Bücher online kostenlos Kostenlos Online Lesen
The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

Titel: The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Irene Radford
Vom Netzwerk:
years as the purple-tipped dragon Iianthe. I have worn out dozens of aging bodies in the past three hundred years. Always, there was one more task to complete, one more life to save, one more apprentice to guide forward. Now this body is giving out and I still have work to do.”
    “Jaylor’s daughter! You plan to take the baby’s body the moment she gives it up.” Inspiration dawned in Marcus at the moment Lyman’s knees gave up the fight to walk all the way to the clearing.
    “The little girl has not the determination to fight for her life. If she would hang on only a while longer, her body would heal. But she will not. So I must.”
    “Climb onto my back, Master. I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”
    Marcus draped the old man’s arms over his shoulders and hoisted his legs near his hips. Old Lyman weighed next to nothing.
    “Be sure to tell the tale to Jack word for word, except for the last. No one else must know where I send my spirit next.”
    “I’ll tell Jack to look for you in the most unlikely place, right under his nose.”
    “He’ll think I’ve given Amaranth a little sense and grace.” The old man wheezed heavily in something approximating a chuckle.
    “Only a little way to go, Master.” Marcus could see the eldritch shimmer of the protective barrier that surrounded the clearing. They’d not get through it without Jaylor’s or Brevelan’s permission. And they were undoubtedly distracted at the moment.
    “Close enough. The spirit knows no boundaries imposed upon frail bodies. Remember Powwell’s journal.” Lyman grew limp, slipped down, and breathed his last in Marcus’ arms.

Chapter 40
     
    J ack awoke in a cold sweat. His heart beat in his chest. He lay on cold stone, without so much as a few rushes to ease his sleep. He dreamed of the time Rejiia had sent a magical probe through his eye in that noisome dungeon cell. Memory relived the shafts of pain. Only by massive willpower had he kept the probe from stripping his mind and leaving him a brainless hulk. But he had babbled endlessly about the transport spell. Thanks to him, Coronnan’s greatest enemy could now travel anywhere she chose without restraint.
    The ancient stone walls of his cell too closely resembled the prison beneath King Simeon’s palace. Disoriented, he lay on his pallet for many long moments, desperately afraid he had not broken free of that dank and miserable death-trap.
    Then sanity returned. He knew he rested in the old monastery near a small mountain pass between Coronnan and SeLenicca. He knew that Katrina rested just the other side of this wall in her own cell. They had survived Rejiia’s tortures once. He’d not let the witch capture him again.
    He sent out a probe automatically, seeking Rejiia’s location. Surprisingly, she remained in the tower prison he and Robb had made for her yesterday. Why hadn’t she used the transport spell to free herself from this prison?
    Because one of Ackerly’s coins remained on her person and the curse on the gold kept her here. She hadn’t been able to remove her magical restraints either.
    Why?
    Because the gloaming—that frightful place that traversed two realities while retaining part of the void that lay between them—limited the amount of magic that could leave a magician. Jack, Robb, and Marcus had not fully entered the haze at the time of the spell since they had none of the cursed gold on them, so their magic might be stronger than Rejiia’s. She was still in her ghostly form.
    He hoped. He feared she might use hidden talents to overcome any of the obstacles in her way. She’d done it before, popping up in odd places without warning at moments when she could inflict the most damage.
    Resolutely, Jack threw off the bedroll and placed his feet on the stone floor. The midnight chill banished the last fog of his nightmare.
    While he slept, the approaching army had days to travel closer. If he hadn’t sent Amaranth back to Shayla, he could send the flywacket in search of them.
    “Best check on Rejiia. Make sure those magical chains still hold her.” Though the chains that held Rejiia had been woven by three separate magicians, none of them would be as strong as he liked.
    He ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair and heaved himself upright. This old building never seemed to warm up. He threw on his clothes and boots, pulling on extra thick stockings to ward against the chill, and made his way into the colonnade. A faint glow of green firelight

Weitere Kostenlose Bücher