Even Gods Must Fall by Christian Warren Freed Page A

cocked his head. Truthfully he’d anticipated her question. Long nights had been spent watching her. Studying her thoughts and the absence of dreams. She proved the perfect specimen for his experiments. Maleela was broken, a tortured soul beyond salvation. Or so he hoped. She harbored great reserves of strength her father and uncle couldn’t compete with. Turning her was no easy feat, but one he’d accomplished with relative quickness. The princess of Delranan had given herself to his cause freely.
    “Tomorrow,” he said.
    Maleela raised her head, staring intently into the swirling shadows of his cloak. “What does tomorrow have to do with anything?”
    “Careful, princess. You might not enjoy what you find by peering too closely at me. Many who have went blind from hysteria,” he cautioned.
    “I’m not afraid. The darkness comforts me,” she said.
    “Perhaps it does, but that doesn’t prepare you for the nightmares I carry.” He paused before returning to his earlier thought. Maleela wasn’t a fool. The slightest chance she intended on playing him for one existed. He couldn’t be foolish enough to trust her, not until her loyalty was proven. “Tomorrow is the promise of the future. A future where you are the last of your bloodline. A future where there will be no torment or mistreatment by lesser beings. If you continue to serve me I will make you a goddess.”
    “A goddess? Somehow I doubt the dark gods will approve of my elevation in status,” she snorted.
    Amar bowed curtly. “I am assured certain….privileges upon the completion of my task. The pantheon will be half empty, after all. The end of this struggle can only be decided with the eradication of the gods of light. Would you willingly ignore the promises tomorrow offers?”
    Maleela reeled, shocked at his admission. She’d never expected to be more than the forgotten princess. Her life was one continuous string of disappointments. For the Dae’shan to openly admit to entertaining the thought of letting her rise above all of her tormentors and peers and stand beside the very beings responsible for so much hardship and strife was astounding. She’d never been taken into confidence before, not even with Aurec as they planned their long, unending life together.
    Those dreams seemed so foolish now. Heir to the throne, she intended on taking her army across the face of the world. No mortal obstacle could withstand the might of the Goblin force behind her. All she required was for Thrask to remain moderately loyal in order for her to achieve her goals. His worth expired once that was finished.
    A sudden thought dawned, sparked by his demure comments. Maleela raised her eyes to peer harder at the Dae’shan. This mystical figure that shouldn’t, by any means, exist, was apprehensive around her. Why? What untold powers welled within her that frightened a creature capable of toppling kingdoms to the point he made her a nervous ally? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Some truths were best left undiscovered.
    “You want to become a god,” she whispered. “That’s what this is all about. You’re tired of your station in life and want something more. How has no one seen this before? Close you keep your secrets, demon.”
    “Perceptive, but it will not avail you,” he seethed. “Yes, I wish to ascend. This world is trite, far beneath my talents. What better reward for millennia of servitude than to accept me into their ranks? Haven’t I earned it? Countless souls have died by my manipulations, all in the name of what we are about to attempt. Malweir deserves new leadership. The kingdoms of Men and Elves must fall. It is the natural order of things.”
    Maleela turned her back on him. “I was a fool. To think you had my best interests in mind when you all but enslaved me.”
    “I serve but one master, the dark gods. I am the extension of their will. Should they deem my efforts here on Malweir worthy I will gladly accept their approval,” he