The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

free to possess it, it remains unclaimed.’
    ‘Perhaps Poltamir is seeking to harness this power?’ the magician suggested.
    ‘Then I wish him good luck. If that box can hold Lin, so be it. Why do you continue to harry them and risk letting the Demon Lord out? Is it not enough that your son is alive? He would not suffer in their enchanted box; he would only sleep, unknowing and unfeeling of anything around him.’
    ‘I do not think a world ruled by Poltamir would be of benefit to anyone. He and Rei are doing quite a good job of being devils in their master’s stead. Instead of rebuilding the world after the Darkening, they continued its destruction. All I have done was for a purpose. Those two are simply evil, overcome with malice. Rei has filled Amandia with terror and I am sure Poltamir is doing the same. I feel him on the far side of the world, growing stronger every day. I find it very intriguing. He makes no attempts to hide his presence, yet Lomar—his underling—has taken to ground, perhaps fearing my wrath. Added to that, more hellish beasts are released upon the earth every day. Poltamir and Rei both are doing their best to rid the world of mankind.’
    ‘Amandia would not be in such a state if you had not unleashed the Darkening upon it,’ Leopold’s father told the magician sternly. ‘Garteny was wiped from existence in a flash and the winter that followed caused countless souls to starve or fall prey to disease. Smaller stones caused havoc across the world. Whether you meant it or not, your deeds have cost the world more lives than Rei and Poltamir together.’
    ‘Starfall was not my doing. In fact, if not for me, it would have been far worse; you would not be standing here now. True, being immortal you would inhabit another body in another land, but your wife and son are not so gifted. They would have perished. I saved the continent of Amandia from total annihilation, so the current situation is not so bad—in comparison.’
    ‘But your motive was entirely self-serving, Samuel,’ Leopold’s father asserted. ‘I am sure you were not considering anyone else at the time. You have little regard for anything beyond your own personal desires.’
    ‘I would do anything to save my son, as would you, Thann. Do not think we are so different.’
    ‘I would say that our acts have defined us as being very different, Samuel—and call me Edmond. I have grown accustomed to that name, as has my family, and I need no more reminders about who I once was. You and I are different, Samuel, despite what you may think. Your love for your son is just a distant memory. You are enacting what you think you should do, rather than what you feel. The Change has burned all emotion from your soul, while my feelings were never taken from me—and I thank my blessings every day for that. No, you are more similar to Rei and Poltamir than I, for all three of you continue to behave like devils. And common folk across the land curse your name more than the other two combined.’
    Samuel nodded gravely. ‘It is true; I have not made many friends with my methods. But I do not need to feel love to know it is there, buried deep within me, just as your servitude for Lin is lurking beneath your skin, ready for when he calls.’
    Leopold’s father smiled knowingly. ‘Well said; perhaps it is true. Even out here on this tiny rock I have heard tales of you, Samuel. Your reputation tells of a monster, and in meeting you, I can see why. Your magic has hardened your heart, and you are rife with evil. We servants of Lin would not dare commit such a sin, lest it pervert our souls. You flirt with extreme danger.’
    ‘I know that now, but the damage is done. It is too late to expel the evil spirits from my essence. An inkling of their dark presence has been within me since childhood and their power has grown alongside my own. I have forsaken any hope of freedom from their hold, and have summoned more of their kind to join