To Darkness Fled Read Online Free PDF

those you permit. Then, when you invite someone in, you must also guard the treasure, which is your mind. If you do this correctly, your guest may see only what you offer."
    Vrell could do this already. She had a different way of accomplishing the same feat. She thought of her mind as a house and created a foyer in her mind where she let people in but kept them separated from her different rooms of thought.
    "How do you do everything at once?" Achan asked. "When my mind is open, so many come at me. I can't keep them out and I'm tired of shielding all the time."
    "You can and you must, Your Highness." Sir Caleb sounded nobler when giving orders. "No one can guard your mind for you. Either you learn to do this or you'll have to stay guarded always, never experiencing the fullness of your gift."
    Vrell wished she could help Achan practice, but the knights had ordered him to keep his mind closed, for Achan's untrained bloodvoice rang like a beacon to anyone with the ability. Surely Esek had bloodvoicers monitoring for Achan's presence. Plus, unguarded, Achan's mind released a pressure that brought Vrell to her knees. She didn't miss the pain, but she did miss his sarcastic companionship.
    A screech split the night. Vrell hugged her arms close. A mosquito buzzed nearby. She disliked the dark. "Sir Gavin?" She lifted her head. "We have been in Darkness for many hours and I entered the Evenwall the day Achan fought the Poroo. I feel fine, except for these accursed mosquitoes. So why do people say Darkness drives one insane?"
    "That's the subtlety of it, Vrell. If your mind is focused or distracted, 'tis easy to ignore the seduction of Darkness. When you were alone in the Evenwall, you had a task to perform. Now we're conversing steadily. This keeps our minds from wandering. But as we journey through this place, we must stay together and we must have conversation. No one will keep watch alone. See that no one is silent too long. Darkness has a way of sneaking up and blinding you to your own conscience."
    "What about when we sleep?" Achan asked.
    "Bad dreams may come, but you won't lose your mind. Caleb and I will take first watch. Fear not and rest."
    Vrell lay down on the greasy leather and curled into a ball, bringing her knees to her chest. Her body sank slowly into the wet lichen. She concentrated on Mother's face and knocked.
    Still no answer.

4

    Achan untied the bandage from his face. He lay on his back, ankles crossed, feet sticking off the end of the bedroll that was too short for his six-foot frame. He stared into the blackness above and traced his fingertips over the scabs forming on his cheeks where Esek had cut him. Would he bear these marks forever? If so, he would grow a beard, a thick one.
    Had his father worn a beard?
    Achan broke the stillness with a question, careful to move his cheeks as little as possible. "What happened to my father?"
    A prolonged silence followed. He was thankful for these knights, who'd made it their life goal to find him, yet so many questions plagued his mind. Did these men see taking care of him as penance for failing to protect their former king?
    He tried again. "Were any of you there when he died?"
    "Aye," Sir Gavin finally said. "But not when he died."
    Achan propped himself up on one elbow. "What happened?"
    "One of our own betrayed us. A young knight named Kenton Garesh."
    "The Shield?" Sir Kenton, also known as The Shield, served as Esek's personal bodyguard. The human fortress had crushed Achan on more than one occasion. Most recently, just prior to Esek slicing open Achan's cheeks.
    "Aye, he drugged our stew and we slept through the dawn. The king had a schedule to keep. He was headed to Carmine to consult with Duke Amal--this was before the duke passed on. Kenton urged King Axel to go on without us, to take the secondary guards, half of which were loyal to Kenton."
    The pecking noise grew loud overhead, but Sir Gavin spoke over it. "I woke in time to hear my king bloodvoice for