Seals Read Online Free PDF Page A

Her eyes searched into
his, and she gave him the tiniest of smiles.
    And from the way his look softened, she knew
that it was all she’d ever needed to say. It was a silent apology
that they both offered and accepted.
    Mr. Patterson frowned. “Are you sure you’re
feeling all right? You gave us all quite a fright.”
    He leaned forward. “You say that your wings
caused this outburst?”
    Kara sank back into the chair, her face
neutral as the old man inspected her. “It’s really no big deal,
just cramps from over doing it with my wings. I’m fine, really.
It’s passed.”
    “Well, it didn’t look fine,” said Mr.
Patterson. “You looked like you were in a great deal of pain, as
though something was hurting you.”
    He watched her for a moment. “Is there
something you want to tell me?”
    Kara hated how Mr. Patterson always seemed
to be able to read her mind. Maybe oracles had mind reading powers.
Did he know about the veins? Did all her friends know how much she
was still changing.
    Their terrified looks showed that they were
all thinking the same thing. How long until she changes
completely? How long until she becomes an angel-killing
monster.
    She looked at her friends. “I’m sorry I made
everyone jump. It’s nothing. I promise.”
    Desperate to change the subject and to keep
David next to her she asked, “So, tell us about the last knight…the
one you called Death . Why is he the worst of the four?”
    “Death,” repeated Mr. Patterson, “has
control over all life: animal, human, angel, and even death
itself.”
    An icy shiver rippled through Kara’s body.
She did not want to come face to face with this knight. But
something inside her told her otherwise. Somehow she knew she would have to face this demon, just like she would have to come to
terms with her own.
    Mr. Patterson flicked a spec of lint off his
crystal ball.
    “Now, listen carefully, all of you. We kept
the archfiends confined with additional layers of protection. Four
seals were created. These seals derive their strength from this
mortal world and protect against the archfiends’ power. They are
not physical things like this crystal here. Think of them as
invisible bonds or locks that can only be broken if the mortal
world from which the seals draw their power is destroyed. The
energy of life itself and everything mortal that is bound to this
earth is what keeps the seals strong. Destroy the earth, and the
seals are broken.”
    He paused for a moment and then continued,
“Over the years, we’ve heard rumors that the archfiends had figured
out a way to break the seals. We dismissed these rumors. But we
were wrong.”
    The old man was silent for a moment, his
eyes cold and hard. “Even in their confinement, the archfiends were
still more powerful than we believed. Over time they created the
knights to be their champions. The knights are the keys that will
enable the archfiends to escape their confinement.”
    “So what’s the link between these knights
and the seals?” asked Kara.
    Mr. Patterson fixed her with a stare. “We
believe the knights were somehow created from the seals themselves,
or they possess some essence derived from the seals. In any case it
appears that they can break the seals. Four knights for four
seals, and as each knight completes his carnage upon the mortal
world, the seals will break and the locks on the archfiend prisons
will fail.”
    Kara shifted in her seat. “But I thought the
archfiends were already out of their dungeon.”
    “They are, yes,” said Mr. Patterson. “But in
order for the archfiends to remain here indefinitely and to
rule the worlds, the four knights must break their seals to
destroy the prison. When the last seal is broken, lightning,
earthquakes, hail, fire, mass extinction, poisoned waters, and
monsters will plague the earth. The real carnage, the real
apocalypse starts only when the four knights have broken the four
seals.”
    “Perfect,” said David. “Just what we need.