Beyond the Sapphire Gate: Epic Fantasy-Some Magic Should Remain Untouched (The Flow of Power Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

darkness would claim it all, assisted by the stone buildings lining both sides. Grayish-black dust, ground fine from decades of shod feet covered the ground, clinging stubbornly to sun-faded wooden crates that were intermixed with broken glass and rotting vegetables. Other unidentifiable, refuse littered the ground in places. Nothing else caught her eye.
    The “nothing else” brought anxiety gushing into her weary, pain-shrouded mind. The black crystal candle was nowhere in sight.

 
    MAGICAL SUICIDE
    Anxiety pulsed through Crystalyn. What could she do? This world was so different. Anger filled her with manic energy. It didn’t matter. She would search until growing old if needed. She would find Jade. Blackness swallowed her anger, draining her newfound energy. Everything was her fault. She’d messed up again, ever since the bloody Hartwig kid incident. Why hadn’t she seen it? Anxiety pulsed again. What would she do if she couldn’t find Jade? What then? Poor Jade! Blackness pulsed. Dad and Jade deserved better. Why did they keep trying to help? Why keep trying? Anger pulsed, filling her with manic energy. Stop it . Stop it, here.
    She couldn’t afford to have her mind going in circles; it could easily become an endless loop. Besides, she needed the energy the anger provided. She felt ready to stand. Flipping her pack’s strap over one shoulder, she gathered her legs under her and stood.
    She swayed, as nausea rose, but again she forced it down, only to have her head explode with a migraine, blurring her vision. Moments passed before she could focus on her surroundings.
    The girl who stabbed her sat demurely on the chest of a dead swordsman. A cold smile thinned her lips. “I see you, outlander. You are most perplexing. Many before have fallen to my blade, none survived,” she said, matter-of-factly, her tone clinical. “Yet, there you are, moving around as if you just woke from a nap. You will explain how this is possible.”
    Crystalyn assessed her assailant, for the moment ignoring the mild command. Fine eyebrows, rounded nose, and jet-black hair shorn to shoulder length gave the girl an odd, aristocratic presence. Most notable was the girl’s white skin, so pale it made her full lips appear as red as blood, while her brilliant green eyes shone with a belying innocence. She’s small , Crystalyn thought, not much larger than her biggest stuffed bear. Of course, the girl was still growing. She couldn’t be much beyond ten seasons of age. “Who are you?’ she asked, her voice sounding as weak as she felt.
    Tilting her head, the girl frowned. “You’re asking a question to my question. Very well, I’ll answer first. I am Atoi.”
    “That’s a pretty name. I’m Crystalyn. My friends call me Crys.”
    The girl’s impassive, ashen face never changed. “I don’t care about your friends. Answer the question. How did you survive my blade?”
    Crystalyn’s head throbs rose with her ire. The girl was arrogant and dangerous, proving quite capable of handling herself.
    “Did you not hear me? How have you survived this long?”
    Crystalyn massaged her neck, as she scanned the immediate surroundings, looking for signs of the black candle.
    The girl straightened. Crystalyn caught a glimpse of a dark silhouette on the body behind her.
    Leaning from the wall, Crystalyn tested her balance. Nausea rose again, stronger this time, and her legs trembled. Perhaps she should have remained sitting for a while longer, but she dared not. Atoi could realize how weak she was and strike again.
    Atoi’s wide eyes narrowed a little. “You’re not going to answer, are you? Well, you can at least tell me how you got behind me. I know this alley was empty when I led those fools in here. Only someone with the advantage of Using could’ve gotten behind me, methinks. Tell me, oh-so-oddly-garbed outlander, are you a User?”
    Beginning to feel stronger, Crystalyn ignored the girl’s strange question. One of Atoi’s statements