enough nor in a position to cause his arm to cast such a dark shadow over the book. The light would have
to be behind him, near the door.
The Orange
paladin turned and gasped as a dark, cloaked figure suddenly became visible. A
sort of dark, gray light seemed to emanate from within the heavy robes, which
shifted and rustled as though something stirred on the stranger’s back.
“Who are you?’
Alister cried. “What are you doing h….”
The words died
in his throat as the cloaked figure moved with inhuman speed, and suddenly
Alister felt intense pain in his chest. He glanced down and saw a glowing sword
of ethereal crystal slide out of his chest. Blood streamed from the wound in
pulsing gushes – although none of it stained the blade of the unearthly sword –
and the Orange paladin barely had the presence of mind to clap his hands over
the injury to apply pressure.
Alister stared
up at the silent figure. The robes shifted, allowing him to see some of the
body within, and his face blossomed into an expression of terror and horror.
“I know you,”
Alister gasped. “But how? Why?”
“Because it is
necessary,” came the ominous response. Then the crystal sword rose again, and
Alister had a the barest instant of pain before darkness swallowed him.
- 3 -
Despite Garnet’s
insistence on deploying immediately, it was nearly two hours before Shadow
Company moved out. Many of the denarae had been on temporary leave, moving
through the city on their own duty to avoid trouble and stay sober. These were
summoned back by the denarae with the broadest kything range. Even though
Shadow Company was about to move into the city and could very well have met up
with the stragglers, Garnet refused to get into the practice of sending out his
men in any state other than total readiness.
Flasch wondered
about the feasibility of planting denarae supporters at strategic intervals
around the city, enabling news and messages to be passed across the city at the
speed of thought. Before he could approach Garnet with the idea, however, the
last of the denarae reported in and they were all ordered to disperse to their
assigned tasks.
Danner came
downstairs rubbing sleep from his eyes. All of Danner’s soldiers were already
present and accounted for, so he’d gone upstairs to catch a quick nap until
everyone else was ready to go. From the looks of things, it hadn’t been very
restful or refreshing.
“You look like
Hell, Danner,” Brican said.
“So do you, but
at least I’ll look better when I get some sleep,” Danner retorted irritably. “ If I ever get any decent sleep. I swear, I get up feeling more worn out than when
I lay down in the first place.”
Garnet frowned.
“Do you need to
stay behind and rest, Danner?” he asked. “I’ll understand if you say yes.”
Danner shook his
head, scowling. “I’ll be fine. Just have someone pour me a cup of hot cahve,
will you?”
“Already done,
love,” Alicia said, crossing the room with a steaming mug in her hand. Danner
smiled gratefully and kissed her gently before accepting the drink and taking a
deep gulp. Alicia squeezed his free hand, then disappeared back into the
kitchen.
Flasch smiled at
the two. Even though they’d really only known each other for a half-year or so,they already acted like a couple who’d been married
for years. Flasch wondered when and if he’d reach that same stage with the
passionate Deeta, who’d been his companion for almost as long.
Deeta was a
thrill and a wonder to be with, especially in a physical sense, but there were
times when Flasch wondered if something was missing between them. Neither of
them had said the “love” word to each other yet, and he wasn’t sure if either
of them felt it. Why didn’t they have that same sort of companionability that
Danner and Alicia seemed to share? Marc and Janice had the same sort of
closeness, but they’d been together unofficially for years.
Flasch chased
his own thoughts for a few
to be behind him, near the door.
The Orange
paladin turned and gasped as a dark, cloaked figure suddenly became visible. A
sort of dark, gray light seemed to emanate from within the heavy robes, which
shifted and rustled as though something stirred on the stranger’s back.
“Who are you?’
Alister cried. “What are you doing h….”
The words died
in his throat as the cloaked figure moved with inhuman speed, and suddenly
Alister felt intense pain in his chest. He glanced down and saw a glowing sword
of ethereal crystal slide out of his chest. Blood streamed from the wound in
pulsing gushes – although none of it stained the blade of the unearthly sword –
and the Orange paladin barely had the presence of mind to clap his hands over
the injury to apply pressure.
Alister stared
up at the silent figure. The robes shifted, allowing him to see some of the
body within, and his face blossomed into an expression of terror and horror.
“I know you,”
Alister gasped. “But how? Why?”
“Because it is
necessary,” came the ominous response. Then the crystal sword rose again, and
Alister had a the barest instant of pain before darkness swallowed him.
- 3 -
Despite Garnet’s
insistence on deploying immediately, it was nearly two hours before Shadow
Company moved out. Many of the denarae had been on temporary leave, moving
through the city on their own duty to avoid trouble and stay sober. These were
summoned back by the denarae with the broadest kything range. Even though
Shadow Company was about to move into the city and could very well have met up
with the stragglers, Garnet refused to get into the practice of sending out his
men in any state other than total readiness.
Flasch wondered
about the feasibility of planting denarae supporters at strategic intervals
around the city, enabling news and messages to be passed across the city at the
speed of thought. Before he could approach Garnet with the idea, however, the
last of the denarae reported in and they were all ordered to disperse to their
assigned tasks.
Danner came
downstairs rubbing sleep from his eyes. All of Danner’s soldiers were already
present and accounted for, so he’d gone upstairs to catch a quick nap until
everyone else was ready to go. From the looks of things, it hadn’t been very
restful or refreshing.
“You look like
Hell, Danner,” Brican said.
“So do you, but
at least I’ll look better when I get some sleep,” Danner retorted irritably. “ If I ever get any decent sleep. I swear, I get up feeling more worn out than when
I lay down in the first place.”
Garnet frowned.
“Do you need to
stay behind and rest, Danner?” he asked. “I’ll understand if you say yes.”
Danner shook his
head, scowling. “I’ll be fine. Just have someone pour me a cup of hot cahve,
will you?”
“Already done,
love,” Alicia said, crossing the room with a steaming mug in her hand. Danner
smiled gratefully and kissed her gently before accepting the drink and taking a
deep gulp. Alicia squeezed his free hand, then disappeared back into the
kitchen.
Flasch smiled at
the two. Even though they’d really only known each other for a half-year or so,they already acted like a couple who’d been married
for years. Flasch wondered when and if he’d reach that same stage with the
passionate Deeta, who’d been his companion for almost as long.
Deeta was a
thrill and a wonder to be with, especially in a physical sense, but there were
times when Flasch wondered if something was missing between them. Neither of
them had said the “love” word to each other yet, and he wasn’t sure if either
of them felt it. Why didn’t they have that same sort of companionability that
Danner and Alicia seemed to share? Marc and Janice had the same sort of
closeness, but they’d been together unofficially for years.
Flasch chased
his own thoughts for a few
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