Paladin and Necromancer by Adrienne Miller

Author:Adrienne Miller [Miller, Adrienne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The first rift they try is the dark one. It lives in the backyard of a pub close to the city walls, full of overgrown ivy, damp-smelling wooden tables, and long-empty bird feeders. During the war, the innkeeper learned some simple barrier spells to lock down the rift, and he never bothered to register it with the city watch.

Kass isn’t too pressed about it. People have learned to live with the rifts, and for most of them, the terror of looking the Multiverse in the eyes is gone. Some people have been known to fall into unprotected rifts because they became too good at ignoring their presence. Some people jump into them for fun or out of despair. But they are a quickly depleting minority.

Silver rips the innkeeper’s protection spell apart with a flick of her wrist. She is wearing the turquoise robes her mother gifted her at the start of the war. Her silver pin sits near her collar. Kass feels his chest clench every time he looks at her.

Silver’s skeletal hand is unconcealed and already holds the demon flesh, coated in a potent mixture of spell components. A dagger is tied to her belt, and several pouches dangle from her chair, filled to the brim with bones.

The rift looks like a cut in the fabric of reality, leaving only nonexistence under the touch of the knife. Kass has the terrible feeling that when they reach the other side, they will fall and never stop falling.

Andrea and Allen are wearing full armour, although Allen’s is lighter and made from more leather than steel. He has yet to catch up to Andrea in both strength and discipline. Kass knows he lets him get away with too much. Yet another thought that keeps him awake at night.

The squires check their swords and tug on their cloaks. Kass convinced Amaya to wear loose-fitting leather armour, although she is notably uncomfortable with the unfamiliar pressure on her skin.

They surround the rift, their breaths creating an uncanny rhythm.

“Are you ready?” Kass asks Silver. She nods silently. Her eyes are hard as steel. They both remember how to push aside every feeling to get the job done.

But he doesn’t want to be like that anymore. He hasn’t for a long time, and he isn’t sure Silver realises that. When Allen, Andrea, and Amaya slowly reach through the rift, he squeezes his wife’s hand.

She looks up at him, and he smiles.

“Just like old times, huh?” he asks.

She laughs and keeps hold of his hand for a moment longer.

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.