Read Online The Rift War by Michelle L. Levigne - Free Book Online
Authors: Michelle L. Levigne
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ceiling."
"Grandfather?" She turned to him, eyes widening. Grego thought her skin could not go
any more pale, yet it did. "What is out there? This tunnel was empty when we came through
before. It has always been safe."
"Yes, but Edrout was able to attack you, straining the magic shields that separate this
world from Lygroes. It is only to be expected that he would set some sort of ambush, to go where
he could not."
"What kind of ambush?" Grego wished he had some weapon beyond his sword, knives,
and quiver full of arrows. He had practiced the defensive globe with Emrillian dozens of times,
but they had always used it to ward off fire Mrillis threw at them, or arrows and knives flung by
Liris. He wasn't quite sure how his diluted magical heritage would stand up against monsters sent
by a murdering enchanter.
"Nothing we cannot handle," Mrillis said. He reached across the gap between their
horses and clasped Emrillian's hand resting on the front of her saddle, where a hunting falcon or
hawk would sit. "You are the daughter of the Warhawk, and the blood of the strongest
enchanters of the Rey'kil flows in your veins," he went on in a commanding voice.
Grego thought if Mrillis talked to him that way, he would believe anything.
Chapter Four
"It's always been a game until now." Emrillian's voice cracked.
"Never a game. Practice." Mrillis' voice dropped to a whisper. "This is your destiny. I
taught both of you to envision what you wished to do. Now use your will to make it reality."
"It's much easier when we're just talking theory and philosophy," she grumbled. She
turned in her saddle to face forward. For a long moment she sat still, eyes closed, hands gripping
the reins. Grego saw muscles and tendons flexing through her gloves.
He watched, stretching his physical senses for the first glimpse of magic at work. He
knew better than to turn sideways in his perceptions, to watch through the Threads. He didn't
want to interfere or take power she needed or distract her. His duty was to feed his power to her
and add the force of his will to reinforce what she did.
Emrillian sat perfectly still in her saddle. Then he caught an infinitesimal movement of
her forehead, a twitch of her lips as she frowned. Her eyes narrowed in concentration.
A blue spark appeared in the air over her horse's head. The animal twitched his ears,
flicking the tip of one through the light. It grew larger, brighter. Emrillian's frown changed to a
thin-lipped smile. She never blinked, eyes focused on the light to the exclusion of all else. She
nodded, and Grego imagined a cord the thickness of his index finger flung out through the chilly
tunnel air from his chest to hers. He caught his breath when a flash of warmth and a sensation of
breeze flowing through his chest indicated success. The light globe grew brighter, the blue more
intense, and it moved, floating in a straight, steady line, ahead into the tunnel. The blue deepened
to a vivid purple as it expanded, then shifted to a bloody, glaring red. It halted with top and
bottom curves touching the ceiling and floor.
A hoarse snarl erupted from a dark cave mouth revealed by the light. A flash of tooth
and claw and dull, black, craggy hide showed for a second. A serpentine shape tumbled into the
ball of light. It thrashed and spun and snarled more, furious. A second sinuous shape leaped out
of the cave to follow the first.
This time Grego identified it. Six-legged, triple rows of teeth, sulfurous red eyes, a spiny
crest of plates--the drakag was a creature of legend. Fossils verified they had existed outside the
storybooks, but no man alive had seen one in the flesh.
Grego wondered for the first time why anyone would choose such an ugly, deadly
monster as their crest and coat of arms. He watched the second beast tumble inside the ball of
light with the first, and nearly laughed when he realized he was too fascinated and repulsed to be
afraid. He completely trusted in Emrillian's control over the magic
"Grandfather?" She turned to him, eyes widening. Grego thought her skin could not go
any more pale, yet it did. "What is out there? This tunnel was empty when we came through
before. It has always been safe."
"Yes, but Edrout was able to attack you, straining the magic shields that separate this
world from Lygroes. It is only to be expected that he would set some sort of ambush, to go where
he could not."
"What kind of ambush?" Grego wished he had some weapon beyond his sword, knives,
and quiver full of arrows. He had practiced the defensive globe with Emrillian dozens of times,
but they had always used it to ward off fire Mrillis threw at them, or arrows and knives flung by
Liris. He wasn't quite sure how his diluted magical heritage would stand up against monsters sent
by a murdering enchanter.
"Nothing we cannot handle," Mrillis said. He reached across the gap between their
horses and clasped Emrillian's hand resting on the front of her saddle, where a hunting falcon or
hawk would sit. "You are the daughter of the Warhawk, and the blood of the strongest
enchanters of the Rey'kil flows in your veins," he went on in a commanding voice.
Grego thought if Mrillis talked to him that way, he would believe anything.
Chapter Four
"It's always been a game until now." Emrillian's voice cracked.
"Never a game. Practice." Mrillis' voice dropped to a whisper. "This is your destiny. I
taught both of you to envision what you wished to do. Now use your will to make it reality."
"It's much easier when we're just talking theory and philosophy," she grumbled. She
turned in her saddle to face forward. For a long moment she sat still, eyes closed, hands gripping
the reins. Grego saw muscles and tendons flexing through her gloves.
He watched, stretching his physical senses for the first glimpse of magic at work. He
knew better than to turn sideways in his perceptions, to watch through the Threads. He didn't
want to interfere or take power she needed or distract her. His duty was to feed his power to her
and add the force of his will to reinforce what she did.
Emrillian sat perfectly still in her saddle. Then he caught an infinitesimal movement of
her forehead, a twitch of her lips as she frowned. Her eyes narrowed in concentration.
A blue spark appeared in the air over her horse's head. The animal twitched his ears,
flicking the tip of one through the light. It grew larger, brighter. Emrillian's frown changed to a
thin-lipped smile. She never blinked, eyes focused on the light to the exclusion of all else. She
nodded, and Grego imagined a cord the thickness of his index finger flung out through the chilly
tunnel air from his chest to hers. He caught his breath when a flash of warmth and a sensation of
breeze flowing through his chest indicated success. The light globe grew brighter, the blue more
intense, and it moved, floating in a straight, steady line, ahead into the tunnel. The blue deepened
to a vivid purple as it expanded, then shifted to a bloody, glaring red. It halted with top and
bottom curves touching the ceiling and floor.
A hoarse snarl erupted from a dark cave mouth revealed by the light. A flash of tooth
and claw and dull, black, craggy hide showed for a second. A serpentine shape tumbled into the
ball of light. It thrashed and spun and snarled more, furious. A second sinuous shape leaped out
of the cave to follow the first.
This time Grego identified it. Six-legged, triple rows of teeth, sulfurous red eyes, a spiny
crest of plates--the drakag was a creature of legend. Fossils verified they had existed outside the
storybooks, but no man alive had seen one in the flesh.
Grego wondered for the first time why anyone would choose such an ugly, deadly
monster as their crest and coat of arms. He watched the second beast tumble inside the ball of
light with the first, and nearly laughed when he realized he was too fascinated and repulsed to be
afraid. He completely trusted in Emrillian's control over the magic
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