Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 by Brian Wilkerson Page A

displayed
the companies drawing bows and notching arrows. They fired on anyone that left
the cover of buildings. Dengel chuckled.
    “The siege lasted for
about a week,” Eric continued. “Dengel said they had enough food to last
longer, but, and I quote, ‘they were so afraid of my magical might that they
threw themselves at my mercy,’ which I assume means they couldn't stand the
snipers hovering over them.”
    The sphere
fast-forwarded to a formal surrender, including enslavement for the losers and
a feast for the winners. Dengel did not partake in the latter until he
performed flashy magician-style magic for his patron. Finally, the town was
garrisoned and Dengel moved on. The final scene was Dengel riding next to a big
man wearing the skeletons of monsters.
    The sphere faded.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
    The class whispered
among themselves. The teacher looked abashed and unsure of what to do. Eric
leaned back smugly. Dengel loved hearing the sound of his own voice; sometimes,
Eric couldn't fall asleep at night because of the dead mage’s monologue. Payback’s
a trickster, isn’t it, Dengel?
    All you’ve done is
impress my glory upon them.
    Eric grit his teeth and
pretended he didn’t hear that.
    “Mr. Watley,” the teacher
said, “historical records state that Dengel was a hardworking individual who
braved countless dangers to perfect the art we that we rely on today.”
    The teacher picked up a
book and paged through it. When he found what he was looking for, he showed it
to Eric. It was a picture of Dengel in a study. All around him were stacks of
books and in front of him was ink, quill, and paper. His face was dignified,
his hair brilliant, and his robes magnificent.
    It made Eric’s stomach
turn and a shadow of Dengel appeared next to him. This Dengel’s golden hair was
dull, the hook of his nose was exaggerated, and the rest of his face
pockmarked. His elegant rune-covered robewas replaced by a black
funeral shroud. He leaned over Eric's shoulders and whispered in his ear, Listen
to your elder, boy. You know the truth of his words better than anyone.
    “I had that guy in
my head for a whole month! I know him better than any historian.”
    The teacher opened his mouth
when Annala