An awful stench filled the air and he held his arm to his face to shield the sickening odor. He saw the rotting corpse and instantly felt the heavy burden of his worst case scenario envelop him. Two figures stepped from the trees, one of his guards and a woman.
“Who killed the child dragon?” he said, pointing.
“It was Len,” the woman answered.
Len? So he had survived. And now Len’s hands bore the murderous stain of dragon blood. A wicked grin crawled across his face.
“Where is he now?” The Guide asked, looking around.
“He left with the others,” she answered.
Now he smiled. With a bit of his manipulation, this problem would resolve itself. He was rid of the young nuisance and now Nix would hunt down Len and the Resistance for killing her only child.
“Where is Marchello?” he said.
“They killed him,” the guard answered.
The Guide’s lips curled into a snarl. “Who killed him?”
“The Resistance, most of them fled to the south and I killed the ones that stayed behind,” the guard said.
“And Endell? Did he survive?”
“Yes,” the woman answered, with a bold arrogance that infuriated him. But before berating her, he paused. She looked familiar.
“My son has also escaped to Mandala,” she said.
The Guide growled. “You,” he said bitterly, remembering a younger face and a slimmer figure.
She smiled at him. “You remember me. I wasn’t sure if you would after fifteen years.”
He slapped her and she spun and fell to the ground. She looked up at him, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth, and smiled. He screamed and struck the mountain with his scepter. Now he knew why Endell was so powerful.
Mandala's Catalyst (Gardone Trilogy) Page 27
