AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without warning, Orias’ shadows leaped into a frenetic state of activity, churning and enveloping him in seconds such that they blocked out his vision to all else. Orias breathed deep, reminding himself to remain calm and centered despite the sudden blackout and his concern over how the other bar patrons might react.
Daemons didn’t respond calmly to sudden changes. He’d have to rely on Kobol to manage the situation.
If only he held absolute control of the shadows, then his life would be so much easier.
A familiar sensation of gravity shift preceded the sense of weightless melding with the universe, as if his mind was floating and expanding into the ether. It was powerfully unnerving; he’d never had a vision hit so hard and fast, and with so little build up or warning.
Through the black fog surrounding him, colors coalesced and sharpened into focus. Again, he looked upon an unremarkable moonlit forest glen. Tall lodgepole pines, the wind whispering through the treetops, and the trickle of a creek in the distance.
The forest lived and breathed, the picture of serenity. Curiosity and anticipation roiled in his gut.
As if in response to Orias’s anxiety, a snapping, rending sound cut through the air, as if the fabric of reality itself was being torn asunder. A glow of stars appeared on the ground, reminding Orias of a child’s sparkler. A column of stars burned upwards some twelve plus feet, before arcing left five or six feet, and then seared a matching line back down to the ground. Once the flame touched down, a brilliant shockwave of light rippled out from the arch, an opening filled with a murky black substance devoid of all color.
This was the gateway he’d glimpsed in his prior vision. The opening process played out in grim detail. A shiver ran down his spine. Orias could not take his eyes off the star-studded, inky portal. The forest held its breath with him.
After some minutes, the blackened surface rippled, pulsated, and broke over golden skin.
A second shockwave hit him like a hammer, and the vision ended as abruptly as it had begun. Orias gasped for breath, clutching the table before him so hard his fingers dug grooves into the surface. His shadows retreated and Orias’ vision cleared, revealing Kobol standing up, facing off against an interested gathering of daemons of all kinds.
Elder Ranna sat across from Orias, attention rapt, eyes alit with interest. “Oh, that looked like a juicy one! Care to dish?” Ranna was wrapped in a smartly tailored, French, forest green couture dress which fit perfectly around her diminutive form like a second skin. Embroidered across the neckline were her signature daemonic sigils, which Orias noted he should take the time to research.
He continued to work to control his labored breathing. The images of the inky portal were seared into his mind. What could it mean?
“Nothing to see here, like I said,” Kobol said, swinging his hefty hammer in a slow circle. “Now move along and leave us to our fun.”
The assembled throng wasn’t deterred.
Ranna lifted a hand and snapped her fingers once while smiling sweetly at Orias. The crowd responded to the Elder’s implicit command and quickly discovered other interests.
Despite Ranna’s long, curly auburn hair, perfectly cute, small peach horns, and winning smile, she was roundly feared. Orias didn’t know her entire history, but what little he’d learned informed him to be cautious of and ever respectful to the distinctive Elder.
“Well? I’m waiting,” Ranna tapped her foot.
Kobol joined them at the table, a look of fierce focus belying his typical affable demeanor.
Orias, his breathing now mostly back to normal, forced a smile. “The vision had promise to reveal depth, but it’ll take me some consideration and meditation in order to make sense of things.”
Ranna burst out laughing, a no-nonsense hard look in her eyes. “Does that prevaricate, double-talk, work on everyone else?” She pursed her lips and raised a brow, as if daring Orias to challenge her assessment.
Orias was taken aback. Rattled from the vision, he sobered further under Ranna’s pointed gaze.
“Every time,” he replied. “But I see you’re too clever for my wiles.”
Her expression warmed with a broad smile mirrored in her eyes. “How sweet. Buttering me up won’t distract me either, but you’re welcome to lay it on thick. Now dish.”
Orias had skirted conversations of any depth with Ranna in the past. Now, being mentally and emotionally upset from the powerful vision was certainly not an ideal time.
Regarding Ranna’s expression, he could think of only one potential way to avoid this conversation.
“As you know, I am oath bound to Prince Belial, Ranna. I should check with him before disclosing further details to you.”
Ranna blinked slowly, an aura of irritation pronounced in her actions. She withdrew a small, matched green purse and pulled out a seal, showing it to him and Kobol both. It was an ancient, blackened clay imprinted with a sigil he recognized immediately. “You recognize Prince Belial’s sigil?” They nodded. “Then you’ll also acknowledge me as a trusted ally. I am sworn to never betray you nor your cabal.”
Damn. Hell if she didn’t have him by the balls. He was oath-bound to answer a trusted ally at the same level as he would his maker, Belial. “My apologies, Elder Ranna. I didn’t realize.”
She scrunched her nose with her smile and waved off his concerns with a flick of her lace-gloved hand. “It’s never come up before. Let’s call it an honest mistake, shall we?”
Orias inclined his head, noting the tension in Kobol’s form.
