Unbound (Songs of Chaos Book 2) by Miller Michael R

Author:Miller, Michael R.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael R. Miller
Published: 2021-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

After another night and day of travel to the southwest, the land grew greener and the sun kinder. Hills swept before them, rolling down to the mighty river which came out of the distant north and snaked toward the sea, marking the border between the old lands ruled by Aldunei and the east.

Rake took them into the hills, and the deeper into the winding passes they went, the worse the land became. In places it dove down in sheer drops, with routes that could not be traversed by foot. While the others flew, Rake clambered about in a way no human could have managed to navigate the terrain.

Holt got the feeling of delving deeper into a maze. Down they went, until the grassland became dust and rock and trees withered to dead husks. The air remained dry, but a foul undertone carried on it, a scent Holt recognized well.

“This place was ravaged by the scourge.”

“You’re walking in an ancient scourge chasm,” Rake said.

“And Farsa wanted to meet us here?”

“It was I who picked the spot,” Rake said. “Down in the bottommost pits of this chasm is where Hava’s ancestor swore her oath to repay me. Promises made in such spots hold power.”

Eidolan prowled, keeping low to the ground. “I’d hoped never to find myself in a chasm again.”

Aberanth shivered. The damage to the land would be affecting him the most as an emerald.

“Might the enemy still be here?” asked Ash.

“I shouldn’t think so,” Rake said. “At least, not close to the surface.”

At last, they made it to the bottom of the ravine. A segment of the rock face caught Holt’s eye. The color of the stone was off, much darker and in an unnatural block compared to the varied living stone around it. A runic symbol similar to those Aberanth made on his bark slabs was etched into the stone, only it was huge, about twice the size of Rake.

“Did a dragon do this?” Holt asked.

“One of the Order,” Rake said. “When they sealed this place long ago.”

A cold trickle of fear crept up Holt’s spine. He reached out with his magical senses, but the rock and earth blocked any presence of the scourge, if any were in fact beneath them.

“Let’s get a fire started,” Ash said. “That will help.”

They made camp. Dead, dry wood was in ample supply, and soon they had a hearty fire to comfort their spirits.

Moonlight struggled to grace them down here. Ash followed glinting patches as the moon traveled across the night sky, while Holt trained in maintaining cycling techniques during combat. He Grounded his limbs as Rake pressed him in a physical confrontation. Then Rake zipped twenty feet away, called, “Float,” and launched his orange power.

Holt switched his cycling, raising magic to thin channels near his skin to blunt Rake’s attack. The orange light struck his side like a forceful punch. Holt held up, but he felt another bruise form for his growing collection.

“That’s better,” Rake called. He blur-stepped across the distance between them.

Assuming more swordplay was about to start, Holt switched to Grounding.

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