by A J Allen
Lord Dowrick bowed. “As you wish.” Taking his leave, he cast a stern, hard-pinched look at Simon before closing the door behind him.
Robert turned on his side and vomited into a bucket. He coughed and sat up, the color returning to his cheeks. “Simon?” He looked around at the people in the room. “Holy Seer? What— what am I doing here? Where’s Felicity?”
Felicity moaned. The white orbs rolled back in their sockets revealing her bloodshot eyes. Her erratic breathing steadied and the tremors ceased.
Lord Lionsbury raised her from the bedroll. Lady Bellemar brushed back Felicity’s damp hair and poured a sip of water between her parched lips.
Simon stared at Lord Fromund’s moldering remains, sure that no one deserved to die like this, not even terrible people like the Pumbertons. He turned to the Holy Seer. “But what of Anthor Koldrin? Will that thing I saw in the Corridor of Shadows ever have the power to cross over to our world?”
Lord Rabek dabbed his quill in the inkwell. “Be thankful those were but shades of your worst fears, nightmares the Choldath wanted you to believe were real,” he said, still not looking up. “This was so your spirit and reason would be destroyed, and you would have fallen into the depths of madness.” The hunched scribe continued writing. “What the arch demon’s true manifestation will be, we cannot possibly know until it stands before us in this world… and that, as I have told you, shall never come to be. Or God help us all.”
Simon looked at Rachel and Jack, their pale faces stricken with dread. Simon inwardly condemned the day he had set foot on this cursed ground.
The Holy Seer returned her dagger beneath the folds of her gown. “We have seen but an inkling of their deadly intentions and abilities here. Anthor Koldrin is a mighty adversary but he must first rule their world before he reigns over ours. Demons not fully incarnate in our realm can only maintain their nebulous form and power for but a short time before they must return from whence they came. Those summoned to fully manifest in our world lose a measure of their power to remain here, yet still appear almost invincible compared to mere mortals.”
She limped to the rear door of the chamber. “Now, if you will excuse me, my good lords and ladies, the evenings of late have been more taxing than usual and there are many old books I must read once more with new eyes, while I still can see the pages.” Her two monks ushered her across the threshold and disappeared.
“The witch taught you well, boy, but soon, you and all who walk this earth will regret you ever spoke my name.” Anthor Koldrin’s bestial voice growled and clawed at the inside of Simon’s skull. Simon pressed his palm against his temples, wanting to scream out, his heart hammering in his chest. All eyes were focused on him. He stared across the room at Rachel kneeling at the bed, her eyes moist with fresh tears.
Now, they were all fighting for their lives in a terrifying new world, caught in the coils of an all-encompassing, cataclysmic evil; this was beyond anything they could ever have imagined before their arrival at Farrhaven, this place once safe and secure now falling deeper and deeper into a monstrous nightmare where the saving rays of daylight might never reach again.
Afterword
End of Book Two
Thank you so much for reading this book.
I hope you enjoyed Simon Blackfyre and the Corridor of Shadows. Please feel free to post your review here if you found the story and characters to your liking. It’s wonderful readers like you that make all the difference to authors like me.
Cheers,
A. J. Callen
Simon Blackfyre and the Enemy Within
Discover the third novel in the series March 2019.
https://ajcallenbooks.com
