Read Online The First Stone by Mark Anthony - Free Book Online Page B

Morindai down to the last man, woman, and child.” Vani stood, pacing again. “But that would only be the beginning. With Orú’s blood at their command, they might enslave all of Moringarth—all of Eldh. They would dominate its people with all the hatred, all the cruelty, they have fostered in their hearts all these ages. Nothing could stand before them. That is what the Seven understood. That was why they destroyed their own city.”
    Travis cleared his throat. “The way you describe them, the Scirathi make the Pale King sound like a chap who just wanted to come out of his kingdom and play.”
    Vani raised an eyebrow. “Compared to what the Scirathi might become, he was.”
    “Wait just a minute,” Beltan said, a handful of popcorn halfway to his mouth. “Weren’t all of the Scirathi killed when the demon destroyed the Etherion in Tarras?”
    “All of the Scirathi in Falengarth, yes,” Vani said. “But far more yet dwell on Moringarth. If each of them was to drink of the blood of Orú, they would become an army such as you cannot imagine.”
    “She’s right,” Travis said, slipping from the sofa to the floor and sitting across the coffee table from Beltan. “Remember what happened to Xemeth after he drank from the scarab? He would have destroyed us if it hadn’t been for the demon. And he was only one man, and not even a sorcerer at that. The blood made him . . .”
    Travis gripped his right hand inside the left, and Beltan gave him a look of concern. Deirdre wondered what he had been about to say.
    “All right,” she said, trying to get all of this straight in her mind. “I understand that Orú’s blood is powerful, and that the Scirathi would do anything to get their hands on it. But Morindu has been lost for ages. Why is this so important now? And what does any of this have to do with me?”
    “I believe this will answer both of your questions,” Vani said, setting a tetrahedron of black stone on the coffee table. “Travis?”
    Travis hesitated, then reached out and touched the stone. Deirdre sucked in a breath as the image of a man appeared above the tetrahedron. She had never seen him before, but their kinship was clear in his striking, angular features, and she knew he was Vani’s brother. This was a message from Eldh.
    The message was brief, and it changed everything. By the time the image of Vani’s brother vanished, Deirdre’s heart was racing.
    “You bastard, Hadrian,” she murmured. “You fabulous bastard. You actually did it.”
    “Did what?” Beltan said, brow furrowing.
    She hugged a throw pillow to her chest. “He had a Class Zero Encounter. Translocation to another world. Something every Seeker has worked for, and something none of them has ever achieved.”
    Until now.
    “Maybe I should be a Seeker,” Beltan said brightly. “I’ve been to another world. This one.”
    Despite the buzzing in her head, Deirdre grinned at the blond man. “Don’t be such a show-off.”
    She reminded herself that she was having multiple Class One Encounters herself at this very moment—something rare enough in the history of the Seekers. Resting her chin on a hand, she gazed at the onyx tetrahedron. What did it all mean? How had Farr gotten to Eldh? And why was he the one who had told the Mournish that Morindu had been found?
    You always were a fast learner, Hadrian. They said you’re a
dervish, which I gather is some sort of sorcerer. I wish I could
talk to you now. I know I should do something, but I have no
idea what.
    The only thing she knew for certain was that this case wasn’t over. In fact, she had the feeling that—despite everything that had happened—it had only just begun.
    “So now what?” Deirdre said.
    “Now Travis must fulfill his fate,” Vani said as if everything had already been decided.
    Beltan’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
    “Travis must return to Eldh,” Vani said, standing. “He must journey into the Morgolthi and reach Morindu before