Read Online An Abyss of Light (The Light Trilogy) by Kathleen M. O'Neal - Free Book Online

thin lips were pursed tightly with disdain as she met his eyes.
    “No, let’s talk for a while, shall we?”
    “I really must be going.” The silken fabric of her periwinkle robe shimmered in the golden flickers of the fire as she moved to collect his dinner dishes. Glass clinked against metal as the silence stretched. A tall woman, she had a lithe body and full breasts. Thick raven curls fluffed to her shoulders. But her eyes fascinated him most, drawing him to her like a wolf to a wounded rabbit. Black as night, those eyes glimmered with hatred for him and fear. Though she seemed defiant just now, standing rigidly next to his bed beneath the high vault of the ceiling. He smiled, finding it both enticing and amusing.
    “You said you thought the rebels would fight back. I’m curious to know why?”
    “I didn’t say that, Councilman,” she defended, eyes evading his.
    “Isn’t that what you meant by ‘they have a right to protect themselves’?”
    “No.”
    “Well, what did you mean?” he pressed, knowing she despised talking to him, enjoying it all the more because of that fact. Leaning a broad shoulder against the corner of the hearth, he sipped his sherry.
    “I—I simply meant it’s the nature of humanity to mass together when threatened.”
    “Ah, you think they’re massing to attack us. Well, I wouldn’t doubt it. They’re remarkably suicidal. I just hope they—”
    “Suicidal?” she asked disbelievingly, beautiful face tensing. She braced a half-full wine glass on the tray. “They’re desperate. You’ve hit them so hard this time, their minds can’t accept the truth. And those who understand are terrified of what might come next.”
    “I certainly hope you’re right. Maybe they’ll knuckle under and accept their fates as citizens of Milcom’s regime.”
    “They’ll never accept it! All their lives, Epagael has been the center of their faith. You can’t expect them to abandon Him in three short years.”
    He laughed softly, gazing at the amber waves washing his glass as he swirled the sherry. “Not only do I expect it, I demand it.”
    “And what does the Mashiah demand?”
    Ornias blinked contemplatively, disturbed by her haughty tone. Not only that, discussing Adom gave him a stomachache. “He demands whatever I tell him to.”
    “Where is he?”
    Ornias glanced across the room at her, seeing her shoulders tighten, her beautiful face alight with hope. She looked like a proud black goddess against the background of gray stone wall.
    “Does it matter? He’s a weak man, Shassy. I assure you Adom could care less how I run the domestic affairs of Horeb. Did you think he might order the rebels saved?”
    “I just hadn’t seen him in a few days and I wondered where he was. That’s all.” She stared hard at the floor, hopes dashed.
    “Adom is indisposed and will be for another week, I suspect. Milcom called him suddenly.” He burst into laughter, throwing his head back and letting the mirth shake his shoulders. Adom—such a prize.
    “You make fun of his God?”
    “Fun? No. I take Milcom very seriously. Just like I do every other god that influences the behavior of people. The human mind is a remarkably malleable thing. Contour a perspective here, twist an arm there, and you can build an empire based on the right kind of god. History proves that and I’m an ardent student of history.”
    “You don’t believe in Milcom?”
    “I believe in Milcom’s power. And I deeply appreciate what it’s done for me.” He motioned to the magnificent bedchamber with its rich satins and velvets, then let his gaze linger on the way her robe clung to her flat belly and accented the swell of her breasts. Yes, she understood. He saw it in her suddenly downcast eyes. Shassy was as much a spoil of his ever-increasing power as were the things of his reign.
    “That’s blasphemous.”
    “Yes, it is.”
    “I hope God strikes you dead for it.”
    He took another long sip of his sherry, watching