The Summoning (Custodes Noctis) Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Muffy Morrigan
softly.
“What?”
“Deep breath.”
“Sorry.” Rob wandered back over to the counter. “This is really bothering me, I know there are parts missing, and I have a funny feeling those parts are important. If I just knew what I needed I might be able to track it down through another history.” Rob paused again, staring at the book. “Billy called.”
“Oh?”
“When I talked to him last night he said he would do some checking on his end, to see what he could find out.”
“About your dreams?” Galen asked.
“Or whatever they are, yeah. He did a Walk to see what he could find.” Rob ran a hand through his hair. Galen noticed it was shaking. “Billy’s been a lot of places, Galen…”
“I’m beginning to get the feeling I’m not going to like this.”
“He said there was a wall, which is actually common on a Walk, but this wall wouldn’t move. Billy tried to get past and whatever was there pushed him away. After that he tried to get a better look at where he was, but even that he couldn’t pin down. Whatever it is, it’s incredibly powerful.”
“But what is it?”
“I don’t know. In the dream it feels almost like the Old One.”
“And we haven’t mentioned that before because why?” Galen asked.
“Because I wasn’t sure, because I do dream about what happened sometimes and it feels real, and this was close enough…”
Galen put a hand on his brother’s arm, getting a sense of the emotions there. Even with the bond muted, he could still use the healing in the same way he would with a client. Rob wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling the whole truth either, however when Galen tried to throw open the bond a little further, something clamped it down, the briefest flash of a dark shadow, then it was gone. “What the hell….?” he muttered. Rob was right, for an instant it did have a feeling to it like the Old One that they’d faced, the same creature that had torn itself free of his body and left a deep scar on his chest. A scar that let him sense the darkness that moved under the earth, it was almost like a tether he could never escape. He’d thought after their ride with the Hunt it would stop, but it was still there and he could feel the deep thrum of the vile things lurking in the world.
“See?” Rob’s voice was unsure.
“It’s not the Old One we faced, and it’s not a memory.” Galen would have been able to move through the memory, and the thing they’d fought was dead, even though some of its servants still survived.
“No, it’s not. I think it’s one of their kind though, an Old One or something like it, left over from the Wars. That’s why the date is so vital.”
“What do you mean?”
“According to the Sagas, there were a series of Wars, before and after the founding of the Custodes Noctis. One of those led to the founding of the Hunt, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Well,” Rob continued, “finding out which war this creature fought in is important.”
“Why?” Galen asked, the sense of foreboding growing, along with an ache in the scar on his chest.
“Because if it was one of the Ancient Ones, the Ealdféond, we’re in big trouble.”
“The Ancient Ones?” Galen knew his Sagas well enough to know what his brother was talking about. “I know they aren’t myth, but I thought they were all gone, driven through the Veil or destroyed.”
“I did too, but that’s why this book is so important. Supposedly there was a dissenter, and he was punished with the death that isn’t death.”
“Which means?” Galen asked.
“I think it means he’s here.”
“Here?”
“Yeah, and somehow it’s found me.”
“Rob?”
“It’s here.” His brother turned back to the book. “And… ‘thus it will come, after the time of fire and ice, it will come in the time of the heart, the heart that will beat in the everlasting death.’”
“That makes no sense.”
“Let me finish.” Rob looked up, his eyes bleak. “It goes on, ‘the time of the
“What?”
“Deep breath.”
“Sorry.” Rob wandered back over to the counter. “This is really bothering me, I know there are parts missing, and I have a funny feeling those parts are important. If I just knew what I needed I might be able to track it down through another history.” Rob paused again, staring at the book. “Billy called.”
“Oh?”
“When I talked to him last night he said he would do some checking on his end, to see what he could find out.”
“About your dreams?” Galen asked.
“Or whatever they are, yeah. He did a Walk to see what he could find.” Rob ran a hand through his hair. Galen noticed it was shaking. “Billy’s been a lot of places, Galen…”
“I’m beginning to get the feeling I’m not going to like this.”
“He said there was a wall, which is actually common on a Walk, but this wall wouldn’t move. Billy tried to get past and whatever was there pushed him away. After that he tried to get a better look at where he was, but even that he couldn’t pin down. Whatever it is, it’s incredibly powerful.”
“But what is it?”
“I don’t know. In the dream it feels almost like the Old One.”
“And we haven’t mentioned that before because why?” Galen asked.
“Because I wasn’t sure, because I do dream about what happened sometimes and it feels real, and this was close enough…”
Galen put a hand on his brother’s arm, getting a sense of the emotions there. Even with the bond muted, he could still use the healing in the same way he would with a client. Rob wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling the whole truth either, however when Galen tried to throw open the bond a little further, something clamped it down, the briefest flash of a dark shadow, then it was gone. “What the hell….?” he muttered. Rob was right, for an instant it did have a feeling to it like the Old One that they’d faced, the same creature that had torn itself free of his body and left a deep scar on his chest. A scar that let him sense the darkness that moved under the earth, it was almost like a tether he could never escape. He’d thought after their ride with the Hunt it would stop, but it was still there and he could feel the deep thrum of the vile things lurking in the world.
“See?” Rob’s voice was unsure.
“It’s not the Old One we faced, and it’s not a memory.” Galen would have been able to move through the memory, and the thing they’d fought was dead, even though some of its servants still survived.
“No, it’s not. I think it’s one of their kind though, an Old One or something like it, left over from the Wars. That’s why the date is so vital.”
“What do you mean?”
“According to the Sagas, there were a series of Wars, before and after the founding of the Custodes Noctis. One of those led to the founding of the Hunt, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Well,” Rob continued, “finding out which war this creature fought in is important.”
“Why?” Galen asked, the sense of foreboding growing, along with an ache in the scar on his chest.
“Because if it was one of the Ancient Ones, the Ealdféond, we’re in big trouble.”
“The Ancient Ones?” Galen knew his Sagas well enough to know what his brother was talking about. “I know they aren’t myth, but I thought they were all gone, driven through the Veil or destroyed.”
“I did too, but that’s why this book is so important. Supposedly there was a dissenter, and he was punished with the death that isn’t death.”
“Which means?” Galen asked.
“I think it means he’s here.”
“Here?”
“Yeah, and somehow it’s found me.”
“Rob?”
“It’s here.” His brother turned back to the book. “And… ‘thus it will come, after the time of fire and ice, it will come in the time of the heart, the heart that will beat in the everlasting death.’”
“That makes no sense.”
“Let me finish.” Rob looked up, his eyes bleak. “It goes on, ‘the time of the