Read Online Dagger - The Light at the End of the World by Walt Popester - Free Book Online
Authors: Walt Popester
Ads: Link
cry.
He hurt himself punching the wall. He smashed everything he found
in his hands but, in the end, what was left of his anger was just a
huge void and a long series of decisions to be made. Sitting on the
ground, as a homeless man in the room of a king, he used his wine
reserve to drown his fears and force the voices inside to quiet.
Only at sunset he found the courage to look out from the balcony of
the tower, the tallest of the Fortress. It was located at its exact
center, towering above all. The bottle in his hand, now empty,
slipped between his fingers and flied down, far away, before
crashing against the council hall. He grabbed a fragment of glass
and turned it several times in his fingers, his eyes seeking refuge
in the Far East, that desert full of threats from which he had just
returned. Crushed on the horizon, he could still see the dark
outline of the ruins of Melekesh. He had fought against everything
to arrive in time for the appointment with Aniah, but now that he
had made it, now that the impossible was accomplished, he
understood the fight was just started and they were already
losing.
In that complete silence, he heard a cough,
and shuddered. From behind him came a deep voice,“Pardon me, my
Pendracon. I did not mean to frighten you.”
He turned around. Dracon Marduk was on the
threshold of the room, knelt to the ground and wrapped in his
amaranth cloak. In the dim light of the fireplace, glistened the
twelve daggers from which he never separated, the two-handed sword
on his back, and the knife on the calf.
“ How’s that bitch sister of
yours?” the Pendracon asked, before spitting a laugh.
“ Aniah is shocked. Thank
you.”
“ Forgive me, Marduk, I’m…
completely drunk.”
“ My lord—”
“ I couldn’t defend her!”
Hammoth almost screamed. Then he added in a whisper, “The fault is
ours. Mine!”
A current of cold air came into the room
and made the flames dance in the fireplace, waving the shadows
reflected on the walls. The Dracon joined him on the monumental
balcony, avoiding the pieces of destroyed furniture, asking no
question, making no statement, as was his style. He looked at the
horizon with him, knowing that somewhere in that huge and dark
nothing, the enemy was already reorganizing to strike.
“ His soul got back in the
sword as the blade of a knife slips in hot butter,” the Pendracon
asserted. “It’s impossible, Marduk. The sacred scriptures speak of
a booming energy, a gap opening in the fabric of the universe that
sucks everything, even time! I expected to die after trapping him
again, I was ready for it! But no, Kam Karkenos jumped in his
prison just like… like…”
He squeezed the crystal in his hand, until
a few drops of blood fell into the void. He did not finish the
sentence.
“ The bind between body and
soul was probably weak,” Marduk opined. “A mortal can’t host
a force that has lived through all
eternity , even if we are talking about the
body of the greatest man that ever walked upon this soiled earth.
That soul corrodes, my King. Crowley did not deserve such an
end.”
Hammoth squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re not
allowed to feel sorry for him,” he growled. “Pity is a form of
contempt!”
“ Excuse me, my lord. Anyway,
now we know what was the reason for Skyrgal’s short and miserable
reincarnation. Giving birth to a son in whom may flow his curse
blood.”
“ A son. Can he really have a
son?”
“ It looks like one of us,
just a human being,” Marduk went on. “It seems so fragile, and
helpless. I hate to think what rite Aniah suffered to generate it.
She does not want to talk about it. She hides those memories behind
her tears, but the marks on her body are obvious, even within , burns and cuts. I
asked Dracon Araya to examine her thoroughly; I would not accept
anyone else to touch her.
The Poison Dracon kept silent all the time,
trying not to say anything and look relaxed. But the look in his
eyes spoke for itself. He was in
He hurt himself punching the wall. He smashed everything he found
in his hands but, in the end, what was left of his anger was just a
huge void and a long series of decisions to be made. Sitting on the
ground, as a homeless man in the room of a king, he used his wine
reserve to drown his fears and force the voices inside to quiet.
Only at sunset he found the courage to look out from the balcony of
the tower, the tallest of the Fortress. It was located at its exact
center, towering above all. The bottle in his hand, now empty,
slipped between his fingers and flied down, far away, before
crashing against the council hall. He grabbed a fragment of glass
and turned it several times in his fingers, his eyes seeking refuge
in the Far East, that desert full of threats from which he had just
returned. Crushed on the horizon, he could still see the dark
outline of the ruins of Melekesh. He had fought against everything
to arrive in time for the appointment with Aniah, but now that he
had made it, now that the impossible was accomplished, he
understood the fight was just started and they were already
losing.
In that complete silence, he heard a cough,
and shuddered. From behind him came a deep voice,“Pardon me, my
Pendracon. I did not mean to frighten you.”
He turned around. Dracon Marduk was on the
threshold of the room, knelt to the ground and wrapped in his
amaranth cloak. In the dim light of the fireplace, glistened the
twelve daggers from which he never separated, the two-handed sword
on his back, and the knife on the calf.
“ How’s that bitch sister of
yours?” the Pendracon asked, before spitting a laugh.
“ Aniah is shocked. Thank
you.”
“ Forgive me, Marduk, I’m…
completely drunk.”
“ My lord—”
“ I couldn’t defend her!”
Hammoth almost screamed. Then he added in a whisper, “The fault is
ours. Mine!”
A current of cold air came into the room
and made the flames dance in the fireplace, waving the shadows
reflected on the walls. The Dracon joined him on the monumental
balcony, avoiding the pieces of destroyed furniture, asking no
question, making no statement, as was his style. He looked at the
horizon with him, knowing that somewhere in that huge and dark
nothing, the enemy was already reorganizing to strike.
“ His soul got back in the
sword as the blade of a knife slips in hot butter,” the Pendracon
asserted. “It’s impossible, Marduk. The sacred scriptures speak of
a booming energy, a gap opening in the fabric of the universe that
sucks everything, even time! I expected to die after trapping him
again, I was ready for it! But no, Kam Karkenos jumped in his
prison just like… like…”
He squeezed the crystal in his hand, until
a few drops of blood fell into the void. He did not finish the
sentence.
“ The bind between body and
soul was probably weak,” Marduk opined. “A mortal can’t host
a force that has lived through all
eternity , even if we are talking about the
body of the greatest man that ever walked upon this soiled earth.
That soul corrodes, my King. Crowley did not deserve such an
end.”
Hammoth squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re not
allowed to feel sorry for him,” he growled. “Pity is a form of
contempt!”
“ Excuse me, my lord. Anyway,
now we know what was the reason for Skyrgal’s short and miserable
reincarnation. Giving birth to a son in whom may flow his curse
blood.”
“ A son. Can he really have a
son?”
“ It looks like one of us,
just a human being,” Marduk went on. “It seems so fragile, and
helpless. I hate to think what rite Aniah suffered to generate it.
She does not want to talk about it. She hides those memories behind
her tears, but the marks on her body are obvious, even within , burns and cuts. I
asked Dracon Araya to examine her thoroughly; I would not accept
anyone else to touch her.
The Poison Dracon kept silent all the time,
trying not to say anything and look relaxed. But the look in his
eyes spoke for itself. He was in
Similar Books
