Prospero Regained by L. Jagi Lamplighter

Author:L. Jagi Lamplighter [Lamplighter, L. Jagi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780765319319
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2011-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I WOKE to find that everyone else was asleep except for Titus, who stood watch. Apparently, my brothers had set a watch among themselves without including me in the roster. Not that I minded the extra rest, but it galled me to know that they had done this because they did not trust me.

Rising, I glanced down, and my heart stopped in my chest. In the small rocks and dust beside my sleeping bag were the tracks of demon feet, a large set and a smaller set.

It had not been a dream.

I moved to the ledge and sat gazing out at the mountains below. What was out there, I do not know, for my mind never beheld what my eyes saw. I was too busy contemplating other things.

Could Astreus still live? Could he have held out against the darkness, even without hope? Surely, that was his voice I had heard.

Such joy rose in me. I felt as if the peaks had fallen away, and I was flying; as if my wings could pick me up and carry me; or, perhaps, as if the sheer force of my exaltation was so great as to repel all misery, throwing me thus into the heavens.

The realization I had rejected in the City of Dis could no longer be denied.

I loved him.

When had it happened? I had thought myself wiser than to fall in love with an elf. And yet, in the midst of this ecstasy born of hope, I could not find fault with my choice. I loved the elf who wished to free all others from the clutches of Hell. Who could be more fitting?

My joyous flight of fancy faltered. I had seen Mephistopheles and Seir. I remembered where they had been standing. This means my eyes must have been open, at least briefly—which meant that Seir could have seen that I was awake.

My heart dropped like a stone. I had not soared. I was still anchored firmly upon the ledge of misery. I had gone nowhere.

Was it so astonishing that the demon who had once been Astreus could reproduce the dead elf’s voice? Seir had played yet another trick upon me. Most likely, he hoped I might be led to believe that some part of Astreus still lived within him so he could lead me to some harm—which meant Astreus Stormwind really was dead.

He must be dead, or Seir would not have allowed me to hear his voice. Seir would not have given me hope, if hope was real. He was a demon.

Once before, I had allowed Seir to pluck my heartstrings, when he resurrected the image of my dead first love. My error, in trusting the false Ferdinand, had stripped my family of their immortality.

I would not fall for his blandishments again.

But I still loved him.

Eventually, others began to stir. I rose to join them, folding up my blankets and putting them into a backpack which Mephisto had requisitioned from his seven hoods. The milk had spoiled during the night, despite the cold weather, but the wine and honey were welcome.

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.