Return to Me by Morgan O'Neill

Author:Morgan O'Neill [Morgan O'Neill]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 9781440551659
Goodreads: 16114561
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Published: 2012-12-02T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Ravenna, Italy

Dipsas stood in the baptistery, staring at the pulpit. Something strange, well beyond her ken, had happened here.

The emperor watched her, his dark brown eyes hooded, suspicious. She wasn’t concerned about him, however. She would prove her worth.

“You say, O Great One, that your flutist, one Horace, disappeared, and the woman, another flutist, appeared to take his place?”

Honorius nodded, and then turned to his axe-bearing guards. “Out,” he ordered them. “We wish to be alone with Dipsas. We would speak to her in private.”

They obeyed without question. She walked to the pulpit and placed her hands upon it, then closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

“What do you see?” Honorius asked.

There was very little, really, just a whirl of stars, mere pinpricks, as if she had bent over too fast and then righted herself. She sighed in frustration, but she knew patience was necessary, and if she waited, something would come.

Breathing deeply, she let her thoughts coalesce, and slowly a shape took form, a woman rising from the glittering mist. Dipsas kept her eyes closed and concentrated, but the figure remained maddeningly indistinct, like a faded memory.

She opened her eyes. “O Great One, do you have anything that belonged to her?”

Honorius nodded. “A ring and … indeed, we think someone must still have the gown she wore.”

“Command the gown be brought to me,” Dipsas said. “I shall learn more once I have touched that which knew the warmth of her body.”

“Will you be able to tell us where she was born? We shall lavish great riches upon you if you could also find out where she and Magnus hid for four years.”

Dipsas stroked the edge of the marble pulpit, so smooth and cool to the touch. “I do not need riches,” she demurred. “Serving you is reward enough, my lord.”

But that was a lie. Hiding her smile, she glanced at Honorius. He gloated in her flattery, feeling powerful, but this was mere illusion.

She thought of the world and all its denizens. The emperor would be dust soon enough. As would they all.

• • •

Africanus had spent grueling days going over every detail he knew about Magnus and Gigiperrin’s near capture and escape. He’d been grilled by Honorius and his advisors regarding their strange possessions. And he had watched the emperor use the so-called lightning bolt weapon on prisoners and slaves. He’d also shown him detailed drawings of the body of the soldier who had been killed by the other weapon — a weapon that had produced a sound like thunder and ripped through the man’s chest, killing him instantly.

Unimaginable weapons of lightning and thunder. Honorius had been gleeful as he speculated how they might turn the tide and help Roman soldiers win back territories so recently lost to the barbarous hordes. In hearing this, Africanus’s heart swelled with pride in knowing he had played a part in such a great endeavor. Woe be to Rome’s enemies!

He waited in the depths of the palace, in the realm of the magicians. He felt uncomfortable here, for it was dark and smelled poisonous, like sulfur.

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.