Tides of Blood: 2 (The Minotaur Wars) by richard a. Knaak

Author:richard a. Knaak [Knaak, richard a.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786961948
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2011-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

There were few things that unnerved Ardnor. In his role as First Master, Ardnor wielded much power. The dark-clad Protectors watched over the safety of the high priestess, his mother, the empress Nephera. They had little intercourse with outsiders, and even those not of the faith knew of him and were intimidated.

Yet, with so many obedient to his whim, with power that, truthfully, was second only to that of his parents—and, grudgingly, Bastion—Ardnor now anxiously entered this chamber …

The chamber where his mother, Lady Nephera, awaited him this night.

The gilded black breastplate he wore, and the matching helm carried in the crook of his arm, gave him little genuine protection, he felt as he entered her meditation chamber. No matter how confident he was, no matter how powerful, his might would always be nothing compared to hers. He had ambitious, reckless impulses, which they both knew were held in check by the omnipresent threat of the dark magic she could summon.

In truth, he had acted recklessly of late, pushing the Protectors into imperial matters more than the high priestess wished. That was why Ardnor approached the robed figure of his mother with some trepidation, though he guarded his expression.

“You summoned. I’ve come, Mother.”

“And a bit tardy, as usual,” she replied almost casually. “But I planned accordingly and thus summoned you early.”

He tipped his horns low to acknowledge her superiority. Ardnor eyed the room, noting that a ritual of some sort was being prepared. Two attendants garbed in ebony robes similar to his mother’s flanked a long, wide marble platform, which his own attachment of Protectors had recently erected in the chamber. Already the platform appeared stained, though he could not see anything very clearly. As usual, there were many shadows, many patches of darkness. Only a few torches illuminated the chamber, and the shadows of the acolytes danced on the walls.

The doors had been shut after Ardnor entered, and now the First Master of the Protectors found himself wondering why. Something in the empty gazes of the acolytes caused him to warily glance at the platform … the empty marble altar.

The First Master forced unsettling thoughts from his mind. He turned his gaze back to his mother. Like Hotak, Ardnor had noted the odd changes in her as she had delved deeper into the mysterious forces that channeled her power. Her sunken eyes, her strange gauntness … did her ghosts look as unearthly as their priestess? “What would you have of me, Mother?”

“You have served the temple with utter dedication, served without hesitation the cause of the one who grants us gifts of which few mortals even dream.” She gazed reverently at the symbols on the wall. “It has been decided that you are to be rewarded.”

“Rewarded?” Ardnor had often asked to be taken into his mother’s confidence, to learn more about her dark magic, but so far he had acquired only a few minor tricks. The true authority still rested in the hands of his mother, and his mother alone.

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