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Everything Begins Chapter 74
When they made camp, Frank paced back and forth impatiently as the meat cooked over the fire. Sophyra finally stepped in front of him."Come with me, Ga'briyel," she said, laying her hands on his chest."Why? I need to eat, Sophyra. My stomach is trying to digest itself right now."She smiled, took his hand, and led him around one boulder and then a second and a third until they could not hear the sounds of the camp anymore. "I know that, husband, but you are making everyone nervous with all your pacing. The meat will not cook any faster with you standing over it. Besides," she said, stepping closer, "I know of one way to help you warm up."With a grin, Frank picked her up, spun her toward the boulder, and pressed her up against it. "You do? And what might that be?"In answer, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He groaned at the heat coming off of her, and, although he knew it was not true heat that would help him recover, it still felt good.When they returned to ca
Everything Begins Chapter 75
They were close to the ruins by midday. Frank could feel the evil pouring into and over him, and he knew that he would be tested soon. He only hoped he was up to the challenge. He could feel the slimy sensation of Daitya, the itch and prickling of Azazil, and every other indication of evil he had felt up to that point plus some he had not encountered yet. He knew that the ruins were where Sayatan had gathered his minions, and he also knew he had to keep the others out. Somehow, he had to keep them out.When they stopped for midmeal, he stood silently, staring east as the others ate just as silently. Then he spoke quietly. "You will all stay here. I will enter the ruins alone.""Not a chance, Ga'briyel," Dinton said instantly. "We are coming with you.""No you are not, Captain. None of you will follow me.""Ga'briyel," Tero said, "we cannot let you go in there alone. You need us."The Anmah spun toward his friends. "No, I do not! If you go with me, you will die, Tero! Anyone who goes w
Everything Begins Chapter 76
"I will not. Do not worry about that. I just want to stop the evil that is going to be released at last light tomorrow, and I will do whatever is necessary to do so.""As will we, my friend," Telantes said softly, and then Frank stopped and closed his eyes briefly before heading east into the ruins. They passed hundreds of buildings, most of them more than four stories tall. Some looked to be twenty or thirty stories high, and Frank wondered who had built such things. All of them had glassless windows that looked like empty eye sockets and gaping doorways with no doors, and most had walls that had collapsed in several places. Frank did not even glance toward them as he walked. He just strode down the wide street, carefully stepping around fallen stones and bricks and skirting deep holes that appeared at random in front of him. His eyes were blazing brightly, and he held his sword ready.More than two hours passed, and then darkness fell rapidly. Part of the reason was that darkness al
Everything Begins Chapter 77
"Impossible!" the black Dirack said, and both creatures opened their mouths to try again, but Frank whipped his hand forward and threw one dagger into each of their mouths. He could only hope they hit their targets, and when the Diracks roared and fell to the ground, he knew they had."Thank you, Yisu," he said quietly."Use the sword, Ga'briyel," he heard Telantes say. "Use it while it still bears the fire."Gritting his teeth against the pain of his wounds, the Anmah jumped into the mass of bodies that had not seemed to diminish despite the hundreds of bodies lying in the square. He swung it precisely, making contact with a creature with every pass. When he did, that creature burst into flames with a nightmarish shriek. Little by little, the red coloring disappeared until the sword was back to it's white glow, but by then, charred bodies lay all around Ga'briyel, some small ones that could have been Luten or Idajo and some large enough to be Takosa. He had even managed to kill two m
Everything Begins Chapter 78
Sobbing met his ears as he looked around the cell. It was different than the one he had been in. This cell had a table and chair and bed instead of a stone table. It also had an occupant. A man was seated on the bed, his knees pulled to his chest, and it was he who was sobbing. His hair was white, but when Frank took a step into the cell and the man's head snapped up at the sound of the door closing, Frank barely kept himself from cursing. This man was Anmah. What was an Anmah doing here? When the man saw him, he scrambled backward until he hit the wall. "You are Anmah! Who are you?" he gasped. "My name is Frank Mistri. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" "I am Debhida. I am here to provide sport for the Takosa and Dirack. Why are you here?" "Sport? How do you do that?"The man had relaxed slightly, and he shrugged. "I am set free every night at last light for the hunt, and every night they try to kill me. I cannot die anymore, though. I can only suffer. They will do the sa
Everything Begins Chapter 79
"I am sorry, Ga'briyel," Debhida said, softly laying his hand on the other's arm. "I did not mean anything by it." Frank shrugged him off. "Just leave me alone." Instead, Debhida sat next to him. "Where would I go?" he asked quietly. "When we get back to Mirstone, you can go home," Frank answered. "I cannot. I have to fight, Debhida. For Yisu knows how long, I have to fight and die and hurt and kill." He laid down on the ground and sighed. "I need to sleep, Debhida. I have not had a full night's sleep in at least four days." "I will let you sleep then, Frank Mistri. Hopefully we are far enough away from that place that nothing will find us." "I truly hope so, Debhida."The next morning, Frank watched as the sun rose to his left over the mountains. He shifted his sword into position at his hip, glanced at Debhida, and turned west. He knew that Dinton and the others would have left their camp days before, but he hoped to catch them at Mirstone before they set off for home. He did n
Everything Begins Chapter 80
“Wise or not, it is what I have to do.” He glanced at the other. “It is bad enough when I die, but if Dinton or Tero or, Yisu forbid, Sophyra dies, I will go insane. If I have to continue with this fight, I will do it alone.” He caught his breath. “I do not know any other way, Debaduta.”“I understand, Captain, I do, but I still think you are being foolish.”“You are probably right, but I have no choice. I must do this.”The Debaduta walked beside him for a few paces and then said softly, “How will you survive, Sainika? I do not mean that you will die between here and there, but you will starve, and you will be thirsty, and if you try to walk through these mountains, you will freeze. You have no horse, no coin, and no supplies. How do you plan on making it to Neyagin with nothing?”Frank stopped and glared at the spirit. “How far is the volcano from here?”“As the raven flies? About three hundred leagues, but there are many obstacles in the way. These mountains for one, and the Anupa
Everything Begins Chapter 81
“Of course not! We will stop at Torkeln on our way, and she will stay with my parents.”“No, Ga’briyel!” Sophyra said wide-eyed. “I will not leave you!”“You must, my heart. You cannot travel where we are going when you are with child. It will be bad enough getting you back to Torkeln.” He kissed her. “Do not worry. I will be back with you as soon as possible. I promise.” Dropping one hand to her belly, he gently caressed it. “I will not risk your life or the life of our child.”“I can help you with your journey, Captain Mistri,” Manali said as she reached underneath her cloak. She pulled out a scroll and handed it to him. “This is a map that shows the way to Neyagin. The Dirack eggs must be destroyed within the next five moons, and it will take you three to reach the volcano. Perhaps four. You must leave soon if you are to keep this evil from being born.”“I know, Manali, but I also need to rest. At least tonight and quite possibly all day tomorrow. As I said, we will leave the day a