Ember
It was such a beautiful sight.
The storm was fiercer than ever. Thunder echoed louder, lightning crashed on the island igniting trees. The ocean summoned waves that reached over the plateau as if to swallow the isle. The wind lashed harder, whistling a tune of death. Most pleasurable of all was the masterpiece that was nailed to the pinnacle of her tower on a wooden cross.
Alongside her companions, her two brothers and her younger sister, Ember stared at Caim, feeling victorious. He groaned and coughed blood, nailed to the cross with rods of omnithium. A rod through each of his hands. One through both of his feet at the bottom and another through his abdomen.
"Bastards!" Caim yelled. "An entire army of Effeelions will come to my rescue. I won't be easily killed."
"Glorious, isn't it," Ember said.
"He is like a trophy nailed to our home," Hertha added.
“Our greatest accomplishment yet," Jairo agreed.
"He will make a fine vessel for Arkana," Naunet said. "I wish he didn't have to bleed all over the place, but for now, keeping him here will be necessary."
"It's not like he can die out here," Jairo said. "Even if he gets struck by lightning he will live, but just barely. Enough so his body does not wither."
Ember hovered towards Caim. Her cloak billowed and she reached out to him, grabbing his face.
"My pretty," she said to him and he spat on her white mask. She wiped the spit and smeared it on his face. "You are so ungrateful. Even rods of omnithium aren't enough to end your life and absorb all the cosmo that makes you a god."
"I cannot be killed," Caim replied, voice hissing. "You can hurt me as much as you want, but I will never die by the hands of a mortal."
"Don't be so sure, Caim," Ember said and let go of his face. "If you can make the gods bleed then people will cease to believe in them. We, the Specters, will be the world's new deities. Magic will belong only to us and we shall pass judgment as to who has the privilege to use it. We will bring true peace to the world. There is nothing that can get in our way now. Not even Akielas. I have stripped him of his magical abilities and your Effeelion friends are not strong enough to defeat us. Soon the last cosmo jewel will be ours and..."
"Your body will be mine," Arkana's voice echoed.
Ember looked back and saw the ghostly image of Arkana, the woman who claimed to be the goddess of destiny. She moved through Ember and sent cold chills through her body.
"You won’t have to die, Caim," Arkana said. "I will send your soul to the limbo where you will spend the rest of eternity, then, I will claim your body and use it as my own. Consider it revenge for destroying my physical body."
Caim chuckled as he hung helplessly on the cross, unable to use his powers.
"You find humor in this?" Ember asked.
"Of course I do," Caim replied, voice weak and low. "You are not a god, Arkana, and the Specters will be severely punished by the dragon gods for trying to change the laws of nature."
Ember punched Caim and forced bloody spit from his mouth. He coughed then continued to laugh. It angered Ember and, with rage, she punched Caim again and again, making him bleed and bruising his face like a common mortal. When she stopped he still continued to laugh and spat on her mask again.
"Ember, let him be. He is powerless," Arkana commanded.
"Yes, my lady," Ember said and hovered away from Caim. "It does not matter what he says. Soon we will rule and there is nothing that the dragon gods can do about it."
To be continued on
Book 3
Blood of Mages
Thank you for reading
The second book of the Rift Of Chaos trilogy. It was challenging to write this book, especially adding some steam punk with Rey Ling. This has been an exciting journey with Akielas and the gang. I really hope you guys like book two. Of course killing Ganicus was not easy and I knew I had to replace him with another character that would be so much better and fun. I always wanted to add steam punk in my stories but was a little afraid. It turned out well. I felt like George RR Martin when Ganicus died. Although I doubt people actually liked the character much. Bringing Rey Ling to the story helped me expand the world of Odealeous. I didn’t want Willow to be complete gone. I have a surprise for you guys in book three. Willow was a fan favorite and although she is not around book three will conclude the battle with the Specters. That is all I will say.
To know when the third book will be released, join the mailing list at http://ajmartinezauthor.com/mailing-list/. While you wait for the release, you might want to check out my other books.
Please take the time to WRITE A REVIEW of this book from wherever you bought it.
More will be revealed in the next book. The world of Odealeous will continue to grow as its mysteries unfold. To look at the maps, go to http://ajmartinezauthor.com/world-of-odealeous/
Again, thank you for reading, dudes.
Books by A.J. Martinez
Scarlet Quest
Fall Of A Demigod
The Ungifted Elf
Tarja of the Snow
Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Trilogy: Book Three)
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Spirit of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 2) Page 34
