Stormwielder (The Sword of Light Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

demon had escaped.
    Gabriel reached up and touched the gash on his forehead. He felt the sticky moisture of his own blood. He grimaced. Soon the pain would be gone.
    But was he ready to die? Did he not have something more to do now, something more important than this lonely death?
    Revenge .
    A twisted smile crossed his face. He walked slowly towards the street. As he emerged from the alleyway there came the strangely muted crunch of falling rock, followed by a whoosh of air.
    Gabriel did not care. There was only one single, tangible thought left in his mind. The demon would die. He would die for Oaksville. He would die for his fiancé and his parents. And most of all, he would die so Gabriel could watch the horror in his eyes as life fled from his broken body.

Five
    “Come closer, let me see your face,” the voice whispered, snaking its way deep into the cracks of his shattered conscious.
    Something deep within him shrunk from the voice, fought against the darkness creeping through his mind.
    “Do not be afraid. You have a gift, one that could offer you the world.”
    He could feel the defences of his mind beginning to crumble. The dark silhouette of a face began to take shape.
    “Ahhhh,” the voice let out a long sigh. “I can almost see you now. Almost....” the voice was eager now, filled with hunger and greed.
    His instincts screamed danger. With a wrench of effort he tore himself free.
    An ungodly wail echoed through the confines of his mind. There came a flash of light, and the dream ended.
     
    ******************
     
    “Wake, Eric! We have to move. They have found us,” a rough hand clasped his shoulder and shook him. Pain jolted down Eric’s back.
    He jerked awake, instinctively reaching for his knife. For a moment the world was cast in red and he saw only a tall figure towering over him.  He lashed out with a fist, his other hand drawing the dagger from his belt.
    Calloused hands caught his wrists. “Stop. Remember where you are, Eric. I have carried you as far as I can, but my strength is running out.”
    The red faded from Eric’s vision and he began to remember the night. The storm, the destruction, the climb, the fall! He ceased to struggle, searching his memory for the man’s name. “ Alastair ,” the old man nodded. “Who are you?”
    Alastair shook his head. “There’s no time. We must move, now! ”
    Eric could hear the urgency in his voice but was not eager to leap at a stranger’s command. He glanced around, noticing now the dense wall of trees surrounding them. He lay in a small clearing, the ground all churned mud and scattered leaves. Above the light of the morning sun shone through the branches. He heard the first calls of the dawn chorus over the dripping of water on fallen leaves. Eric sat on the cold earth, the damp seeping through his thin clothes. The scent of fresh rain toyed with his nostrils.
    Alastair stared at the trees on the far side of the clearing. He glanced back at Eric. “We need to move, they can’t be far behind by now. Can you walk?”
    Seeing the panic in the old man’s eyes Eric gave in and nodded. He took Alastair’s hand and the old man pulled him to his feet.
    A crash came from the forest behind them. A streak of emerald flashed past Eric’s head; a Parakeet fleeing the coming danger. Others followed and the clearing filled with the thumping of wings and the screech of panicked birds. A breath of wind touched his cheek, carrying with it the stench of smoke.
    “ Run! ” Alastair hissed, making for the trees.
    Eric sucked in a breath and followed. A whirlwind of questions raced through his mind. Where were they? How had the hunters found them? What had happened after the fall?
    He chose one and shouted it at Alastair’s back. “How did they find us?”
    He thought the question had been lost in the wind. Another crash came from behind, closer this time.
    Then Alastair answered. “They’ve been on our trail since the wall. A couple of guards heard