clung to the guard’s soul, trapping it like a fly in a spider’s web.

Tara’s mind moved through the link connecting her to the dark soldier. A connection fueled by his soul under her control. She gazed through her pet’s eyes and watched the dead guard ooze blood onto the already red cobblestones. She plucked the guard’s soul from the dark soldier’s mist and consumed it adding his energy and soul thread to her reserves.

The dead guard stood and grabbed the sword he’d discarded moments earlier while still alive. Black mist blossomed from his skin’s pores and thickened twisting around his body in a vapor-like mist. With speed and ferocity unreachable during his life, the former guard flashed his blade downward. It sank into the second guard’s spine who cowered on the ground nearby.

A shriek of pain came an instant later, and the guard’s body sagged, his soul slipping free of his flesh.

Tara collected the untethered soul and added it to her growing power base. She ordered him to rise granting him a dark soldier’s power.

Around the courtyard, fighting raged, but its result no longer remained in doubt.

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