Read Online The Ventifact Colossus (The Heroes of Spira Book 1) by Dorian Hart - Free Book Online

remembered, which was all of them.
    No one spoke when she was finished; they were all looking at Tor. Defying all expectation, he smiled hugely.
    “That’s great! I’ll bet the guy in the armor will be up to no good, and our job will be to stop him, and I’ll push him off the edge and kill him before he does his evil deeds. Maybe he’s even the monster Abernathy has locked away!”
    Did Tor not understand? “But in my dream, you die too,”
    “Did you see me hit the ground?”
    “No, but—”
    “That must have been on purpose! I bet I land on something soft, or I grab onto a flagpole or something. Thanks, Morningstar! It sounds like Abernathy was exactly right. Adventure, glory, excitement, we’re going to have it all!”
    Morningstar sighed. “Tor, you should take this more seriously. Not just my dreams, but all of it. Didn’t you hear Abernathy? I think we won’t be going on picnics in the park.”
    “We?” asked Dranko. “So Abernathy convinced you to tag along? What about you staying inside all day?”
    The Goddess knew that she didn’t owe Dranko, of all people, any explanation, but now the others were looking at her. Aravia, Ernie, and Kibi had even come in from the dining room. She was suddenly too weary to deflect or dissemble.
    “The letter from my temple. It gives me permission to travel outside before dark.”
    “Uh, isn’t that good?” asked Dranko.
    “You don’t understand.”
    “True. So why don’t you explain it to us.”
    There was mockery in his voice, she was sure of it. She flailed about for her island, her rock of equanimity, a swimmer caught in an unexpected undertow. Was Dranko any worse than the cruelest of her sisters? No. He was just a revolting street thug trying to get a rise out of her.
    Anger was filling her. “One of the defining traditions of our church is that we do not allow the sun’s rays to touch us. It reminds us of how we are different and of the role we play in society. I am a Shield of Ell. My path was that of protector, against the dangers that come in the dark, against the creatures that prey on the sleeping. But now all of that is gone.”
    The tide surged. The rock was slipping from her fingers.
    “All of that is gone,” she repeated. “I was always one step away from being pushed out.” She grabbed the end of one white lock of hair and shook it at Dranko. “I was already an outsider! The Goddess gave me a sunlit name! Morningstar? She might as well have named me Pariah! And this!” She held up her arms, pale as moonlit snow. “I was born an outcast, and now Abernathy has made it stick. A sister who walks in the sun is no sister at all, and every single one of my peers is nodding to themselves right now and saying it was all for the best. Morningstar was never meant to be one of us. And now she’s not. I’m not. Now I’m one of you instead.”
    Dranko took a deep breath.
    Don’t speak to me, goblin.
    But he did. “Do you have so little faith in Ell that you don’t think She has a plan for you? You don’t think She gave you your hair and your skin and your name for a reason? Ell wouldn’t torture one of Her own children, even if she had a tendency to whine. Have a little faith.”
    She was swept out to sea on a swell of rage. She took two steps forward and slapped Dranko hard on the side of his face. He took a step back from the blow but turned again to face her. Goddess, but he grew uglier every time she looked at him. All those scars on his goblin face, his stringy hair, his wire-coarse stubble…his was a filthy countenance to match his filthy soul.
    She turned and stalked to her room.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     

     
    “THAT WAS NICE,” said Grey Wolf acidly. “You’re a real diplomat.”
    “And you’re an overbearing arse with a stupid name.” Dranko felt he could really use a drink. “I think I’ll go for a walk and enjoy some fresh air.”
    “Take your cigar,” said Grey Wolf. “That way we can enjoy some too.”
    Dranko