Netherworld: Beyond the Veil by Adam Collins

Author:Adam Collins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, magic, sword and sorcery, epic, wizards, dragons, war, quest

CH 6:

Grinly ran through the undergrowth in blind panic. The same word echoing through the void that was his mind, over and over again, Flee! It was an hour before he finally came to his senses and stopped. His chest heaved as his lungs sucked in cooling air. He looked around, but nothing looked familiar. In bewildered confusion, he at first tried one direction, then another, but all to no avail. Finally, defeated, he sat heavily on the trunk of a fallen tree and held his head in his shivering hands. It was cold and dark, and he was completely lost. When the beat of his thumping heart finally subsided he noticed a second, much softer, sound. A pulsing, humming sound that rose and fell in pitch and vibration. He stood, and slowly walked towards the noise. After a few steps he could see soft red lights, just ahead through the scrub, pulsing in sync with the sound. He was drawn to the lights like a moth to flame. Pushing through the last branches, he came to a circular clearing. It was the circular faery mound, and Dhaalu stood waiting. As Grinly stepped past the knee-high perimeter stones, the forest disappeared into blackness and the stars winked out.

Dhaalu drifted out from the central arch and stopped before Grinly, ‘You have returned. Do you have my prize?’

Grinly fell onto his hands and knees, his mouth quivering with fear, ‘Not yet, Master!’

Dhaalu came closer, ‘You...disappoint…me, wretch! Your efforts...unsatisfactory. Perhaps some motivation is needed,’ Dhaalu raised his hand and Grinly was filled with pain anew.

The sailor lay wriggling on the ground in agony. After what seemed like an age Dhaalu released him. Grinly groaned as he again clambered onto his knees, ‘Forgive me, Master! I will do better. They were helped by the Gypsies, you see. If not for that, the accursed phial would be in my hands.’

Dhaalu’s yellow eyes glowed brightly, ‘The Thane…’ his deep voice rumbled, ‘…they interfere as ever. Long have they thwarted me, but their days of hiding are numbered. Soon they will be within my reach once again, and I will take great pleasure in their final tormentations.’

‘I know where the bottle is, Master. I’ve captured the Gypsy called Kassim. The others will try to free him. A bargain may yet be struck. If I offer an exchange - his life for the trinket - they will surely submit.’

‘No! You have already failed me once. You have proved weak and undependable,’ Dhaalu started to drift back towards the arch between the standing blocks of stone. ‘Bring him to the hill known as Fallow.’

‘Fallowhill! - I know it well, Master,’ nodded Grinly.

‘It’s a place of power for us. We will be waiting.’

Dhaalu’s body was becoming insubstantial. Grinly could see the outline of the standing stones through his torso, ‘I’ll not fail you again, Master,’ he called after the evaporating figure.

‘See that you do not,’ answered Dhaalu’s deep voice, though his body had disappeared entirely.

As Dhaalu departed, so too did the blackness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.