Read Online The Korellian Odyssey: Requiem by Vance Bachelder - Free Book Online

before me."
    Korel came forward to stand before the throne of Toresten. Turning to Soren, the king spoke, "Here is a man with what I perceive to be a small bud of that curse of the Necor growing within him. Do you not see it? Denounce him here and now before my face and prove your worth to this court."
    Korel shuddered in utter disbelief. He had never been accused of harboring the Necor, much less of having their curse. Surely this was a lie, a political ploy, but for what? Should he be convicted, he knew he would almost certainly be summarily executed, here and now before all.
    Soren shifted his weight and licked his bone-dry lips. He appeared physically ill and his face was ashen. He began tentatively, "Surely you do not mean to suggest this young man has discredited this throne or in some way impugned his service before your will. He has never—"
    "Perhaps he is serviceable or perhaps he is not. The point is that I desire him denounced. Therefore . . . denounce him now," Toresten said mildly.
    Soren began again, "Surely your word is the pinnacle of wisdom in these matters, but in keeping my own counsel—"
    Then, as Soren spoke, the king seemed to melt, his face sliding down his skull and dripping from his chin, his scalp splitting in two to reveal a blackened, charred head with crude, rudimentary eyes glowing with lava that trickled down from deep inset sockets. His whole body became suddenly fluid, only to swell in an instant, exploding in all directions, giving way to a huge torso with massive limbs, all of blackened rock and tar, steam rising slowly from every aspect, small rivulets of lava flowing from his sides, a thing strong and horribly powerful.
    Soren sat dumbfounded, speechless at last before the thing that had appeared before him. He watched without moving, rooted to the spot, as a huge maw dropped open from the charcoal face. And almost as the tongue of a chameleon, the whole head of the beast sprang forward with lightning speed,, the neck extending, the maw expanding to an impossible breadth. In one fluid motion, Soren was swept up and consumed as a few brief but horrible sounds of crunching bone and burning flesh filled the court.
    In moments the beast melted into a man-sized lump of liquid tar that cooled in seconds to reveal the good King Toresten, seemingly no worse for wear. Except for the fading aroma of burning flesh and the conspicuous absence of Lord Soren, nothing within the court seemed out of the ordinary.
    The numbness that had taken hold of Korel's brain slowly gave way to a cold fury. This was a fury fueled not so much by the brutality of the act he had just witnessed but by the twinkle of suppressed mirth he saw gleaming in the king's eye. What of this could he tell Arinnea?
    "My good Korel," intoned the king, "I do hope you realize I was having a bit of sport with you and my good friend the late Lord Soren. Perhaps one day you and I may have the chance to play again, and perhaps you may entertain better than our former council did. Please give my regards to his daughter Arinnea. You are dismissed, Korel."
    Korel moved through the corridors aimlessly, pondering the implications of what had happened. "Why does Toresten play with me so? Where has he cause to denounce me? Lord Soren seemingly spoke but what he knew of truth, and why should such honesty be repaid as his was? Were there other implications meant in . . ." And so his stricken mind wandered. But as the moments passed, his pace quickened, and he found himself before the quarters of Lord Soren and his daughter. Many quarters were lent to courtesans during seasons of war or negotiation, but since Toresten's ascent, this practice now seemed more a royal whim than practical necessity.
    Korel softly knocked, and when the chamber lady came to the door she blushed politely, fully aware of the proprieties of mingling the common and noble born, especially with regard to subtleties of gender. She murmured, "Milady is alone and the Lord is not