Read Online Magestorm: The Embracing by Chris Fornwalt - Free Book Online Page A

for numbing herself.
    Suddenly the sensation of their connection left completely and she gasped as she nearly slipped in the shower.  Eyes wide, she scrambled to turn off the water and step out.  She trembled as she wondered what would cause this.  Even over a great distance, the connection was supposed to be unbreakable.  Looking at herself in the mirror, she realized she was trembling.
    “Get a hold of yourself.”
    She couldn’t obey her own command and full scale panic began to set in.  There was only one way to lose the connection completely, other than her removing it.  Could he be…?
    “Don’t say it.”
    With a yank, she pulled a towel off the rack and dried quickly.  Her hair was still dripping as she marched into the bedroom and threw on clothes and shoes.  Then she was out the door and down the stairs, into the street and headed for the Grand Hotel.  That was as good a place to start her search as any.  And God help him when she found him.

 
     
     
     
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    The car pulled off the main highway and down a dirt road through the trees that filled this area.  After driving down the overgrown path until they were hidden deep within, the driver stopped the car and got out.  Two female passengers followed suit and exited the car.  Once all three were at the back, they opened the trunk to reveal Dhane.
    He was sure he died during the trip.  After drifting into nothingness, seeing a light and remembering all the important moments of his life, he saw a face.  It jolted him and brought him back from the brink.  Even so, he was sure it was a face he would never see again.  Sheer will could only carry him so far.
    As hands grabbed his various body parts, he tried to open his eyes but failed.  They pulled him from the car and dragged him some ways into the woods.  Finally they dropped him on the hard ground, at the spot they had determined would be his final resting place.  He struggled again to see and was able to open his eyes.
    “Looks like he’s not quite done yet,” the driver said.
    “Let’s have a final snack.”
    The two women crouched down and bit into Dhane, one on the neck, one on his wrist.  The driver just watched with a grin on his face.  Haze began to set in, and the mage knew this was about to be it for him.  Eyes closed, his lips began to move, mumbling words that even he didn’t know what they meant.
    Suddenly a flash of light shot out in all directions from his body and the two vampires feeding on him fell away and started spitting out his blood.
    “Oh God, this tastes like shit.”
    “I think he poisoned us with his final breath.”
    The driver laughed and leaned down over Dhane as the light was fading.  Once the light was gone and there was no movement or signs of breathing, the vampire was satisfied and stood again.
    “He’s done, let’s get going.”
    The three of them walked back to the car and maneuvered their way out of the woods.  A few moments later they were gone, and the only sound remaining were the typical sounds of animals and cracking tree branches.
    For a while, Dhane laid there listening to the sounds.  An owl asked its question nearby, and a deer scurried through a short time later.  Other scurrying sounds came and went.  The cool night air began to make him shiver.  Or was he going into shock?  At this point, it didn’t much matter.  The darkness was coming to claim him.
    He was now gone, no longer a part of this world, it seemed.  The sounds were gone, the cold night air was gone, and he was just waiting for the light to return.  He didn’t hear the footsteps breaking branches, or the voice that called out.  He didn’t feel the hands reach down and pick him up.
    “What the hell happened to you, son?”
    The older man was dressed in overalls and a flannel shirt, and he had a rifle slung over his shoulder.  He was strong for his age, which was at least fifty.  Carefully the man walked through the woods, heading to his home