Illusion: Book Four of the Grimoire Saga by S.M. Boyce

Author:S.M. Boyce [Boyce, S.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: dark fantasy, Magic
Published: 2014-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

Let’s begin, vagabonds.

Chapter 15

Second Chances

A setting sun lit the snowcapped mountains of the Stele with a red glow. Richard, former king and now a vagabond, watched the spectacle with tired eyes and an open grimoire in his hands. He stood in a clearing on a hill overlooking the black castle, its spires towering over the wall surrounding it. The black stone fence cut into the dark forest, circling the Stelian land for who knew how long. As he waited for the command to attack, Richard tapped his finger on the portable inkwell hanging from the chain around his neck, its matching quill stuffed into the folds of the pages open before him.

Gavin stood a dozen feet off, while the muse Garrett watched from the edge of a small cliff in the hill. Patches of the Hillsidian army crouched in the trees nearby, tense as they waited for word to attack. Many of Kara’s isen brothers and sisters waited as well, though in separate groups from the yakona.

He rubbed his face, the tension of the last few months leaving bags beneath his eyes. Perhaps when this war ended, he would get a good night’s sleep. Until then, the nightmares of failing Kara and his people kept him awake. In some of his dreams, the lyth turned on the village, devouring the vagabonds he’d recruited. In other dreams, his own son Gavin marched into the camp, burning everything and everyone in sight. Every dream ended the same way: Richard sitting up in bed, drenched in sweat.

But tonight, he had to focus. Tonight, this war ended.

The black forests of the Stele stretched out all around him, endless in their growing shadows. Braeden had warned of the creatures living in the woods, but Richard had no intention of remaining outside the Stele’s walls after sundown. He waited for Kara’s command to strike, and soon the Stelian fortress would be occupied by Hillsidians.

Richard rubbed his thumb over the spine of his grimoire, his dream come true. He was a vagabond, and he had most of Ourea’s knowledge between his fingers.

The hairs on Richard’s neck stood on end. Shivers of warning shook him, tickling the back of his head. He turned in time to catch Gavin’s eye as the Blood examined Richard’s grimoire from a dozen feet off.

Gavin looked away, eyes scanning the forest as if he hadn’t been caught. The boy must still want the book’s knowledge. And while Richard once believed the Grimoire to be a fearsome power, he now realized it wasn’t full of dangerous magic as the Bloods always feared. It was an enchanted journal made by a powerful man—a symbol more than anything, and not to be coveted or controlled.

“Still after this thing?” Richard asked his son.

Gavin’s jaw tensed, but he shook his head. “I already learned that lesson, Father.”

Richard’s shoulders relaxed despite the brewing battle. He barely recognized his son anymore—the selfish boy was finally a man.

A breeze swept through the black leaves, the whoosh of air knocking together branches in the canopy.

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.