Runic Revelation (The Runic Series Book 2)

by Clayton Wood

  Runic Revelation

  Books by Clayton Taylor Wood:

  Runic Awakening

  Runic Revelation

  Runic Vengeance

  Runic Revelation

  Book II of the Runic Series

  Clayton Taylor Wood

  Copyright ©2016 by Clayton Taylor Wood.

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Published by Clayton T. Wood.

  ISBN: 978-0-9980818-3-0

  Cover designed by James T. Egan, Bookfly Design, LLC

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Special thanks to my brothers, my father, and my wife for their invaluable advice. And to my son, for whom this book was written.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Runic Revelation

  Prologue

  Ampir stands in a huge underground chamber beneath the city of Stridon, his wife Vera propped up against the large circular dais in the center of the room, their son Junior at her side. Four huge stone pillars at the corners of the room rise upward to the majestic domed ceiling some forty feet above. Swirls of dust glimmer like fireflies in the soft light cast by the lanterns hanging on the walls around him, a shower of dust and small stones raining down from the ceiling onto the floor.

  Boom.

  The entire chamber trembles, more cracks appearing on the ceiling.

  “What's that, Daddy?” Junior asks.

  Ampir turns to his son. Barely four years old, the boy has already seen too much. Ampir can only hope that Junior is too young to remember his grandpa's throat being sliced open, blood pouring down the old man's neck and chest. And Vera being brutally stabbed in the back.

  “I don't know,” Ampir lies.

  Boom.

  More dust falls from the ceiling, and Ampir gazes upward again, knowing all-too-well that it is the Behemoth standing above them, an enormous machine over ten stories tall standing in the middle of the city above ground. Created by a man Ampir once knew, a man he'd trusted.

  Sabin.

  “Ampir,” Vera calls out.

  He turns to her, his breath catching in his throat. She is as lovely as the day they'd met, tall and slender, with auburn hair cascading in gentle waves to her lower back. Her white nightgown clings to her, soaked with her sweat...and blood. The crimson stain on her lower back has barely grown, but the internal bleeding...

  “Hold me,” Vera murmurs.

  Ampir reaches for her, scooping her up in his arms and staring down at her.

  “Hold on baby,” he urges, leaning over to kiss her on the forehead. “Just a little while longer.”

  He focuses on the gray stone dais in the center of the chamber. A brilliant red crystal is embedded in its center, refracting and reflecting the light from the lanterns above. Three feet in diameter, the crystal has innumerable tiny runes etched on its surface...and countless more deeper within. It is Renval's greatest invention, a teleportation device. But it is much more advanced than his earlier prototypes.

  Ampir studies its runes, tracing the faint blue glow identifying each of them. Then he frowns; there's something very odd about the destination coordinates. They're unlike anything he's ever seen...and he helped build the original prototype. He focuses on the crystal's activation runes, sending a stream of magic to it, and the teleporter pulses, its runes glowing the faintest blue.

  But nothing else happens.

  Ampir stares at the crystal, his brow furrowing. The runes are supposed to be bright blue, but they're barely glowing...its magic supply must have been damaged.

  “Shit,” he swears under his breath.

  “What baby?” Vera asks.

  “There isn't enough magic,” he answers. “Shit!”

  “Your armor,” Vera suggests. “Use it.”

  Ampir nods, realizing that she's right. The black metallic armor he wears is filled with an enormous amount of magic, powering the countless runes inscribed upon its surface. Runes that, combined, make him nearly invincible...a god among men. But in draining them of their magic, he would make himself vulnerable.

  Boom.

  He focuses on his armor, pulling magic out of its runes and redirecting it to the crystal on the dais. The teleporter's runes glow a little brighter, then fade.

  “It needs a lot,” he states. “Way more than it should.” Even teleporting a hundred miles away shouldn't have required this much magic. But Vera doesn't respond; her eyes are closed, her breathing coming in shorter gasps now. Sweat beads up on her pale forehead.

  “Stay with me baby,” he urges.

  He drains more of his armor, emptying parts of it completely, pouring the magic into the red crystal. Its runes grow a little brighter, but nothing happens.

  Maybe it's broken, Ampir thinks, terror seizing him. He glances at his son, standing there helplessly, dust from the crumbling ceiling above coating him. He grits his teeth, fighting through the fear. The runes in the crystal glow brighter as he empties his armor; the air in the chamber begins to stir, a faint blue light appearing in the air above the dais.

  Come on...

  Another deafening boom echoes through the chamber, parts of the ceiling breaking away. Huge slabs of stone fall toward them, shattering on the floor less than a dozen feet from where they stand. Ampir weaves magic rapidly, creating a large domed gravity shield above their heads; falling dust and rubble bounce off of it, landing harmlessly around them.

  Far above, beyond the widening holes in the ceiling, Ampir sees a massive black metallic foot...and beyond that, a huge, green, diamond-shaped eye staring down at them.

  The Behemoth!

  He resists the urge to grab Junior and flee, knowing that Vera's only chance at surviving lay in teleporting to safety. With the Tower destroyed, the nearest trauma center is hours away...and her time is quickly running out. He draws the last of the magic from his armor, shoving it toward the crystal. Its runes flash a bright blue, and suddenly the air ten feet above the dais tears open, forming a black circular portal.

  Yes!

  Ampir stares at the portal, realizing that it's only a foot in diameter...far too small for Vera or himself to fit through. He struggles to stream more magic to the teleporter, but he barely has any left.

  “What's wrong?” Vera asks. Ampir shakes his head.

  “It's too small,” he replies, staring at the portal in disbelief. He'd put an enormous amount of magic into the
teleporter...the portal shouldn't be that small!

  “We'll go one at a time,” she offers weakly.

  “It's too damn small,” he retorts angrily. “We can't fit through it.” He grits his teeth. “Shit!”

  Vera stares up at the rift, then looks at Junior.

  “He can,” she counters.

  Ampir looks down at Junior. She's right, of course. As small as he is, the rift is just large enough for him to fit through.

  The Behemoth's massive foot rises, then slams down on the fractured ceiling. The dome sinks inward, huge fragments of stone breaking away and falling toward them. The pieces strike the shield above their heads, barely deflected by the magical barrier. Ampir struggles to maintain the shield, the magic reserves in his mind all but exhausted. He feels Vera's hand on his cheek.

  “Send him,” Vera urges. “Save him.”

  “I need to save you,” he protests. But Vera shakes her head.

  “Do it,” she orders, her tone harsh. He swallows in a dry throat, looking up at the rift. It's starting to shrink, he realizes. The magic powering the teleporter is running out. He turns to Junior.

  “Get up on that,” he commands, gesturing at the dais. Junior hesitates, staring at his father, then his mother. “Do it!” Ampir shouts. Junior flinches, but obeys, climbing up onto the dais beside the huge red crystal. Ampir hesitates, then leans forward, kissing his son on the forehead.

  I'll come for you, he vows silently.

  He reaches for the ring hanging on the necklace around his own neck...the engagement ring Vera had proposed to him with. He tears it from the necklace, staring at it intently. The band is silver, the large yellow gemstone on top glittering in the faint light. Tiny words had been etched into the band.

  To my husband, for eternity.

  He closes his eyes, pulling cords of power into his mind's eye, twisting them around each other to form a throbbing knot in the center. He throws it outward, rapidly etching tiny runes into the ring's gemstone, almost too small for the eye to see. Dozens of interconnected runes, working together for a single purpose.

  This way, I'll never lose you.

  He gives the ring to Junior, holding Vera in his other arm. He strains to carry her now, his armor no longer giving him near-unlimited strength. He puts a hand on Junior's cheek, giving him a weak smile.

  “I love you, son.”

  He weaves magic in his mind's eye one last time, throwing it outward at Junior. The boy levitates upward in the air, flying toward the steadily shrinking portal above. Ampir thrusts as much magic as he can at his son, lifting him up through the rift. Junior's head passes through, followed by his shoulders. Then his waist passes through.

  The portal closes more rapidly now, threatening to slice Junior in half.

  Ampir grimaces, ripping magic from his mind's eye and shoving it at the boy. Junior bursts upward, his legs passing through...just as the portal snaps shut. Something small falls from where the rift had been, bouncing off of the dais and falling onto the floor. Ampir stares at it, taking a moment to realize what it is.

  A toe.

  He looks back up to the space where his son had just been, feeling a terrible emptiness come over him. Whatever destination Renval had set the teleporter to, it was far away...so far that he had the sinking feeling that he would never see Junior again. At least he knew that wherever Renval had set the teleporter to transport his son to, it would be safe. Renval would never leave the coordinates in a dangerous location. He feels eyes upon him, and looks down at Vera. She smiles, gazing back at him with her painfully beautiful eyes.

  “See something you like?” she inquired.

  He smiles back at her, swallowing past a sudden lump in his throat.

  “I do now,” he replies.

  She closes her eyes then, resting her head against his armored shoulder. Her breaths come more slowly now, her skin terribly pale.

  “Kiss me,” she murmurs.

  He leans down, pressing his lips against hers. He can smell her perfume, the same intoxicating scent she'd worn the day they'd met. Tears spill down his cheeks, and he chokes back a sob, pulling his head away. He looks down at her, taking a deep, shuddering breath in, then letting it out.

  It takes him a moment to realize she isn't breathing.

  “Baby,” he calls out, shaking her a little. She doesn't move.

  Oh god no. Please, no!

  An ear-splitting boom echoes through the chamber. Ampir looks up seeing the ceiling above them disintegrating, the Behemoth's huge, metallic foot – nearly half the size of the massive chamber itself – falling toward them, bringing the shattered ceiling down with it in a deadly free-fall.

  He looks down at his wife, her pale skin seeming to glow the faintest of blues. He runs his hand through her hair.

  “I love you baby,” he whispers.

  Then he looks upward, just before the massive metallic foot slams into them from above.

  Chapter 1

  Kyle yelled out, bolting upright, his heart pounding in his chest. He jerked his head upward, half-expecting to see a massive foot falling toward him, but found a dull white ceiling there instead. He relaxed, realizing he was in a modestly-sized bedroom. Sunlight shone through the large window beside his bed, casting brilliant rays of light across his bedsheets. Everything in the room – the bed, the sheets, the bureau, the gilded mirror atop the bureau – was tastefully ornate, unlike his bedroom back on Earth. It was the kind of room one would expect a very rich man to own – and indeed, the owner was possessed of enormous wealth and power. For he was Grand Weaver Kalibar, co-leader of the most powerful empire in the known world. And he just so happened to be Kyle's legal guardian, mentor, and – despite their vast difference in age – his best friend.

  Kyle took a deep breath in, exhaling slowly. He felt his pulse slowing, the nightmare losing its power over him. He hadn't had a nightmare like that for over a week now. He used to get them every night – extraordinarily vivid dreams, memories transmitted to him from a mysterious man who died – or rather, should have died – over two thousand years ago.

  He happened to glance downward, and groaned. His sheets were completely soaked – and not just with sweat. A quick sniff test confirmed his worst fears...once again, he'd wet the bed. It'd been over a week since he'd done that, too...he'd rather hoped he'd finally outgrown the problem.

  Suddenly he heard muffled voices coming from just beyond his bedroom door. He felt terror grip him, and he leaped off of the bed, making a mad dash for the door. Had he locked it? If anyone caught him like this...! But as he reached for the doorknob, he realized there wasn't one. It took him a moment to remember that most doors here opened and closed magically, not mechanically. They were also locked magically, and to his relief, a small blue light in the center of the door indicated that the locking mechanism had been engaged.

  He fought down the wave of panic, rushing back to his bed and peeling off the wet bedsheets, trying to avoid touching the soaked parts. He threw these to the floor, then glanced at the bare mattress. Luckily it was waterproof. With only the sheets soaked, he still had a chance to get rid of the evidence before Jenkins, Kalibar's head butler, came in to tidy up his room. No one here knew about his little problem, and he had no intention of them ever finding out.

  Kyle bent down to gather up the damp bedding into one enormous ball, picking it up and lugging it into the bathroom. Luckily, every guest room in Kalibar's suite had its own full bath; Kyle brought the sheets to the luxurious tub therein, dropped the bedding into it, then stepping back to consider his options. If he rinsed off the urine, then dried the sheets, Jenkins would never be the wiser. But the faucet for the tub was far too low to do the job...there wasn't a shower head. Luckily, he had magic on his side!

  He closed his eyes, feeling a pulsing thread of power in the middle of his skull, and grabbed it with his will, weaving it into a tight knot. He thrust it outward toward the air right above the tub. Almost instantly, a strong, cold wind whipped through
his hair, and at the same time, a veritable waterfall appeared above the tub. Water splashed over the soiled bedding until it was completely soaked, the urine seeping from the fabric and spilling down the drain. In less than a minute, no pee-smell remained, and he stopped the magical stream. He shivered then; the air in the bathroom was suddenly much colder than it had been seconds ago. Water creation magic required a great deal of heat, and it stole that heat from everything around it, cooling the surroundings significantly.

  Kyle put his hands on his hips, surveying his work. Now what? He couldn't just leave the bedding in the tub...someone was bound to find it and start asking questions. He needed to get the sheets dry, so no one would be the wiser. What if he used the fire pattern? With a thought, he could create a flame that would hover in the air wherever he wanted. If he used the tiniest bit of magic, he might be able to warm up the sheets a bit, evaporating the water. Yes, it had to work! He stood back, weaving the tiniest bit of magic into the fire pattern, then throwing it out at the bedding.

  The fabric hissed and sputtered, then burst promptly into flames.

  He recoiled in horror, instantly severing the stream of magic. But the bedding continued to burn, the flames growing taller by the second. Black smoke rose from the tub, making Kyle cough, his eyes stinging sharply. He stifled the urge to bolt from the room screaming for help, and instead wove magic rapidly, creating another waterfall atop the burning bedding. The cool water doused the flames with an angry hiss, steam billowing up to the ceiling.

  Kyle stood there, gawking at the blackened mountain of fabric, suddenly wishing that Xanos had killed him when he'd had the chance. What the heck was he going to do now? Kalibar was going to have him hanged!

  Just then, he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

  Kyle nearly leaped out of his skin, sprinting out of the bathroom. Then he skid to a halt, turning around and slamming the bathroom door shut to hide the evidence. He turned about again, peering through the smoky haze that had filled his bedroom, holding back another coughing fit. He needed to get rid of this smoke...and fast!