Liberator Read Online Free PDF Page B

pursuit and waved a hand. “Captain Reed! Come here!”
    A bearded soldier shuffled his way, his legs unstable. “What’s happening here? I expected snow and ice and —”
    “I will try to explain in a moment. For now, we have to retrieve Orion and the peg or else the other soldiers won’t be able to join us.”
    “He will hide the crystal,” Cassabrie said. “It’s the only way he can maintain control.”
    Captain Reed raised a shielding hand, his face pale. “What kind of creature are you?”
    “I am the guiding angel of Starlight.” Cassabrie offered a graceful curtsy. “As the Creator’s messenger, I have been called to tell tales that will instruct mankind.”
    “Amazing!” After shaking his head to clear his fog, Captain Reed forked his fingers at two men. “You two, kindly retrieve the former governor.”
    While the soldiers marched away, Captain Reed kicked at the slush. “So why the unexpected climate change?”
    “Cassabrie?” Edison turned toward her. “Can you explain?”
    Pivoting in place, Cassabrie scanned the landscape. The river now ran freely, with only a few ice floes drifting in the current. Gaps in the valley’s white blanket appeared, revealing boulders and bare ground. Solarus hovered near the horizon, apparently ready to set.
    Cassabrie set a hand on her hip. In all her years traveling to and fro on Starlight, Solarus had never descended this low before in the Northlands. Something dramatic had happened, but neither Alaph nor Arxad had warned about this possibility. The change had begun while Edison and Orion waited for the troops to arrive, and a more sudden disruption occurred when Magnar flew out. Perhaps he was close to the portal during the times Edison opened it to check for the troops, thereby causing the earlier subtle changes.
    “I think Magnar broke the curse,” she said. “He wasn’t supposed to come here.”
    Captain Reed nodded. “Marcelle spoke of this curse but knew little about it.”
    “I care not to tell what I know,” Cassabrie said. “I see no need.”
    “Very well. What of the children we saw? Where are they now?”
    Cassabrie pushed Exodus closer. “They were part of an illusion. I created it to infuse you with the passion you will need to march into the dragons’ territory. Hearts aflame are essential if you wish to do battle with these monsters, so I hoped to inspire you with a portrait of the suffering taking place in the Southlands.”
    “We would not have come if our passions had not already been aroused,” the captain said, “but if we are unable to open the portal again, we will need all the passion we can muster to overcome the lack of soldiers.”
    Breathing a sigh of white vapor into the air, Edison scanned the gathered soldiers. With drizzling rain soaking their heavy clothes, their shoulders began to sag as they stared at him expectantly. He walked toward the star, blinking at its strengthening radiance. Looking Cassabrie in the eye, he whispered, “With so few men, do you think we stand a chance?”
    Cassabrie took in a deep breath. It seemed that a new stream of wisdom flowed into her mind, more than a tale—a principle, a maxim straight from the Creator. Replying in an equally soft tone, Cassabrie nodded. “A better chance than ever. The Creator prefers a few men with noble and humble hearts over ten thousand who know not how to bend the knee, and it might have been the closing of the portal that acted as the separator. The bold of heart dashed through, while the hesitant remained.”
    “Then so be it.” Edison firmed his jaw. “We march south.”
    “Wait.” Cassabrie waved a hand, gesturing for him to come closer. “Please. I need to speak to you and Captain Reed privately.”
    As she drew back, the two men followed, each one raising a hand to block the light. When they stopped out of the soldiers’ earshot, she whispered, “I must tell you about a new danger that has arisen. A disease has broken out in the Southlands.