Paradox - Progeny Of Innocence (bk2) (Paradox series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

her head. "I do not know," was all she said.
    "What happened then, what else did you see?"
    Keyla remained silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Recollecting what she had seen in the desperate eyes of the prisoners as they were beaten and herded into holding pens, like cattle.
    "The Pinnacles," she said. "The four Wafes went first. Four host souls volunteered. Two females and two males. They left their bodies, and without the souls, the bodies just lay down and died right there on the floor. Just four shimmering souls floating in the air like four rainbow-colored bubbles." She shook her head. "I have never seen anything so beautiful. Not even the crystal dome of the sanctuary was as beautiful." She looked up at Temulun, her eyes wide and damp. "Without the body, the soul is so, so..." Keyla searched for a word, but found none to express the enormity of the beauty for which she held in her mind. Her eyes pooled with fresh tears and spilled over. With the tears of a thousand souls streaming down her face, she continued. "Water and Air fell first, and were born into human females. Fire and Earth went into human boys."
    Temulun bowed her head and whispered. "I overheard Abaddon speaking with his sister, Theria, just yesterday," she began. "On earth, nine hundred years have passed."
    Keyla looked up at her. "That is a very long time to be away from home."
    "Oh my Gods," Temulun said, scrambling quickly to her feet and pulling Keyla up with her. "The time, we must hurry. We have yet to fetch Lord Cerberus his beast. Abaddon will be furious if we keep the Lord waiting. We will talk more of this tonight at the Oak. But first," she said, pulling a small leather pouch from her pocket. "Put this powdered mistletoe under your tongue. It would be too dangerous to carry these thoughts in your head for fear of others overhearing." Temulun pushed the leather pouch into Keyla’s hand. The girl looked at her and frowned.
    "Not to worry, Keyla, I have a little left. And tonight, we will go ask the Forest People for more."
    Keyla took the leather pouch, extracted a pinch of the powdered herb, and placed it under her tongue. She wrinkled her nose at the pungent taste. "Are the Forest People expecting me?" she asked.
    "Oh yes," Temulun replied, "they are very eager to meet you. Witness the abilities you still possess from your ancestors."
    "Then I hope I do not fail them," Keyla replied.
    * * *
     
    "Brother?" Abaddon said, pacing the floor, raising his arms in question.
    Cerberus shook his head wearily. "Abaddon, I have fought a war alongside my men for countless days now, I am more than capable of bathing myself. Although I do understand your hesitation in believing so, considering my present state. I smell of piss and the excrement of a thousand horses, to say the least." He placed his hand heavily on Abaddon’s shoulder to still his pacing. "But I thank you, my brother, you have served me well, taking care of the Realm and my good lady wife during my long absence. I only hope she has not burdened you too much with her girlish ways." He spoke affectionately of his wife as he pictured Pandora in his mind. She would be swathed in ancient silks, velvets, perfumes, and gems, eagerly awaiting his return, he imagined. He only hoped she had not been made too forlorn by his departure from the Realm.
    Abaddon raised his eyes and restrained the urge to divulge. Even though it would have pleased him no end to inform his brother that his precious wife was, in fact, no more than a common street whore. That Cerberus had been fooled by the mask of beauty that Pandora wore effortlessly. That and her intoxicating spellbinding scent that tempted and teased. The mighty Lord Cerberus deceived by a woman, and a human woman at that. How his father, Lord Grig, had failed to see such an obvious weakness in Cerberus was beyond Abaddon’s comprehension. But better Cerberus than a bastard son of his father's, he conceded. He raised his hands and clapped them