Read Online Central by Raine Thomas - Free Book Online Page B

he had any inkling of what was going to happen, he would have killed Volarius before the event. But that was then.
    Nothing to do now but find a way to reenter the human plane.
    When news of the Corgloresti Saraqael’s pregnant human lover had reached the Mercesti, Grolkinei could simply not believe it. Never in all of history had an Estilorian ever successfully impregnated a human, though attempts had been made over the centuries. Then he found out there had been a scroll used by Saraqael, one involving incredibly powerful energy. It had been so powerful that Saraqael, a relatively young Estilorian, hadn’t been able to control it, killing himself in the process. Ironically, the scroll had not been intended to result in pregnancy. It had been meant to save the life of the human, who had been dying of a rare disease, and who died anyway following giving birth.
    As soon as he heard about it, Grolkinei had determined that he would take Saraqael’s child after it was born. He knew that, given enough time, he would be able to work with the child and figure out how, at long last, he could transfer to the human plane. Once he transferred, he could figure out how to bring over the rest of his army. Surely a child of half-human and half-Estilorian blood—Corgloresti blood, at that—would be able to transition between the planes. And when the news came that it would be three children rather than just one, he figured that simply increased his chances of success.
    He used subterfuge to disguise his true plans, generating rumors and discord that led the others to believe he wanted the children dead. He figured once he took them, the Estilorians would believe he had killed them, when in truth he would be using them for his own purposes. The elders had managed to keep the location of the births a secret until just before it took place. Then Grolkinei’s commander, Layla, intercepted the single thought that he needed to hunt them down. He set up a trap, leading everyone from the birth site except for a small contingent of Waresti fighters. They were no match for his best fighters, led by the fearsome Angius.
    Unfortunately, the elders were not so foolish as he had believed. The mother of the children was transitioned almost immediately back to the human plane after the children were born. Then three Corgloresti, one per child, had escaped before Angius and his team arrived at the birth site.
    Still, Grolkinei had been so certain he could catch them when Layla intercepted another thought leading him to the site where one of the Corgloresti would transition to the human plane. He couldn’t stop the first two Corgloresti from transitioning. But he saw the last of them and simply knew he would defeat him. The child would be his.
    And then suddenly, the child was gone. He had realized the Corgloresti had somehow managed to transition it to the human plane. It was certainly dangerous. That meant the child was somewhere on the human plane as a newborn baby without a Corgloresti guardian to attend it. But the Corgloresti obviously knew the alternative was even more unacceptable. Killing that Corgloresti had been hideously easy for Grolkinei, and sadly unsatisfying.
    Learning that Saraqael’s progeny were returning to the Estilorian plane after eighteen years had once again ignited a spark of excitement among the Mercesti. The plan to overtake the other elders, and thus, control of the Estilorian plane, had continued even with the children having been sent to the human plane. Grolkinei and his followers had been slowly and steadily adding to their ranks, fueling the blind rage, jealousy and hatred needed to encourage other Estilorians to cross the line that would convert them to Mercesti: kill or intend to kill a fellow Estilorian for a reason other than defense. Ever since Volarius’ death, this was the only way the Mercesti could increase their numbers.
    So be it.
    “Still no news on the daughters of Saraqael?” he asked at last.
    Cesaro